Zhan Zhuang is Not for Beginners

[ChiDragon]

Just now, Antares said:

what about this one? still awkward for you?

This is much better. It is the correct Zhan Zhuang stance. The lower legs are not tilted as much as the previous one.

Edited October 8 by ChiDragon

[Antares]

Just now, ChiDragon said:

This is much better. It is the correct Zhan Zhuang stance. The lower legs are not tailed as much as the previous one.

finally sorted it out!

[ChiDragon]

Just now, Antares said:

finally sorted it out!

Yes. Please correct my spelling: Change "tailed" to "tilted". Thanks! 

[Antares]

Just now, ChiDragon said:

Yes. Please correct my spelling: Change "tailed" to "tilted". Thanks!

It will cost you 5$

[ChiDragon]

Just now, ChiDragon said:

If you just do Taiji, it is neigong and qigong already. It is all in one

Let me clarify this. In Taji practice, the breathing coordinates with the movement; and the movement coordinates the breathing. For that said, the breathing part is considered to be Qigong(氣功). The combination of breathing and movement enhance the body strength that is considered to be neigong(內功). 

BTW Neigong practice is something has to be done internally to the body enhancing the function of the body. It enables the body to perform much more difficult tasks. In addition, Neigong determines the health condition of a person. If one has a tremendous body strength, it can be said that one has lots of Neigong. Hence, one may be considered to be an unordinary person.

[dwai]

2 hours ago, Antares said:

I see now. AFTER 6 months taiji stance can be used as static posture, but not from the start

Standing without preparing the body will lead to pain and stress (for most people). I remember that with my first teacher, our sessions would be 2 hours long - first single form warm-ups, then standing meditations (prayer hands set, etc.). Now and then, there would be folks interested in learning who would try the class out. I remember one guy who claimed to have been doing tai chi and qigong for decades - he said he could handle the standing. After about 30 minutes, we heard a thud...the poor man had fallen because he was forcing himself to stand, despite my teacher having told him to move around or sit down if the standing was too much. Unfortunately he never came back to the class  

[liminal_luke]

13 hours ago, steve said:

I think if we stand simply for the sake of standing, with no expectations or demands on ourselves, there is little risk of harm and it can be a wonderful practice, even for beginners.

 

 

Standing without expectations or demands on myself (or others) sounds great.  Actually, doing anything that way would be wonderful, but standing is probably a good place to start. Harder than it sounds, at least for me.

Edited October 9 by liminal_luke

[ChiDragon]

On 10/8/2025 at 2:09 PM, dwai said:

I remember one guy who claimed to have been doing tai chi and qigong for decades - he said he could handle the stand.

Yes, if he did the practice, then, he should be able to do the stand as long as he like. Apparently, he didn't practice that long or didn't do it right in the first place. 

Edited October 11 by ChiDragon

[Gerard]

I favour Ma Bu:

 

 

 

[Antares]

On 10.10.2025 at 11:47 AM, Gerard said:

I favour Ma Bu:

This one is very external one.

[Antares]

On 09.10.2025 at 5:20 AM, liminal_luke said:

Standing without expectations or demands on myself (or others) sounds great.  Actually, doing anything that way would be wonderful, but standing is probably a good place to start. 

Standing for the sake of standing, seating for the sake of seating, eating for the sake of eating...

You have to understand what you are doing while standing. And in first place the question if this gives you qi or may be you burn your qi. Devil is in details. Majority of people just burn their yuan jing by long standing, so you must know how to collect yuan jing before that

[mumuyan]

I’m a beginner, and I was wondering—do you know the difference between Horse Stance(马步） and Standing Meditation（站桩）？

[ChiDragon]

13 minutes ago, mumuyan said:

I’m a beginner, and I was wondering—do you know the difference between Horse Stance(马步） and Standing Meditation（站桩）？

Horse Stance(马步）is the name that was given to a stance.

Zhan Zhuang（站桩）is the name that was given to a method of being standing at a horse stance.

Edited 9 hours ago by ChiDragon

[mumuyan]

10 minutes ago, ChiDragon said:

Horse Stance(马步）is the name that was given to a stance.

Zhan Zhuang（站桩）is the name that was given to a method of being standing at a horse stance.

Yeah, Horse Stance is for training lower body stability, while Standing Meditation builds overall body stability. When you pair Standing Meditation with breathing, that’s Neidan Breathing Method—its main goal is to guide acquired qi to clear and activate the body’s entire energy network. What do you think of this understanding of mine?

[ChiDragon]

21 minutes ago, mumuyan said:

Yeah, Horse Stance is for training lower body stability, while Standing Meditation builds overall body stability. When you pair Standing Meditation with breathing, that’s Neidan Breathing Method—its main goal is to guide acquired qi to clear and activate the body’s entire energy network. What do you think of this understanding of mine?

In regard to you understanding, you got the right idea. However, just to be clear, horse stance is the main part of Standing Meditation. With breathing, your body is generating its inner energy. The idea of "its main goal is to guide acquired qi to clear and activate the body’s entire energy network" is an traditional concept that was what most people were told. In other words, your energy was not acquired, rather, it was generated by your own body. Most people only have the macroscopic view of it. If we're looking at it  microscopically, then, it would be a different story.

Edited 9 hours ago by ChiDragon

[mumuyan]

5 minutes ago, ChiDragon said:

In regard to you understanding, you got the right idea. However, just to be clear, horse stance is the main part of Standing Meditation. With breathing, your body is generating its inner energy. The idea of "its main goal is to guide acquired qi to clear and activate the body’s entire energy network" is an traditional concept that was what most people were told. In other words, your energy was not acquired, rather, it was generated by your own body. Most people only have the macroscopic view of it. If we're looking at it  microscopically is it would be a different story.

Then what differences do you think exist when viewed from a microscopic perspective?

[ChiDragon]

1 minute ago, mumuyan said:

Then what differences do you think exist when viewed from a microscopic perspective?

This would be involved with modern science by looking into cell respiration inside the body cell(Google it). However, most people do not like to look into that. They rather stay with the simple traditional concept macroscopically.

[mumuyan]

9 minutes ago, ChiDragon said:

This would be involved with modern science by looking into cell respiration inside the body cell(Google it). However, most people do not like to look into that. They rather stay with the simple traditional concept macroscopically.

Thank you for your explanation. I’ve also been researching this field. Currently, I’ve concluded that acquired（后天之气） qi is roughly related to the nervous system, and I’m still studying innate qi（先天之气）. My research is mainly based on the body’s actual feedback, with a focus on addressing minor physical issues such as rhinitis and otitis media.

 

So far, my practical case studies include the role of qi regulation in aiding pre- and post-exercise recovery, and methods to quickly relieve nasal congestion. Other areas are still under research since I’m new to this field.

 

By the way, my master has recognized the value of these research efforts, though they haven’t yet reached the level of being formalized into a thesis.

Regarding innate qi and acquired qi, their names vary across different schools or lineages, but they both refer to the same concept of qi.

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