The horse stance is one of the most common in Tai Chi and Qi Gong (or Chi Kung), and is often used as an exercise to increase leg strength, concentration, breath depth and chi flow.
The posture and directions shown in this article are for assuming the standing meditation posture known as as Zhan Zhuang or "hugging the tree". This is reliable advice, but nonetheless, readers should be aware that Tai Chi and Yi Quan (an internal martial art) also employ the traditional wide and low stance of the horse.
Steps
Step 1. Converge your toes together so that the outer sides of your feet are parallel
Step 2. Flex your knees and bend your hip joints so that you squat slightly, as if you were sitting (until your knees are bent at a 45 degree angle)
- If your knees tend inward (knee valgus), gently rotate them outward without moving your feet. In this way the back will tend to rise. Don't let your big toes lose contact with the ground.
- If, on the other hand, your knees tend outwards (knee varus), gently rotate them inwards.
Step 3. Relax your lower back to allow the coccyx (sacrum) to stretch downward
Step 4. When the tailbone is down, extend the nape of the neck upward
Step 5. Hold your arms as if hugging a tree, with your elbows facing down
Step 6. Drop your shoulders
Step 7. Inhale to expand your body and exhale to release unnecessary tension through the bones to the ground
Step 8. Maintain the position
Most teachers recommend holding it for at least 20 minutes, but princes may feel tired much sooner, and it is advised to practice it with caution.
Step 9. Finished
Advice
- Don't lean forward. This is the most common mistake. Look at yourself in profile in a mirror to check your position. You don't even have to hang back.
- If you feel pain in the front of your thighs (quadriceps), that's a good sign.
- When you assume the horse stance, it is important to keep your back straight, because if you lean forward, you are unconsciously supporting yourself on your toes.
- If the position is taken correctly, you should not feel pain in the knees or the base of the back.
- If you keep your back straight, almost 90 degrees, you will use your heels rather than your toes to support yourself.
- Make sure the weight falls directly to the center of the feet. This means that the weight is directly centered on the Yong Quan point ("gushing spring", K 1) 湧泉 of the foot.
- Gently pull your chin in (towards your spine). Imagine your body is hanging on a thread, connected to the top of your head.
- This position is also referred to as "clinging to the tree", "hugging the tree" and "motionless pole exercise".
- In many Tai Chi classes you will be told to "push the tailbone down", ie to rotate the pelvis forward to "flatten" the base of the back. In no uncertain terms, "DON'T DO IT!". Forcing the muscles at the base of the back with excessive tension, doing this alignment the wrong way, can be harmful. So instead of "pushing the tailbone down", just "sit on your legs". Line up your hips and torso as if you were sitting neatly in a chair, then bend your knees.
Warnings
- If you feel pain in your knee joints, you are assuming the position the wrong way. Put your weight on your heels more and bend your knees less.
- If you are just starting to learn Qi Gong, take it easy. Assume this position for only a few minutes at a time. Then increase the duration by about one minute a day.
