Standing Archive
Dig Your Toes in the Earth
Try throwing off your shoes and socks today at the park. Stand in the grass, and face North (remember moss grows in the north on trees). Try some Qigong…
- Position your feet directly under your hips.
- Bend your knees only to where it’s comfortable. Make sure your knees are pointing over your second toe.
- Engage your feet—draw up your arch while engaging your toes…toes (slightly) grip the earth. Dig in.
- Stack your spine so that your back is straight. Chin tucks towards your spine.
- Arms reach out in front of you—looks like you’re embracing a tree, index fingers about eye height, palms toward you, pinkie to thumb extended and engaged.
- Eyes soft gaze outward.
- Breath from your belly…exhaling all your breath from the naval to the spine.
- Smile deep and internal: know that very powerful, happy people have challenged themselves in this way before.
Try it for a couple minutes. Focus your attention on something simple around you and regard it lightly, like the drone of a bee, or the sound of a child laughing. Or notice the wind while you take in the colors around you.
Breathe deeply and stand in stillness.
Qigong Supports Dreams
Since I can remember, I have followed my dreams and my heart. My passion for life and for inspiring others fuels me to do wonderful things.
I’ve gone on adventures in the wilderness, taken leaps with my music, and I have challenged myself physically. Amidst the study and practice of Qigong, I have attained a stillness that is quite new for me. I used to never be able to stand still. My adventures have turned inward.
I can stand still for 25 minutes in a pose, very still, with my belly rising and drawing towards my spine, breathing. Before I started practicing this work, I would get overwhelmed, but I would remind myself…
All you have to do is breathe.
It is my birthright that I had forgotten.
Courage to Stand Still
Standing still gives me the courage to face and neutralize my internal enemies with stillness. It gives me the time and fortitude to forge new paths with
- wellness
- awareness
- self regard
- empathy
- power
- fun
Because I’ve experienced these things, I know that life for my family and I can be this way.
When one stands in their own power, there is no room for excuses. There is no time to engage with inferior influences. Enemies help us grow, you heard the saying…
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
It’s true. Enemies challenge you to wake up to yourself.
Qigong Dispels Fear and Wakes You Up
With Qigong, breathing is deeper and athletic. It’s an awesome workout too. All the muscles in the body are engaged, totally hooked into the core. When standing in Qigong, there are subtle micro-movements going on all the time: small, settling shifts throughout the body, because we are alive.
In Qigong postures act as a catalyst to make life more manageable. By standing still, physical and mental injuries are very apparent; they are however, more manageable. My enemies are right there, and distractions are for the moment, limited. They face me straight on and I have nowhere to run, because I’m standing still. I must face them.
