- I practice Zhan Zhuang everyday.
- I practice Zhan Zhuang when I feel like I need it.
- I find this interesting, and will try it!
- I do not want to practice Zhan Zhuang.
- Never heard of Zhan Zhuang.
Zhan Zhuang greatly changed my perception of internal arts, and I’d like to share with you how and what I did.
As I learned various Wudang arts, including Taiyiwuxingquan and Taijiquan, I felt the focus was too much on copying and not enough on feeling the movement; therefore, the movements felt empty. That wasn’t something I was taught at the schools in Wudang Mountain, but I met a wise person outside of the school who told me I should practice Zhan Zhuang.
I felt somehow very convinced and followed his schedule as he told me:
- Choose your practice place.
- Make sure it is always the same time and in the same place.
- Practice Zhan Zhuang for at least 30 minutes.
- Do this everyday.
My Experiences with Zhan Zhuang:
At first, it felt painful; my shoulders were always sore, and it hurt badly, yet I tried to breathe and relax as he told me. Afterward, I felt mentally and physically tired. I was also emotionally tense.
The First Changes:
After 4 weeks, I started to feel different. I felt like my immune system worked better, and I had more energy with every movement. From this timeframe onward, I practiced Zhan Zhuang of my own free will; it felt like I had an empty battery and needed this.
After a full year of training:
During this time, Zhan Zhuang became a comfortable necessity. But after a year, I felt like my battery was full. Then I stopped practicing every day. Now, I practice only when I feel my battery is empty.
The Science Behind It:
In TCM, the body needs around 28 minutes to complete a full circulation. The 30-minute timeframe, therefore, makes perfect sense. Also, the Seven Dhatus doctrine from Ayurveda (further explained by my wife in this article) states that the body undergoes energetic transformations with the moon phases—hence, it makes perfect sense that I felt a change in four weeks.
How it improved my practice:
From the moment after the first four weeks, I felt a change in my Taijiquan and my overall control of movement. After a full year of practice, I’d say my Taiji improved 100%. It felt and looked like I transformed from Taiji student to Taiji master during that time.
Here is a video before I made the journey:
Here is a video I made after this journey:
In the video, I performed Taijiquan 13 steps on a frozen river atop a thick ice plate. It took a lot of focus and control to stay balanced, as the ground was very slippery, but I managed to stay relaxed.
Our Tutorial on Zhan Zhuang can be found here:
This is a very compact and precise tutorial on how to achieve good alignment to make your Zhan Zhuang practice more efficient.