Meditation
Meditation is the highest level of training in Wu Gong. Therefore, it is actually best to begin early on in the training so that practitioners have more years to fine-tune their practice and achieve higher levels in meditation. You can start very simply, but even the simple can be the most challenging training in Wu Gong. So start early! As I described previously, there are three parts to Wu Gong training: the fast (Martial Arts), the slow (Qi Gong and Tai Chi Ch’uan), and the stillness (meditation). Stillness allows for diving deep into one’s mind, and since the mind is very complex, it needs more time to ‘experience’.
There are standing and sitting meditations. Each kind of meditation has a specific goal. Standing meditation is ¼ physical and ¾ mental. For all Martial Arts and some Qi Gong, this training is basic, and you must practice for great progress. Sitting meditation can be the simplest, yet the most difficult and complex because you are learning to quiet the active mind. In Wei Tuo Gong, sitting mediation is taught to students only after they learned the beginning Wei Tuo Qi Gong. The reason is that first a basic background in experiencing and understanding Qi is needed. Qi Gong provides that experience and offers a base for your meditation to build upon. Moreover, the movement of Qi starts to open the meridians so the meditation already has a ‘jumpstart’.
Standing Meditaiton
Standing meditation is one of the most essential practices in Wu Gong. For those who want to learn the Martial Arts or Tai Ji Quan (Tai Chi), it is vital to practice standing meditation because it will improve your movements tremendously. It will strengthen your legs to give you a strong base to work on and teach you grounding. The stances will be stable, and the movements will be smoother and stronger. This means that the flow of the Qi will also be smoother and stronger. This practice will make everything else in the training much easier.
The basic stance in most Wu Gong styles is the horse stance. Your feet should be apart about two or three times your shoulder’s width. Start to sit down, like riding a horse. Your feet will grip the ground, and your energies will go down into the ground. You should feel so well grounded that after some time you might feel that a truck can not move you, but don’t test it!
Place your hands in front of the lower dan tian, holding a large ball of Qi with the palms facing inward, resting the ball between the hands and the abdomen. Also, keep some space in the armpits for Qi to flow easily through your arms. There will be another ball of Qi between your legs, squeeze it as if it might roll away and at the same time push your legs out. Close your eyes half way to two thirds. And breathe through the nose, always practicing the reverse breathing. It is important to make sure you have a straight back for the ren and du meridians to flow smoothly.
The ultimate goal is to sit with the thighs parallel to the ground. This is very low and therefore difficult. It is easier for the young to sit lower because their hips are still supple, and therefore they should. Beginners don’t have to sit low, but work at it so you can. At first, have the goal to build up your strength to stand for 5 minutes, just focus on your breath. When your focus sways, don’t worry. With time your focus will get better. Then, every week, add a little more time to your practice. At first, you will probably not feel the flow of the Qi, unless you have had some prior training with Qi.
Your legs will shake. But try to stay in the original stance without adjusting your weight because your legs are tired. And after a little longer, your legs will shake a lot. Do not quit!!! It’s called will power. Will power can take you wherever you want to go. Set yourself a goal, and achieve it!!! Push yourself a little each time you practice. After some time, your legs will become stronger, the flow of Qi will become stronger and the shaking will eventually stop. Master Si Tu told me that in the traditional Shaolin Temple, the students had three bricks stacked on each leg. Their hands were together in a prayer position with their elbows out flat to be able to stack three bricks on each elbow, and a stake was placed below the anus to prevent the student from giving up and falling down. This takes much time and much practice (gong fu!).
Sitting Mediation
Sitting meditation is not physically difficult like standing meditation, but mentally it is very challenging. Fine-tuning an active, random chit-chattering mind into a quiet, single focused mind is a trial of patience, but not impossible.
Meditating on a chair is by far the easiest way to sit with the least amount of effort. Sit on the chair’s front end away from the backrest. Put your feet out in front, shoulder width apart. If you can, bend your knees so they are at or about a 90° angle. Place your hands on your knees, letting only the tips of the fingers come to the edge the knees. And your feet need to grip the ground. Everyone of all ages can practice wherever he or she is at: work, home, and even in trains, planes and automobiles.
Most people think of meditating on a pillow on the floor. The sitting position with both of the feet resting on top of the legs with the soles of the feet facing up is called the full lotus. For most people this is a difficult stretch, so most people do not practice this way. So sitting cross-legged or half lotus (one leg on top of the other) is perfectly fine. And if these are too much, sit on a chair. But the other positions are also very good.
For starters, I will teach the most basic form of meditating in Wei Tuo Gong. Focus on the dan tian breathing which I described earlier in the book as reverse breathing. For starters, count the breaths. And try to slow it down. If you meditate for five minutes, and you count 60 inhales and exhales, that is too much. That is normal breathing. We usually breath 11 or 12 times a minute. Try to bring it down to 20 to 30 breaths in the five minutes. Each inhale and exhale should take the same time. So if you inhale for 8 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds. This is the first step to looking inside. Although this is very simple for beginners, it can also be very difficult! Don’t worry, when random thoughts intrude, just remember: in one ear and out the other.