There is a saying in Chinese medicine that "all diseases start from cold, and cold originates from the feet." The feet are known as the "second heart." When people are over forty years old, the buttock muscles often gradually atrophy, sag, and The lower body is getting thinner and thinner. Zhan Zhuang is a fitness activity that is based on the feet to firmly establish the ground, connect the sky and the earth, adjust the Qi, and use a small amount of physical energy to purify the yin and increase the yang. For modern people who are physically weak and often consume too much. , is actually more important. I hope you can make zhanzhuang a regular self-cultivation exercise!
1. Zhanzhuang Kung Fu and "Independent Guardianship", Cultivation of Body and Mind
There is a passage in "Huangdi Neijing·Ancient Innocence Theory": "Huangdi said: I have heard that there was a real person in ancient times" , holding the heaven and earth, grasping the yin and yang, breathing the essence, and guarding the spirit independently, the muscles are like one. Therefore, the world can live forever, and there is no end. This is the way of life. "
The "independent guarding of the spirit" has passed. It takes a year and a half for a doctor to teach his disciples just these four words. Many people hope to meet a Master. If you really want to meet a Master, you have to ask yourself, if someone talks to you in four words for half a year, can you still be humble and courteous and ask for "teaching" as much as you did in the beginning?
"Independent guardianship" is actually a method of learning and practicing. It refers to being detached and independent in life, especially when practicing (such as standing), and keeping one's thoughts in mind, which is similar to the "not keeping one's mind" in Buddhism. "Move and calm", the mind is as motionless as a bright mirror, pure and clear.
In the thousand-year secret tradition of medical practitioners, "independent guardianship" is a specialized learning method. Masters use this method to conduct "grinding" training on their disciples. Anyone who has been practicing for more than a year and a half must have a very strong body! This method is the basis for doctors to treat many diseases. For example, the "Magic Acupuncture Technique" taught secretly by doctors can easily give people a needle, and years of chronic illness can often disappear. Its "internal strength" comes from this "independent guardianship" training. Without three to five years of "independent guardianship", even if the patient is pricked like a hedgehog, it will be difficult to achieve results. Therefore, for doctors, it is indispensable to go out and stand up.
The zhuang in Zhanzhuang Gong means tree stump, and gong means kung fu. Tree stumps buried underground are relatively strong and difficult to be torn down and pulled out, and are relatively quiet physically. Zhanzhuang uses one tune to replace three tunes, and body tune instead of mind and breath regulation. It activates the belt pulse through the rising position. When the belt pulse moves, the Ren and Du channels also move, and the twelve meridians move accordingly. In essence, it is external static movement and internal movement, seeking tranquility during movement. Therefore, experts believe that "Zhuang Gong is a process of resting" Exercise is a break from exercise.”
When standing in the stance, the Baihui on the top of the head is connected with the weather, the springs on the soles of the feet are connected with the earth's energy, and the Laogong acupoint on the palms of the hands is connected with the natural energy. The nerves of the knee joints are strongly stimulated, and the true energy is generated. After practicing for a while, you will feel your body warm and your hands swollen, numb, and the diseased, turbid, and evil energy in your body will come out along with sweating.
Zhan Zhuang Kung Fu is performed on the basis of the feet. The feet are now called the "second heart" and the "root of vitality" that are responsible for hard work. 30% of the nerves of the human body are concentrated in the soles of the feet. Zhanzhuang is an important way to open the perineum points and dredge the meridians. It is conducive to the rapid start-up of the human body's qi, promotes and enhances the circulatory function of the Du and Ren meridians, and activates the various meridians. Qi circulates and blood circulates, and blood circulates and qi is strong. As the qi machinery in the body is smoothed and activated, various symptoms can be quickly improved, and diseases can be cured without treatment. Just as Su Dongpo said when evaluating Qigong: "The effect is not noticeable at first, but after accumulating for more than a hundred days, the effect is immeasurable. It is a hundred times more powerful than taking medicine." Therefore, we must persist in accordance with the requirements of the Qigong method, and the Qigong will be achieved naturally.
