In our electronically enhanced speed of silicon world we are easily lured into believing that faster is better, and motion is more productive than stillness.
But, think of the cat crouched and ready to pounce, the coiled snake, still with a spring load of potential, or the sprinter settled into her blocks. Indeed explosive movement can arise from a dynamic stillness.
In today’s episode we explore the dynamics of standing still. How settling into our physiology allows antagonistic muscle pairs to unwind the habits of tension and imbalance. How our breathing can naturally fall into a deep full body respiration.
And how everyday we can practice stillness through seemingly mundane activities such as carrying groceries, boiling water, or waiting in line at the bank.
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Show Highlights:
3:57 Seeking a portable practice
5:36 How does standing still create so much internal movement?
12:44 Teaching patients to help themselves with qi gong
14:47 Using everyday movement to….
16:50 How stillness is helpful for musicians and other performers.
19:59 Posture and breathing
23:35 Difference between seated meditation and standing still
27:23 Standing still is not the same as doing nothing
30:35 Attention to posture shifts attention
34:25 Some thoughts on the book The Dynamics of Standing Still
36:30 A question about standing and breathing
45:40 Standing qi gong is not addressing specific health issues, but rather cultivates the terrain of the entire system
Peter den Dekker teaches since 1985. He conducts chi kung en Da Cheng Chuan training in in The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Germany, Switzerland and Italy. He is the author of the book The Dynamics of Standing Still. He is a senior teacher in the lineage of sifu Lam Kam-Chuen
Peter uses chi kung as a method of improving body structure and health. Many of his students are professionals in music, dance and theater. He leads special trainings for people with immunity weakness and is a sought after guest teacher at academies and congresses. For many years Peter was a teacher and principal at various schools for shiatsu and complementary medicine. Since 1987 Peter has been a practicing acupuncturist, and for the last ten years using the Japanese Toyohari style.
Resources and Links:
Visit Peter’s website at www.standingdynamics.com
Purchase the Dynamics of Standing Still
