Standing

[Goju at Home]

This exercise (in various postures) is the foundational training to develop nei jin (internal power).

The objective is to just stand, allowing the weight to sink and body to completely relax, other than the muscles needed to maintain the posture.

Eyes are generally kept in one of two ways:

– eyes open, focused on a point in the distance. This is called the eye or look of the eagle.
– open eyes, but unfocused, taking in everything;.

The trick is to merge the two, concentrating on the distant point of focus yet retaining an unfocused gaze.

Breathing is natural, deep (but not forced). Feel without effort the breath build in the hara/tan tien area of the lower abdomen (1″ below the navel), and circulated throughout the body.

Try to stand same time every day.

Start with 5 minutes and build up to whatever you can tolerate. When this author first trained at standing, he’d rise at 6 am daily and stand for an hour.

The purpose of standing is to gather and cultivate qi, and allow it to sink into the sinews of the bones and connective tissue. Some think there are physiological changes as the bodily fluids settle within the body, allowing qi to be absorbed and flow more readily.

[Goju at Home]

Basic Posture

[Goju at Home]

In addition to the standing posture above, I have also found the falun gong standing exercises to be of great benefit as well. Here’s a video that can help. Note that these are performed with eyes closed, though the eye of the eagle can be used as well.

[Author]

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