To practice Buddhism, you must also be independent and keep your mind, and it is best to stand still.
When Patriarch Bodhidharma came to China to teach the Dharma, he found that monks in China liked to sit and meditate, without the combination of movement and stillness. Their bodies were generally weak and could not withstand the wind. So in the past 9 years, Bodhidharma began to teach these Shaolin monks Zhanzhuang. According to the martial arts and Yi Jin Jing exercises, the dozen or so movements in the Yi Jin Jing exercises are actually more than a dozen different piles, which are used to force out the qi, moisture, evil, disease and poisonous qi in the whole body's energy channels and bone marrow.
Is it possible to take medicine to detoxify the yin, evil, disease, and poisonous qi from the body? Yes, but it will consume a lot of energy. As the saying goes, medicines are three-part poisons, and taking medicines to detoxify comes at the cost of consuming vitality. Acupuncture and massage only open the Qi channels of the disease at that time, but it also comes at the cost of consuming vitality. Although moxibustion is a good method, it still requires equipment and materials. The easiest and best way to detoxify is to stand up for yourself. Standing for more than forty minutes every morning and evening, and standing until you sweat every time, is the best way to detoxify. Zhanzhuang not only eliminates poisons from the bone marrow and Qi meridians, but also refines Qi into the bones and nourishes vitality.
Why is it best to stand for forty minutes at a time? Because standing for more than forty minutes each time, the body's biological clock will work better. Meditation practice is an advanced human science. Therefore, we must also practice scientifically. If you don't force out the yin, evil and poisonous energy from your body, your mind will not be able to calm down. According to Zen Buddhism's "Yi Jin Marrow Cleansing Sutra", marrow cleansing forces out the evil, evil and poisonous qi in the bone marrow. The disease is mild: the disease enters the skin. When the disease is serious, it is said: The disease enters the flesh. The disease is extremely serious: the disease has penetrated into the bone marrow. Only by forcing out the evil and poisonous yin energy in the bone marrow can we truly be healthy and enter samadhi. Therefore, this sutra is called Yi Jin Su Marrow Sutra.
In addition to taking medicine and doing postures to force out the toxins from the bone marrow, are there any other detoxification methods? Yes, that is inescaping. It is very easy for people who are constantly living without grain to enter samadhi. However, Bigu requires more careful guidance than Zhanzhuang. If the method is not used properly, there are dangers.
Delusional thoughts, distracting thoughts, and evil thoughts are the yin qi, evil qi, and disease qi. Materialism is mind-based, and mind-based materialism is materialism.
If you achieve deep meditation, you should simultaneously cure diseases, detoxify, refine essence, nourish qi, warm blood, fill marrow, and relax muscles and bones. Otherwise, the evil will be heavy and the good will be weak, the yin will be strong and the yang will be weak, and there will be constant climbing, delusional thoughts will be difficult, and entering samadhi will be as difficult as climbing to the sky.
Even for people who can enter the first jhana, if they do not stand in the posture at ordinary times, the yin, evil, poisonous gas in the body has not been cleared in advance, and the poisonous gas is often forced from the bone marrow to the flesh when passing through the eight contacts of the first jhana, and cannot come out. Sweating, toxins cannot be discharged, and the body often becomes swollen or black. And if you stand diligently at ordinary times, the eight touches of the first jhana will pass quickly.
Especially in modern people, the yin and cold qi are strong. If you don't stand in the stance, it will be difficult for the muscles to cleanse the marrow and refine the qi into the bones. It is really difficult to keep the essence and qi from leaking, keep the blood warm, and keep the bone marrow full. If you can't keep your essence, keep your blood warm, and have your bone marrow full, it would be a bit like a fool's dream if you want to free yourself from the five aggregates and break the attachment.
