Zhang Zhuang: Free 10-Day Standing Qigong Programme
A ten-day introduction to standing practice. One short video a day, with coaching notes from Sifu Dan Ferrera on what to watch for at each stage. Free, no sign-up.
This is not borrowed material from a stranger. Sifu Dan Ferrera attended a three-day workshop and a one-day seminar with Master Lam in London in 2003, and studied his books Chi Kung: Way of Power and The Way of Energy. Master Lam learned Zhan Zhuang from Yu Yong Nian, who was a direct student of Wang Xiangzhai, founder of Yiquan. That is the line this page sits in, and the reason these particular videos are the ones taught from here rather than a re-filmed substitute.
Watch the original playlist on YouTube or subscribe to Master Lam’s channel directly. The written coaching notes on this page are Sifu Dan Ferrera’s, drawn from more than twenty years of standing practice and from teaching this posture to beginners since 2004.
two to three minutes is a legitimate first session. Stop for sharp joint pain, dizziness or breathlessness.
This is educational and not medical advice. If you have a heart, lung or blood-pressure condition, balance
problems, a history of fainting, or you are pregnant, talk to your doctor first.
How to use these ten days
Stand once a day. Keep the sessions short and keep them consecutive — attendance matters far more than
duration at this stage. Read the note for the day before you stand, not after. If you miss a day, repeat it
rather than skipping ahead.
Day 1 — finding the position
Your only job today is the shape. Feet parallel and shoulder-width, knees unlocked but not bent low, tailbone dropped, crown lightly lifted. Do not chase sensation. If you last two or three minutes before the legs complain, that is a normal first day.
Day 2 — the shoulders let go
Almost everyone holds the arms up with the shoulders on day one. Today, let the shoulders drop and allow the elbows to feel heavy. The arms should feel suspended rather than lifted. If your traps are burning, you are carrying the posture in the wrong place.
Day 3 — breathing without managing it
Do not add a breathing technique. Let the breath find its own depth while you hold the frame. Standing practice changes respiration on its own; forcing it early is the most common way people make themselves dizzy.
Day 4 — the first real discomfort
Shaking in the thighs is normal and is not a warning sign. Sharp joint pain is. Learn the difference now, because it governs everything that follows. Come out of the posture for sharp pain; stay for trembling.
Day 5 — halfway, and the boredom arrives
This is where most people quit, and it is not a physical problem. Standing still is uncomfortable for the mind long before it is difficult for the body. Keep the timer short and the attendance perfect rather than the reverse.
Day 6 — weight into the heels
Check that you are not drifting forward onto the balls of the feet. The weight should sit slightly behind the centre of the arch. A small correction here changes how the whole structure loads.
Day 7 — the hands warm up
Many people notice heat, fullness or a pulse in the palms around the end of the first week. Some do not, and that is equally normal. Do not treat sensation as a scoreboard.
Day 8 — lengthening the hold
If the frame is stable, add a minute or two. Structure first, duration second. Five accurate minutes are worth more than fifteen sloppy ones.
Day 9 — standing on a bad day
Practise today even if you feel flat, tired or unenthusiastic. The point of a ten-day block is to prove to yourself that the practice survives an ordinary bad mood.
Day 10 — what to do next
Ten days is enough to know whether standing suits you. If it does, the next step is not a longer hold — it is better alignment. Work through the posture pages below, then decide whether to go deeper.
After the ten days: get the posture right
A ten-day block tells you whether standing suits you. It does not make the alignment correct. These are the
written posture pages, in the order they are taught:
- Warm-up — what to do before you stand.
- Wu Chi, the first position — the foundational stance, with full alignment checkpoints.
- Holding the Balloon, the second position — the classic arms-raised hold.
- Modified postures — seated and supported variations if the standard hold is not available to you.
- The energy exercise — what standing is actually training.
For the longer argument about why standing builds strength without exhausting you, read
The Iron Stake Protocol, or return to the
Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung overview.
Where to go from here
Standing is the container. Two natural next steps:
- The Marrow-Washing Daily Protocol — free guide to Xi Sui Jing, the classical companion to standing practice.
- Qigong 101 — the root course behind everything else taught here.