Temple Blog Meditation Practice Posture Problems

Meditation Qigong Practice

In sitting down Qigong, practitioners will always encounter various problems and ask their masters to help to solve them. It is a normal phenomenon, which is also determined by the characteristics of sitting down in Qigong. Among the various problems that arise, some can be understood and mastered by the practitioners through the practice’s depth. But for some issues, the masters must provide the practitioner with a detailed, in-depth understanding, clarify the essence of the problem, and provide adequate explanations or specific guidance.
The problem associated with meditation practice are varied but generally summed up as postural, breathing, intention, relaxation, calmness, distraction, sensation, deviation and arrangement.

Posture Meditation

The posture commonly used in sitting is mainly sitting down, lying down (flat or on a side) and standing, with walking as an aid. Each posture has its own characteristics and utility, and one should be able to choose accordingly to the specific situation.

The choice and application of posture

The choice and application of sitting posture, in addition to strength, should start from the practitioner’s actual condition, physique, and practice situation and can not be left unchecked.

I. Combined with the actual condition

For different diseases, one can choose different postures. For example, horizontal and sitting positions should be used for epigastric symptoms, ulcer disease, gastric ptosis, and other spleen and stomach disease. Horizontal relaxation is more suitable for abdominal tension as it reduces pain. People with hypertension, glaucoma and neurasthenia who belong to head symptoms such as deficiency of the upper and lower body and hyperactivity of the liver Yang should do a standing meditation position. This choice is to guide the Qi and blood of the head down through the tension of the lower body, which helps to relieve stress. Visceral sagging, Qi and blood deficiency, and weak physique, people should use horizontal meditation posture.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes in “treating the same disease with different diseases and treating different diseases with the same treatment”. According to the actual condition, two postures can be alternated throughout the day. Since the disease conditions of patients are diverse, some may be combined with other diseases, such as gastric ptosis combined with neurasthenia.

II. Combined with the actual physique

A strong person can start with a sitting position. If one has head symptoms, one should practice in a standing position. When the physical strength is low or for an elderly person, it is best to use the horizontal practice. When the strength gradually improves, one can change from a horizontal posture to a sitting, then a standing posture.

III. Combined with the idea of the location

Choosing the proper posture can help the practitioner to focus on one part of the body. According to practical experience, standing usually makes it easy to focus on the Yongquan acupoint, and the flat horizontal type is easy to concentrate on the umbilicus.

IV. Combined with the training stage

In addition to the strong physique, people with the disease at the beginning of practice can use a horizontal combined with a sitting position. In the abdominal breathing exercise, one can first do a horizontal side posture combined with flat and sitting to facilitate the formation of abdominal breathing. After a while, one can combine it with a standing posture.

V. Combine the practice habit

To quickly adapt and master posture, one can think of their daily posture habits. Some people like to lie on their side, some like to stand on their feet, and some like to sit or walk.

VI. Combine the morning and evening conditions

Morning and evening have different demands in the day. Morning is the beginning, and evening is the end of the day, so there should be a difference in the choice of posture. In the morning, one should exercise the muscles and bones and then stand outside to clear the head more easily. Before falling asleep at night, generally, one should take a horizontal posture to cultivate a sleep mood.

The specific selection of the posture

Meditation practice, if in a certain period, takes a relatively fixed posture to practice. The early stages are often due to non-habit and lead to fatigue, so an adequate posture is best chosen.
Side horizontal posture is often used on the right side. Side horizontal can also be used to lie on the left side. Because the heart is located on the left side of the chest, lying on the left side may pressure the heart. It leads to restricted heart blood flow so that the body’s circulation is reduced. It is easy to make the body numb. The right lying position is along the direction of gastrointestinal peristalsis. It makes the stomach empty fast, making it easy to improve appetite. Of course, this is not absolute. Some people lying on the left side will not affect the practice. One can change the practice posture. No matter what kind of posture is maintained in the meditation practice, it is necessary to make a certain part of the body muscle group in a state of relative tension. Therefore, after a long time, it is easy to appear some kind of fatigue phenomenon. This is more likely to be reflected at the beginning of the practice. Long-time practitioners will occasionally appear this phenomenon.

Be healthy. Live better.

Shifu Shi Yanjun