Becoming a Buddha, becoming an ancestor, becoming an immortal and attaining the Tao does not require enlightenment through mere words. The edge of the sword is sharpened, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold. Without three feet of ice and nine layers of snow, how could the fragrance of plum blossoms come in the harsh winter? Besides three feet of ice and nine layers of snow, how much more than three days of cold? Ordinary people often only see the side of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Arhats, and immortals after they attain enlightenment, but they fail to see the hardships that Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and immortals face before they attain enlightenment. They practice diligently from life to life, and the merits achieved in each life are bright and transparent, and then transferred to the next life. Only by practicing and accumulating merits and merits from one life to another will you be able to see the way and become a Buddha. Zen Buddhism is about understanding the mind and nature, but after enlightenment, you still have to start practicing. Haven't you seen that the "Sixth Patriarch Altar Sutra" says that after the Sixth Patriarch attained great enlightenment, he respected the orders of his master the Fifth Patriarch and practiced seclusion for fifteen years before going out to preach the Dharma? Not to mention the ancestors before him.
Practice and practice are what you cultivate. Cultivation, practice, you have to practice it.
When standing in the stance, keep your mind independently. "Inner thoughts will not wander outside, and external conditions will not invade inward." .
Whether you are a doctor, a boxer, or a Zen practitioner, as long as you abide by the master’s teachings, unify knowledge and practice, and persevere in your stance, your kung fu will be like a seedling rising in the spring. If you stop practicing, fishing for three days and drying the nets for two days, your kung fu will be like a whetstone and will not diminish, and will be lost every day.
2. Methods, key points and precautions of Zhanzhuang Gong
1. Posture form
1) Standing.
The feet should be shoulder-width apart, with the toes pointed forward and slightly inward. Bend your knees slightly and don't let your knees go past your toes, so as not to hurt your knees. The center of gravity of the body can be slightly tilted toward the balls of the feet. After standing up, raise your hands from the lowest position where they naturally hang down to do a "hug".
2) Hug Yi.
Hold your hands round in front of your chest as if you were trying to pull them out, with your palms facing inward. Taishang said: "It is the way for the world to hold one in the arms of a sage."
2. Key points
Physical condition:
1) The spine is straight throughout the entire process;< /p>
2) The head is pushed upwards and the lower jaw is slightly retracted, as if to "hide" the throat. Smile;
3) Upper limbs: Relax the shoulders, lower the forearms naturally, the upper elbow is slightly lower than the shoulder, and the hand is slightly lower than the elbow;
4) Hand: "Hold one" with both hands in front of the chest, with fingertips facing each other, about a fist-sized distance apart, palms facing in;
5) Legs: Feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly apart Bend, the knees should not exceed the toes, the center of gravity should be slightly forward on the soles of the feet, and the body should be relaxed;
6) Observe whether the whole body is relaxed or not, stay mediocre, and don't be curious. Open or close your eyes at will.
Breathing method: Breathe naturally, try to inhale gently and exhale slowly.
Ideational activities: You don’t need to make any thoughts, or you can recite the Buddha’s name and mantra. If your mind is relatively calm, you can recite “Namo Amitabha” (na mo a mi tuo fo). If you still need time To enter tranquility, you can recite the six-character mantra "Om Mani Padme Hum" (ōng mā nī bēi mēi hōng) to gradually calm your body and mind. Just as Mr. Sun Chuo of the Jin Dynasty said in "Yudao Lun": "The ears are cut off from obscene sounds, the mouth forgets the joys and sorrows, the mind is relieved, the heart is tired, and the chest is held in arms."
Suitable for the crowd: Men, women and children who are physically weak from sitting for a long time and are willing to continue to exercise to improve their physical and mental condition.
Collection pose: At the end of each pile position, you can make a hand downwards from both sides, and then lift the palms up. After gathering the hands from the middle, move the hands downward from the chest and then palms down. Press, all the way down to the Dantian area of ??the lower abdomen. This is a simple harvest.
