The Den Kung Fu

The Ruler - A Simple and Easy Qigong to Help with Joint Stiffness

Novel Qigong for Dealing with Traffic

Check out The Redlight Reset, a novel qigong to help relieve tension and keep a positive outlook when your vehicle is stuck in traffic. ☯️😎🙏

Quiet Standing Qigong to help quiet the mind and body.

Quiet Standing Qigong
The Den Kung Fu / Time Machine Wellness

Tai Chi is often thought of as exercise for the body, but it is also training for the mind.
The body and mind are deeply connected. When the body becomes quiet, balanced, and aligned, the mind often begins to settle as well.

Quiet Standing is a simple Qigong practice that helps calm the nervous system, release tension, and bring attention back to the present moment.

Quiet Standing is one of the simplest and most powerful Qigong exercises.

Choose a quiet place. Turn off the noise of electronics and distractions, and allow the mind to settle. by standing as vertically as possible, allowing the weight of the body to rest through the length of the skeleton.
Feel the soles of your feet connected to the ground.
Gently lift the crown of the head, as if the body is suspended from above.

Now bring your attention to the breath.
Breathe naturally into the belly for a count of six.
Hold gently for a count of four.
Then exhale slowly for a count of eight.

As random thoughts enter your mind, don’t fight them. Simply recognize them, almost as if they are a person who has walked into the room.
Politely ask them to wait while you finish your meditation.
Then set them on the shelf for later.
You don’t have to chase the thought. You don’t have to argue with it. You simply acknowledge it, set it aside, and return to the breath.

As you breathe in, turn your attention inside the body. Feel the breath expanding you from the marrow outward — gently, evenly, and in all directions.
With each exhale, release tension one layer at a time.
Begin at the crown of the head.
Soften the forehead.
Soften the eyes.
Relax the jaw.
Release the neck.
Let the shoulders settle.
Soften the chest.
Relax the belly.
Release the hips.
Let the legs soften. Keep the knees straight, but not locked. The kneecaps should feel relaxed, as if someone could gently wiggle them.
And finally, feel the feet resting on the ground. Imagine each exhale releasing a horizontal layer of tension, an inch or two thick, as you gradually work your way down the body.

Stand quietly.
Breathe deeply.
Let the body align, the mind calm, and the energy settle.

This is Quiet Standing.
Simple. Still. Powerful.

The Den Kung Fu and Time Machine Wellness — helping you move better, feel better, and age better.

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Silken Brocade #8, the final exercise in our set is presented here. We call it "Taming the Dragon". More common names are "Bouncing on the Toes", "Raising and Lowering the Heels", and even "Seven Disorders and One Hundred Diseases Disappear" (though The Den Kung Fu/Time Machine Wellness makes no such claims).

This exercise is said to harmonize the meridians. In TCM, it is associated with strengthening the kidney system (bones, vitality, and balance) and is believed to send a wave of Chi through the body and help clear stagnation. It acts as a "concluding reset" to settle and sink the qi after the stirring by the previous seven exercises.

From a modern perspective, it is believed to improve balance and proprioception, strengthen the calf muscles and lower legs, promote circulation and venous return from the legs, provide gentle loading of the bones and connective tissues, and to relax accumulated tension that may have built during the preceding seven exercises.

We hope you have enjoyed this series and found it to be of great benefit. For further training in Qigong and Tai Chi modalities, please reach out to The Den Kung Fu. ☯️😎🙏

Baduanjin Exercise #7 Punching with Fierce Eyes -using the Valsalva Maneuver. Recommend that you read about the Valsalva Maneuver before performing this movement.

Baduanjin Exercise #6 - Holding the Toes

Baduanjin 5th Silken Brocade - Rotate the Body. Said to support mental clarity and emotional stability.