The Mi Zong standing meditations postures

The Mi Zong standing meditations postures from the Lotus Health Institute

1. Earth - Wu Chi (spine)

Start by doing the standing exercises for five minutes a day. After three weeks, increase this to ten minutes, three weeks later, increase to 15 minutes and 20 minutes after a further three weeks. Stand with your feet a shoulder width apart, toes pointing forward, either parallel, or turned slightly outward; unlock your knees. Let your hands hang loosely by your sides and drop your shoulders. Imagine that, like a puppet, your whole body is hanging, suspended from your head. A string holds your head from a point at the top of your skull, directly in line with the tips of your ears. Feel yourself sinking down, relaxing, as you hang from the string. Breathe calmly and naturally through the nose. Stand quietly, allowing your whole system to calm down, for up to five minutes. As you do this, mentally follow through the points on the illustration, starting at the top of your head. Your eyes look forward and slightly downward; drop your chin so that your throat is not pushed forward. Release any tension in your neck. Relax your hips and belly. Let the bottom of your spine unfold downward so that neither your belly nor your bottom is sticking out. The dantien lies 3-6 inches below your navel, one third of the way into your body. It is in line with the suspension point at the top of your head. From below your kneecaps, your roots extend downward. From your knees upward you rise like a tree, resting calmly between the earth and the sky. Your weight is evenly distributed between your left and right feet. These roots sink deep into the earth. The weight of your body rests in the middle of the soles of your feet. Return to these points again and again until you are able to assume the Wu Chi position naturally and perfectly.

2. Moon - Monk Gazes at the Moon (brain)

Slowly bring both your arms upward and forward to form an open circle in front of your face. Visualize holding a full moon or a crystal ball.

3. Mercury - Air (lungs)

Stand like a crane with arms extended and fully stretched from shoulders. Hands raise no higher than shoulders and hang limp with fingers pointing to the ground.

4. Venus - Water (kidney) Stand by the Stream

Imagine that you are standing in a stream with the current flowing toward you. Bend your knees, and sink down about 4 inches. Imagine that you are suspended from the top of your skull and that your wrists are supported by an invisible strap that runs from the back of your neck. Two balls float on the surface of a running stream, you remain motionless, steadying them. Your body sinks down so that your feet and calves reach down into the soil of the bed of the stream and take root.

5. Sun - Fire (heart)

Raise palms to face outward at shoulder/ heart level.

6. Mars - Fire (blood) Stand Like a Candle

Raise your hands outward so that the backs of your hands are level with your cheeks. Make a pyramid with your arms with your face in the middle. Imagine that your wrists are supported by a strap that runs around the back of your neck. Your open hands hold an imaginary balloon in front of your face. Press gently outward on the balloon as if to guide it away from you, but do not tense.

7. Jupiter (liver) Standing Like a Tree

Slowly bring both your arms upward and forward to form an open circle in front of your chest at about shoulder level. Your open palms face your chest. (The distance between the fingertips of your hands is 6-9 inches. The tops of your thumbs are no higher than your shoulders. Your wrists are as wide apart as your shoulders. Your elbows are sightly lower than your wrists and shoulders. The inner angle between your upper arm and forearm is slightly more than 90 degrees.) Imagine that you are holding (resting on) a large inflated balloon between your hands, forearms, and chest. Your armpits and upper arms rest on two small balloons. Your thighs gently hold one balloon in place. A huge balloon takes you weight behind you, like a beach ball on the sand. The weight on your feet remains slightly forward.

8. Saturn - Monk Holds a Bag of Rice (spleen)

Begin in wu chi, turn the palms forward, lift the hands until they are at hip level and parallel with the ground as if holding a big bag of rice.

9. Return To Earth - Wu Chi Posture to Complete the Cycle (Sacred Nine)

Stand until calm and relaxed.

Points to remember:

• Keep eyes open, tongue on the roof of the mouth.
• Relax while holding the correct posture, check for tension over and over again. Use your mind to travel through your body from top to toe, relaxing every joint, tendon and muscle. Imagine creating more space between the bones at each articulation point.
• Women: increased blood circulation may make menstrual flow heavier, therefore decrease standing time during menstruation.
• After completing the cycle, rub your hands over your face, as if you were giving yourself a wash, this increases the flow if chi in your hands and the circulation of chi through your facial skin.
• General sensations most commonly experienced by people in the first six weeks of training include numbness or tingling in some parts of your body; aching, sometimes associated with old wounds, and muscle fatigue; warmth; shaking or trembling (just continue to stand, this will subside); asymmetry, one side of body or one limb feels longer, hotter, higher; comfort/relaxation, this is the goal.

The Inner Smile

An inner smile radiates powerful healing energy. Starting with the eyes, practice the inner smile by closing your eyes and smiling sincerely into them. Relax and let a deep, loving smile shine through your eyes. By relaxing your eyes you can calm your entire nervous system. Continue by smiling down the front line (from the eyes down through your vital organs towards the genitals effortlessly like a waterfall): into the face (especially the jaws), neck, heart and blood circulatory system, the lungs, liver, kidneys, adrenals, pancreas, spleen, bladder and genitals. The Middle Line: Smile down from the mouth to the stomach, small intestine, large intestine and rectum, simultaneously swallowing saliva. The Back Line: smile down the inside of the vertebrae of your spine, one by one.

Get more information at the Lotus Health Institute website.

--
L. "Taz" Hicks
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