3. Precautions
1) After the exercise, wipe off the sweat, especially the sweat on the vertebrae at the back of the neck. Do not take a shower immediately in summer (at least wait half an hour).
2) Try to avoid practicing stances under electric fans or in air-conditioned rooms, as you are susceptible to wind and cold. The effect is better if you stand in a natural environment with no cold wind and fresh air.
3) Do not touch cold water for at least half an hour after the end of the exercise, especially in summer. Try to avoid drinking water and taking a bath during this period, and it is best not to have sex within half an hour after the end of the exercise. Defecation - so it is best to drink water and defecate before formal practice!
4) It is best to reduce or avoid having sex during practice, and avoid having sex immediately after practice!
5) Beginners should try to avoid practicing when it is windy, raining or thundering.
6) People with heart disease should not exercise excessively.
7) After finishing the exercise, rub your hands to warm them, touch your knees respectively, pat your knees, shake your arms, etc.
3. The functional effect of Zhanzhuang
When Zhanzhuang is performed, there must be feelings and reactions regardless of whether there is any mental activity. Normal feelings will help improve the level. Generally speaking, as long as you feel comfortable, powerful, coordinated and balanced during practice, not holding your breath, not too nervous, and feel a little tired or lingering after practice, it can be considered normal and you can continue practicing.
When practicing, don’t look for a certain feeling for a certain idea, as this will easily become a formality and may cause side effects. Just pay attention to the fact that the spirit is realistic and the idea is specific. Let all kinds of feelings form naturally and disappear naturally, so that you can practice kung fu on yourself. If you don't have enough time, don't use too strong thoughts.
Different stages and levels of Zhuang Gong will have different reactions and show different functional states. In addition, due to different physical constitutions and different conditions of each person, the purpose of practicing the exercises is different, and the individual nerve sensitivity is different. There are differences, so practitioners will also have various and different reactions. Generally, you don’t need to mind these reactions and just let them happen naturally. The following twenty-one sensations, perceptions and reactions are all normal functional effects, but be careful not to pursue them too consciously. If you practice kung fu without seeking it, the gong will be in it; if you seek gong without seeking it, it will be in vain. Just focus on hard work and ignore the harvest, and be content with the harvest. This is the so-called "hard work will come naturally".
1. Kinesthetic sense:
The itching sensation of crawling ants may appear on human skin, as well as dynamic sensations such as muscle trembling and body shaking. The feeling of ants walking is caused by the flow of Qi and blood to the epidermis. The shaking is a manifestation of the body's own spontaneous adjustment and seeking balance, and does not need to be ignored. People who have just started standing stance are prone to trembling in the muscles of their limbs, especially in the legs. This is a normal phenomenon during the adaptation stage of stance exercise, and you don’t need to worry about it at all. After a period of time, this dynamic phenomenon will naturally disappear and enter the "immovable" state.
2. Numbness:
In the early stages of practicing, you will feel numbness on your skin, especially in the palms and soles of your feet. This is a normal reaction when Qi and blood are not circulating enough. It will become natural over time. eliminate. When you practice to a certain level, the numbness, especially the electric numbness, is a reaction of the human body's bioelectricity and is a manifestation of the growth of your skill. The numbness comes and goes, sometimes is weak, sometimes is strong, comes and goes without practice, and later transitions to the same reaction as with or without practice.
3. Thermal sensation:
When you practice Qigong, you may experience a feeling of warmth, a feeling of heat flowing in a certain part of your body, or your whole body may feel warm and accompanied by slight sweating. This is Qi. The good phenomenon of blood circulation is that "qi moves on its own without luck", but it should not be pursued and should be allowed to develop naturally.
4. Feeling of swelling:
The feeling of swelling is the normal effect of "stretching muscles" during muscle and bone training, and is also the normal effect of the expansion of arteries, veins and capillaries during the movement of qi and blood. In the advanced stage, the whole body will feel slightly swollen and comfortable.
