Master Tse’s Qigong Dao #11

Relax the Muscles and Joints

Relaxation can be found in many forms. We should be able to relax when we are sitting, standing, lying, in fact whatever position we choose. That is why in Qigong we have so many standing positions, Zhan Zhuang站椿. In Chinese Kung Fu there is also a lot of standing position and that are very powerful. In the standing the first few minutes and half an hour, the feeling is different because the longer we stand the relaxation goes deeper. We also need to relax when we move which is difficult, so the majority of people cannot do it. Generally people are tense and this is why we need to learn Qigong, to learn to relax when we are moving. When we have done a lot of Qigong, we can relax better. However, in the west most of the time when we are doing the exercises and movement are about moving faster or with more strength. This can make us tense and tension causes stiffness, and stiffness causes illness. So we need to relax when we are moving or standing still. We should not tense the muscles and joints. When we move we should let the skeleton move and this allows our mind to relax as well. This is proper relaxation.

Michael Tse