BENEFITS OF STANDING MEDITATION
Standing meditation can be practiced at different levels. Here it is practiced as a relaxation exercise.
Question
Can standing meditation be practiced every day (as an independent practice)? How long would it be advisable to do standing meditation in each independent practice? Are there any particular benefits to do it every day (also as an independent practice)? Is it possible to improve the resolution of our problems and overcome negativities through standing meditation as an independent practice?
Paz
Answer
Whether standing meditation can be practiced every day as an independent practice, and how long it would be advisable to practice it, depend on numerous factors, especially how deeply we go into meditation and the purpose of its practice.
It is worthwhile to note that meditation, including standing meditation, is a collective term for a genre of practice, like kungfu and chi kung. We may, for example, ask whether kungfu or chi kung can be practiced every day, and how long it would be advisable to practice it. The answer depends on numerous factors, especially how deeply we go into kungfu or chi kung, and the purpose of its practice.
The benefits of standing meditation range from the basic of relaxation to the supreme of merging with Cosmic Reality, with countless other benefits in between.
If we do not go deep into meditation and just want to relax, we can practice standing meditation as an independent practice every day. We can practice for about 10 minutes. We may practice for a longer time if we want, but we must not enter into a deep meditative state of mind.
If we want to aim for the supreme attainment of merging with Cosmic Reality, but return to our phenomenal realm after the cosmic glimpse, we may practice every day if we are at a master’s level. Remember that we need a lot of energy to break through our physical body to merge with Cosmic Reality. The recommended time is also 10 minutes, or less.
Even for masters, it is not necessary to practice merging with Cosmic Reality every day though they may be able to do it. It is sufficient, if they like the exercise, to practice once a week.
If practitioners are at the intermediate level, they should not practice every day. It would be too powerful for them, and they would over-train. It is sufficient if they practice once a week or once a month. The recommended time is also 10 minutes or less.
This exercise of merging with Cosmic Reality in standing meditation is not suitable for those at the elementary level.
It needs to be emphasized that unless they are already at the master’s level and therefore have full control of the exercise, practitioners must practice this exercise in the present of a master who can bring them back to the phenomenal world. It is so blissful and free in Cosmic Reality that it is easy to be permanently merged with it.
There are certainly benefits to practice standing meditation as an independent exercise every day if we take care that the benefits do not overwhelm us. The basic benefit is relaxation. Once we can relax, and most people can’t, we can do better no matter what we do.
Actually we practice standing meditation (but not as an independent exercise) every time we perform any exercise in our school. Our arts are triple-cultivation, i.e. cultivation of the body, of energy and of spirit.
It is possible to improve the resolution of our problems and overcome negativities through standing meditation as an independent practice, though there are other exercises that are as effective or more effective. Standing meditation trains mental clarity and internal force, which can improve our resolutions and overcome negativities.
Standing meditation can be practiced at different levels. Here it is practiced in a deep and happy state of mind.
The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread Questions on Wuji Stance or Standing Meditation in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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