5. Feeling of soreness:
Generally, beginners will experience muscle soreness or soreness. For example, the body may feel uncomfortable and there may be local soreness, especially in the shoulders. This is caused by local muscle tension. Although Zhanzhuang emphasizes relaxation, it also requires the most basic strength to maintain the balance of the frames. Therefore, in the early stages of Zhanzhuang, the tightness and tightness are often not coordinated, or even though the Zhanzhuang is relaxed, it is not loose enough, so muscle pain or soreness occurs. This is normal and will subside on its own as practice progresses.
6. Pain:
Patients with some diseases may experience increased local pain in the early stages of practicing. Generally speaking, this is a benign reaction caused by the impact of Qi and blood on the lesion after practicing Qigong. It is in line with the principle of traditional Chinese medicine that "pain means no pain, general rule means no pain". As you continue to practice Qigong, the reaction of "Qi against the disease" will become weaker and weaker, and eventually the disease will be cured. This is the result of the struggle between good and evil and the final victory of good over evil.
7. Joy:
During the practice, I feel extremely comfortable, happy, relaxed, joyful, and happy. This is the happiest and most comfortable moment. When practicing Qigong, you should deal with it calmly. Don't be greedy for happiness, and be sad when you are overjoyed.
8. Noise sense:
Muscles, internal organs, bones, and joints all have varying degrees of noise, which are all normal. Such as hissing, buzzing, snapping, chirping, etc., as well as burping, bowel sounds, farting, etc.
9. Shen Jue:
There is a thick, solid and heavy feeling in the stance, the center of gravity sinks, the momentum is like a "roly-poly", and further, "the body is like lead. "Feeling, this is a high-level functional effect.
10. Whole body:
The whole body seems to be frozen, unable to move. The hands cannot be opened, closed, lifted, or put down. The human body is in contact with the outside world. A whole is formed, and if you take a step further, you will have the feeling of "the body is as whole as a cast" and "the muscles are as one". The sense of wholeness is a high-level feeling in stance, and it is also one of the manifestations of the external perceptible state of the round force.
11. Lightness:
The whole body is as light as a swallow, the muscles are soft and soft, as if there are no bones. My body and mind feel relaxed at the same time, as if I want to take off and float with the wind.
12. Feeling of drifting:
The body is floating, with and without me, as if there is only a soul without a body, I only feel that the whole body is light and misty, like a wisp of smoke, like A piece of cloud, body and mind are unrestrained, joyful and happy, and the body is only vaguely aware of itself.
At this time, the body has lost weight, but has not yet lost its shape. The appearance of floating sensation indicates that the practitioner has entered the realm of unity of form and spirit, body and mind.
13. Metamorphosis:
The body becomes lighter and lighter, and its outline becomes less and less clear. Finally, the body "gasifies" and merges with the natural air of the universe. This It shows that practitioners have entered the realm of "harmony between man and nature". The fundamental difference in sensory experience between "gone" and "hua" is that "gone" only loses weight but does not lose shape, while "hua" loses both weight and shape.
14. Emptiness:
There is no body and mind inside, and no world outside. This is a state of "forgetting both things and myself". The realm of "unity of man and nature" is the "emptiness" of the "realm of nothingness", while the realm of "forgetfulness of things and myself" is the "nothing" of the "realm of nothingness". This is an advanced effect in the process of "Refining the Void and Combining the Dao".
15. Dajue:
I feel that my height and body seem to be able to stand up to the sky and the earth.
16. Sexual awareness:
The mind feels in a trance, the whole body is soft and happy, and the penis is raised suddenly, as if it is about to ejaculate but does not ejaculate. Sexual arousal is different from the sexual pleasure in daily sexual intercourse. Sexual arousal is a manifestation of the practitioner’s strong kidney qi and enhanced sexual function. If you are greedy for sexual sensation, or even have wild fantasies, causing the essence to leak, it will damage your power. At this time, you can use your mind to bring the Qi from the perineum to the back and to the top of the head.
