If you are ill or too weak to perform the standing Chi Kung exercise, you can begin your practice either seated or lying down until your health improves to a level that permits you to begin standing. Sitting is 10-times stronger than lying down and Standing is 20-times stronger than sitting, but all Zhang Zhuang exercise is highly beneficial and your level of health and fitness should not detour you from beginning this ancient health practice.
Visualizing the balloons
The balloons are an indispensable element of this remarkable system. Eventually, you visualize them clearly in your mind and you will even begin to feel them as if they are truly there. By holding the imaginary balloon in your arms you release any pressure constricting the sides of your chest and abdomen. Maintaining the position builds up both your physical and mental stamina. You begin to place carefully balanced, but increasing, demands upon your core muscle energy and circulatory systems that step up the circulation in both. The other imaginary balloons are a powerful aid to relaxation; learn to sink and fully relax into them.
Points To Remember when doing Chi Kung
- If you feel tired or faint, don’t close your eyes, otherwise you might risk falling down.
- Occasionally remind yourself to relax while maintaining the correct position and posture. You will need to systematically check for tension over and over again.
- When you finish the second position, lower your arms and stand quietly for two or three minutes. Then gently shake your arms and legs. It’s also a good idea to repeat a final series of the warm up exercise circles at moderate speed to loosen up again at the end of the exercise.
- Finally, walk around slowly for a couple of minutes to loosen up the leg muscles.
Practice, Practice, Practice! You will really love this exercise if you do it consistently and get past the difficulty of the early training period of conditioning. The benefits of standing Chi Kung practice results from inner growth and transformation. The fundamental changes begin to occur within your internal organs, cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous systems. Without unusual sensitivity or training, most of us cannot sense these changes at first, whereas nearly everyone can all feel the immediate effect of hard muscular activity such as jogging or weight training. The initial impact of this unique Chi Kung takes place deep inside you, like an explosion in the depths of the ocean. This is important to understand so that you have the inner resolve to make a commitment to this type of training. Make a real commitment, take a 30-day challenge and do this exercise daily for 30-days and you will most certainly feel changes occurring. This is a marvelous and miraculous system of health exercise going back thousands of years. Try it, you will come to love it.