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Daily Workout - First Thing In The Morning
Before getting out of bed I do zhan zhuang while lying on my back with my legs straight out. I place my right hand over my navel and left hand on top of my right. I relax and breath slowly, zhan zhuang style (tongue behind front teeth, belly inflates on inhalation, deflates on exhalation). I meditate on my body, checking for stiffness, soreness, etc. I observe whatever sounds and sensations occur. Examples: My breathing. Tingling in the soles of my feet as if they are breathing. Cramps in my calves. Arthritic throb in my right thumb. Congestion in my sinuses. Believe it or not the meditation can result in the sinus congestion clearing or arthritic pain going away. I do not will it away. I just focus on the place and relax it, let the flow, whether imagined or not, reach the spot. It does not always work. The larger purpose of the meditation is to relax and focus. After the zhan zhuang meditation I do leg stretches and self-massage while still lying on my back. First...
My experience with Zhan Zhuang.
I started daily practice in April, 2018. 6 poses, 2 minutes in each pose. It was difficult for the first 2-3 weeks. Then overnight I went from struggling to hold poses for 2 minutes to able to maintain each pose for 5 minutes. It wasn't easy but it wasn't as hard as 2 minutes in each pose the day before. I read that such overnight differences are typical. I do not know how that happens. In the Fall of 2018 I had bronchitis and the flu, which set my progress back. In February of 2019 I had a flare up of inflammatory arthritis which also set me back, especially my balance. My balance was also affected by a bunion that cropped up on my left toe in January. No longer could I close my eyes without getting wobbly. There probably were side effects of the methotrexate I took for the inflammatory arthritis. In May of 2020 I stopped taking the methotrexate. For 2 months, mid-March until mid-May I did not go outside. I gained some weight which also affected my practice. ...
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