Standing at Intention
Standing at Intention
Different standing meditations for martial and health practice
“You must mean standing at attention” said Billy, with certainty. “No, I mean intention” his teacher replied with only a hint of irritation in his voice. “Just stand in that posture and follow along. I will describe the imagery I want you to feel.”
Billy was now more confused than ever. What on earth did it mean to feel the imagery? Surely by imagery it meant pictures in his head. Feeling them seemed silly if not impossible. But his teacher had something in mind and since Billy had learned to trust this man he decided to follow the instructions despite the creeping doubt lurking at the edges of that trust.
Billy stood there and was instructed to slowly raise his arms into the posture called “Hold the Ball”. It is a position in which the arms are extended at roughly the level of the heart and rounded as if resting on a large inflated beach ball. He had done this many times in other internal arts schools and the instruction always ended at that point. Standing in the posture for as long as he could was the entirety of the exercise. He had been told many times that it was important to train this exercise and he always assumed it was an endurance lesson, nothing more.
“Now, feel as if there really is a ball between your arms. It is pressing against them along with your chest. As you sense the ball, feel it start to expand. Feel the pressure on your arms…” There was a long pause as Billy started to sense something happening in the empty space around which his arms encircled. “Now the ball contracts…and then vanishes.” The feeling disappeared.
This went on for the next 10 minutes as his teacher suggested various actions of the ball. Sometime it was outside his body pressing inwards, then it would be as if his arms were resting on it as it tried to float upwards. Each time Billy would feel the posture slightly change in response to what he was imagining.
Then came a surprising instruction.
“All the images we’ve done were while holding the posture for martial arts purposes. If you are practicing for health, the posture itself along with the imagery must be changed. Keep the two versions of Hold the Ball separate and distinct.” What two postures? Billy was holding the ball. How else can he hold it?
His teacher then explained the differences between the postures. They are illustrated here. On the left, Jim Burniche is holding it for martial purposes. On the right, Bronwen Nishikawa is holding it for health. (They teach the health and martial arts of Jiulong Baguazhang in Raleigh, NC. See info below)
Back when I was learning how to properly practice Standing Meditation, it was made clear to me that it was very important to separate the health from the martial version. This is because each posture is designed to contain specific imagery which is generated by one’s intention.
The health posture is more open and unguarded as it is used to contain sensations associated with health and vitality. The martial posture is smaller, focused and tighter as it is designed to generated power and defensive tactics. The reason for separating them should be obvious. You would not want to revert to an open health posture in combat!!
What makes these posture function is what one intends for them. As these are practiced over time, the sensations generated by one’s intention become integrated into the mind and body and thus become natural. So, while standing and enduring the pain of holding a position for a long time has some value, inserting purposeful imagery by intention brings the posture to life for both martial and health purposes.
Hence, rather than just Standing, one is Standing at Intention.
Raleigh-Durham Nine Dragon Baguazhang can be contacted here.