17. Smell:
Various fragrances are emitted from the inside of the body.
18. Color vision:
White, yellow, red, black, blue, cyan, purple and other colors appear around the body, especially cyan, blue, purple and green are superior kung fu. .
19. Light perception:
The body has the feeling of being completely transparent, with bright and dark lights appearing on the upper and lower sides, or light beams emitting from the body, forming light groups, apertures, and round light balls outside the body. .
20. Transcendence:
The feeling of transcending time and space. With the awareness of self-forgetfulness, the awareness of transcending time and space will naturally arise. The transcendence of the sense of space begins when the body is forgotten. When the existence of things disappears, space cannot be created. When we reach the state of unity between man and nature, the part of space that exists as a physical form is forgotten, and it seems to be there but not there, and if there is nothing. The transcendence of the sense of time is often discovered only after practicing. There are two situations. One is "It's only been a few days in the cave, but a thousand years have passed in the world." The perception of time is shortened. It feels like I have only been practicing for a moment, but when I look at the clock, several hours have passed. On the other hand, I feel like I have been practicing for a long time, but in fact I have only practiced for ten or twenty minutes. In a state where the self-body and even the activities of self-consciousness have been forgotten, the perception of time naturally ceases to exist. The transcendence of time and space can be said to be accomplished in "nothing". When you feel "nothing", you transcend time and space.
21. Spiritual perception:
The manifestation of special functions such as remote sensing, prediction, clairvoyance, and "six supernatural powers". This is a state of high wisdom and an intuitive response after the subconscious is activated. After entering tranquility, you are particularly sensitive to future events and have foresight. This is the ability to predict, foresee, and predict. You can clearly see the crawling and walking of small animals a few meters, ten meters, or tens of meters away around your body. You can even sense the emotional response, behavioral state, and psychological activities of someone far away. This is remote sensing. You can also see your own organs, bones and meridian system when you are in silence. This inner vision function is clairvoyance. Ancient Chinese medicine is based on internal observation of the twelve meridians and eight extra meridians of the human body during internal syndrome experiments. Just as Li Shizhen, a medical scientist in the Ming Dynasty, said when talking about the origin of meridians, "the inner tunnel can only be observed by the observer." It is based on the perspective function of the human body when the subconscious mind is activated. In traditional Qigong cultivation, the "Little Zhou Tian" method is to look inside the two meridians of Ren and Du; the "Great Zhou Tian" method is to use the mind to guide Qi and connect the twelve meridians; the "Maoyou Zhou Tian" method is to This means that the mind can understand the eight extraordinary meridians. Zen Buddhism uses the "six supernatural powers" to refer to the advanced realm and special functions in Qigong cultivation, namely: "clairvoyance", which can see things that ordinary people can't see, and can see through the internal organs and objects of the human body; "clairvoyance" ", can hear sounds that ordinary people cannot hear, even the smallest sounds in the distance; "Shen Zu Tong", the limbs are flexible, the hands and feet are nimble, the body is light, and the walking is fast; "Other Mind Tong", there are Inspiration that ordinary people don't have, he is more prophetic than others; "Fate Tong", he can perceive things in the past and predict things in the future; "Luo Jie Tong", after practicing to a high degree of tranquility, he can achieve pure inaction, tranquility and emptiness, In the state of self-forgetfulness and emptiness, essence, energy, and spirit are not leaked.
The above-mentioned "Twenty-One Awakenings of Zhanzhuang" are the sensory and emotional experiences after Zhanzhuang enters tranquility. Let them come and go naturally. Do not pursue them deliberately, otherwise it will bring burden to the body and mind, and even cause trouble. deviation.
Most of the experiences of the above-mentioned qigong effects are still within the "six roots" (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, mind). Qigong practice is practiced from the "six roots" and from the "six roots" Coming out means that the "six roots" are tightly closed and entering the realm of "nothingness" and "emptiness". This is the "entry place", "exit place" and "end place" in the Zen mind method.