"Great emphasis is paid by some
practitioners in achieving Wuji (or obtaining emptiness or the void) at
the beginning and/or end of any Taijiquan practice session. Since Wuji
means to embrace a limitless form of emptiness, some try to literally achieve an
empty state and ignore their predisposition and position before they embark on
practicing the Taijiquan form. As such, this may be difficult for some who
don't get the leap to nothingness, and cannot relax their breath or slow down
their pulse enough to begin such contemplation. Therefore, seeking
equality throughout the practitioner's standing structure is one approach to
achieving an "empty state."
At the onset, stand straight from the top of the head through the perineum point, with the feet parallel and separated one shoulder's width. Suspend the top of the head, as if by a string. Let the hands hand down at the sides. Stand still and quiet. The legs are straight but the knees are slightly bent, and an equal amount of weight is placed on both feet. Let the chest be full, but relaxed, and allow the upper back to lift, but do no raise the shoulders or tighten the neck. Release the tailbone, and sink the pubic region. Center the tailbone under the length of the spine and relax in order to straighten, forming one vertical reference line from top to bottom.
Look out and down on a 45 degree angle towards the earth, about 10 meters (approximately 30 feet) in front of you, and tuck the chin slightly. As you stand, release any tension or stress, but remain erect. As you stand quietly, balance the energies in you body without over exertion of thought. Start by balancing left and right on both sides of the brain and what you hear in either ear, see in both eyes, and the quality of breath in the nostrils. Relax the shoulders and balance their tensions. Relax the ribs, elbows and hips and the stress in either side. Carry this attenion all the way down through the soles of the feet, and in effect, "empty" while balancing the lateral aspects of the organism. Taiji is finding substantiality within insubstantially (and vice-a-versa), while Wuji is emptying through actualizing equality, and, as much as one can accept (or let go of), dispelling any differentiation whatsoever. If the practitioner wishes to be thorough, this process is then repeated through the ventral and dorsal, superior and inferior, and inner and outer aspects of the practitioner's standing structure.
Once the practitioner has counterbalanced all aspect of their organism, emptiness can be actualized. Because there's less (or no) differentiation, there is nothing for the practitioner to hold onto. The mind does not have to engage in any activity, because the practitioner has processed going though and releasing all that was pent up, all that was asymmetrical, and as such, the mind has nothing to grabble with─even minutely─and, therefore, the practitioner can let go and give way to emptiness."
- Up and Down Hands": The Alpha and Omega of Taijiquan Practice. By Gerald A. Sharp. Qi: The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness, Volume 25, No. 1, Spring, 2015, pp. 18-24.
At the onset, stand straight from the top of the head through the perineum point, with the feet parallel and separated one shoulder's width. Suspend the top of the head, as if by a string. Let the hands hand down at the sides. Stand still and quiet. The legs are straight but the knees are slightly bent, and an equal amount of weight is placed on both feet. Let the chest be full, but relaxed, and allow the upper back to lift, but do no raise the shoulders or tighten the neck. Release the tailbone, and sink the pubic region. Center the tailbone under the length of the spine and relax in order to straighten, forming one vertical reference line from top to bottom.
Look out and down on a 45 degree angle towards the earth, about 10 meters (approximately 30 feet) in front of you, and tuck the chin slightly. As you stand, release any tension or stress, but remain erect. As you stand quietly, balance the energies in you body without over exertion of thought. Start by balancing left and right on both sides of the brain and what you hear in either ear, see in both eyes, and the quality of breath in the nostrils. Relax the shoulders and balance their tensions. Relax the ribs, elbows and hips and the stress in either side. Carry this attenion all the way down through the soles of the feet, and in effect, "empty" while balancing the lateral aspects of the organism. Taiji is finding substantiality within insubstantially (and vice-a-versa), while Wuji is emptying through actualizing equality, and, as much as one can accept (or let go of), dispelling any differentiation whatsoever. If the practitioner wishes to be thorough, this process is then repeated through the ventral and dorsal, superior and inferior, and inner and outer aspects of the practitioner's standing structure.
Once the practitioner has counterbalanced all aspect of their organism, emptiness can be actualized. Because there's less (or no) differentiation, there is nothing for the practitioner to hold onto. The mind does not have to engage in any activity, because the practitioner has processed going though and releasing all that was pent up, all that was asymmetrical, and as such, the mind has nothing to grabble with─even minutely─and, therefore, the practitioner can let go and give way to emptiness."
- Up and Down Hands": The Alpha and Omega of Taijiquan Practice. By Gerald A. Sharp. Qi: The Journal of Traditional Eastern Health and Fitness, Volume 25, No. 1, Spring, 2015, pp. 18-24.
Standing Meditation: Lessons, Guide, Bibliography, Quotations, and Research.
By Michael P. Garofalo. Information about
Wuji,
Tadasana, Zhan Zhuang (Stance Keeping, Standing Post),
San Ti Shi,
Embrace the One, Open Hands and Close Hands, Hold the Magic Pearl, Yi Quan,
Hugging the Tree, Bear Posture, Empty State, and other Standing Meditation
Postures.
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