Cultivating Middle Balance

Change of routine this week. Before breakfast I do ba duan jin to loosen up. After breakfast I do an hour sitting zhan zhuang followed by an hour standing in one position. In the late afternoon I do an hour long medley of 8 standing positions.

The position I stand in for an hour is what Mark Cohen calls Cultivating Middle Balance. It is easy to describe. From wu chi position I raise my forearms til they are perpendicular to my upper arms, palms facing the floor. Until this week I never held this position for more than 5 minutes. It is not difficult for me to hold it for an hour. I listen to Satie's Gymnopedie, which is repetitious so I never know how long I have been standing. Minor physical discomfort comes and goes. Stiffness and/or numbness in my hands, wrists, and shoulders. Tightness or soreness in my leg muscles. Usually I ignore the discomfort and it goes away on its own. Sometimes I mentally scan my form and discover that a foot is pronated, or shoulders hunched, or weight shifted, which I gently fix.

I do not get bored. I monitor my form and breathing. My mind might wander and think about anything. I think about what I am thinking about and let it go. This goes for sitting or standing meditation. Sitting zhan zhuang at first bothered by legs but now is no physical challenge at all. Either standing or sitting tingling (buzzing) sensations come and go. Straight up my spine and to the back and sides of my head. Or in my hands. Occasionally the tingling moves continually in a spiral path around my spine, into my head, and above my head. These sensations come and go all during the hour but tend to intensify later in the hour. I don't know what they are but guess they are good for me. They feel pretty good, sometimes ecstatic.

The first couple of mornings after my leg muscles, knees and hips were a little sore. Not any more. I have more energy, am more agile and sensitive. I sleep more soundly and do not need to pee during the night. So I rate this change an unqualified success and will keep on this routine. After the morning session I share a pot of green tea with Sabine and read.

The afternoon session is the 8 martial arts positions in Mark Cohen's book with one substitution. Instead of Cultivating Middle Balance as the 7th position I do Standing In The Stream, which is pretty similar, the arms more or less diagonally to the sides rather than pointing forward, palms facing down. This hour goes faster than the morning hour, thanks to the position changes. On the other hand every position change requires adjustment, and brings its own issues. I spend about 10 minutes in the first position (Holding The Ball) and about 7 minutes in each of the following ones, using a timer that chimes every 7 minutes.