Sinking Qi Standing Meditation

Video Transcript

Audio File

Instructions

  • Stand comfortably with feet shoulder-width apart and shoulders down and back and relaxed..

  • Check your alignment: chin is down slightly so that the back of the neck is long; head comfortably back, not forward, over the spine. Shoulders should line up with the pelvis and the feet.

  • Knees are soft and supportive, not locked. 

  • Lower (lumbar) spine is flat and not arched (which would thrust the abdomen forward and out of alignment). Picture a weight hanging suspended from the tailbone and let the lumbar spine relax with the imagined weight. 

  • Arms hang at the sides of the body; you can also turn the hands so that the thumb and forefinger rest against the outer legs, making the back of the knuckles point forward and opening a little space in the armpits.

  • As you relax into this stance, picture yourself as buoyant, as if there’s a little space between all your joints and the top of your head is lifted slightly up towards the sky, elongating your spine. 

  • Eyes can be open, closed, or half-open (if open the gaze is soft and focused on a point on the floor 10-15 feet in front of you). 

  • Begin to breathe into the abdomen, allowing the diaphragm to expand with each inhale and naturally return on exhale. 

  • You can simply keep breathing like this if it’s comfortable, or you can use the mind to focus on your feet. Feel how they connect to the floor or the ground beneath you. Feel the toes engage, relaxed; feel how the sides of your feet connect to the ground. See if you can sense how even the tops of your feet are rooted and connected. 

  • Continue to breathe and to hold the stance as long as is comfortable, allowing thoughts to rise up in your mind without attaching to them. Return your mind to your feet and your connection to the ground if your attention wanders.

Modifications

  • The meditation, breathing, and visualizations can also be performed from a seated position: ensure that your back is comfortably straight and that your feet have good contact with the floor or ground. Knees should be at a comfortable 90 degree angle.

Contraindications

  • N/A

Parts of Body Benefited

  • Mind

  • Nervous System

Other strategies for emotional support:

Anger

Anxiety

Fear

Grief

Sadness

Other strategies from:

Meditation

Qigong