Why standing post (Zhan Zhuang) can make bone marrow full and body strong? Secret is in stretching tendons and pulling bones! Post deep in ground, very stable, no matter wind or rain, it not move! Big sky and universe, stand alone, look down on everything! Stand between heaven and earth, fill the gaps of universe!
Standing post is way to make body’s qi channels fully stretch. It let essence, energy, spirit go back into marrow. People who do standing post often have strong bones and tendons. One sign of this strength is person look not fat, but weight is not light, this show body healthy. Some people look fat, but is soft fat, lots of flesh, when weigh, very light, this actually show essence not stay in bones.
Misunderstandings
Why standing post can make marrow full and body healthy? Important part is secret of stretching tendons and pulling bones! In traditional martial arts, the “stretching tendons and pulling bones” practice have outside and inside methods, inside method is secret, many martial artists dream of this high-level skill, but not many really understand what it mean.
In martial arts world, some descriptions of stretching tendons and pulling bones very wrong, but some close, like “every joint open,” “tendons and bones expand,” “like twisting towel,” “under standing post condition, tendons expand and bones prop up,” “half-open umbrella,” where “tendons like umbrella ribs, bones like handle, flesh like fabric.” These descriptions vivid, but still not enough.
What really is “stretching tendons and pulling bones”? It subtly talk about standing post’s postures and movements, actually just traditional martial arts’ “stretching tendons.” Scientific standing post have two steps. First step, static standing post, keep small alternate movements in specific posture, build on this to do big movements. Traditional martial arts call this “stretching tendons and pulling bones.”
Like in Xingyi Quan’s three-body stance standing post, explain with shoulder, elbow, hand movements set. Shoulders prop up, armpits open, elbow always below shoulder to wrist line, about 90 degrees; front hand vertical to front toe, back hand pulled back to belly, have pulling force between front and back hands. On this base, do small alternate movements of sinking shoulders, dropping elbows, gently pulling back and forth, then use little more force, push a bit faster forward and backward. This also called “stretching tendons and pulling bones.” Posture and small movements make sure shoulder and big arm muscles fully stretch, big movements and shakes can effectively and sensitively pull muscle spindles through joints and tendons. Do big movements and shakes in sinking shoulders, dropping elbows, give strong pull stimulation to sensors in big arm muscles and shoulder muscles.
“Stretching tendons and pulling bones” is about expanding muscles and pulling tendons. Pulling tendons (sinews in old Chinese medicine, tendons in modern medicine) stimulate muscle spindles and tendon organ sensors attached to them. When muscles pulled, muscle spindles also get stimulated, lead to more sensory impulses, create reflex response. Long time pulling with conditioned and unconditioned stimuli can build reflex that increase speed and power of punches, kicks. This high-level force-generation technique is core of internal martial arts like Xingyi Quan, Bagua Zhang, Tai Chi Chuan. So, standing post can “supplement what is lacking between heaven and earth” – secret of stretching tendons and pulling bones
