GET ENERGIZED BY DOING NOTHING

This is not a typo. According to Paul Chek from the C.H.E.K Institute, you can actually become as strong as an oak tree by doing “nothing”. In his book, How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy! Paul discusses Yiquan and the Nature of Energy – The fine art of doing nothing and achieving everything as described by Master Fong Ha, famous Tai Chi and Qigong expert. Paul explains that “aging can be seen ultimately as a decline in the life force of vitality, with death the end point of this decline, and since disciplines like Yiquan (standing meditation) work directly to cultivate vitality, they might well prove to be among the most valuable resources available to us as we strive for the longest, most vital lives possible.” Yiquan or standing meditation does not require any special equipment and can be performed anywhere. It is very simple to do. Following are the instructions:

1. Stand with good posture with your knees unlocked, feet parallel to each other and about hip width apart.
2. Comfortably lengthen your spine to make yourself taller. (Do this by drawing your belly button toward your spine, tuck your chin slightly, relax the shoulders and arms and let the shoulders roll back slightly instead of forward.)
3. Check to see that you are correctly positioned with your ear, shoulder, hip joint, knee and ankle should line up when viewed from the side.
4. You should feel balanced on both feet.
5. Check to see that your tongue is resting on the roof of your mouth just behind your front teeth. (You can confirm this by swallowing as the tongue will go where it belongs.) Keep the tongue relaxed at all times.
6. Let your arms hang at your side. Make sure they are completely relaxed.
7. Now, pretend that you are holding a big bubble (full of life force/energy) about the size of a basketball right in front of your lower abdomen/pelvis region. You should feel and imagine the big bubble being half in and half out of your body.
8. Change the size and location of the bubble moving it up and down the body to wherever you like, remembering to keep half the bubble in your body.
9. During this standing meditation breathe in through your nose and out through your nose or mouth. Breathe deep, slow, rhythmical and relaxed, never forced.
10. Make sure that when breathing your belly expands as you breathe in, allowing your diaphragm room to drop down and pull air into the bottom of your lungs.

You will find that as you are doing “nothing” your mind will wander. You will find yourself thinking about many things in your life especially the stressors. Stay relaxed and simply observe these thoughts as if you were watching a movie. Each time one of these thoughts presents itself, gently guide your mind back to that quiet place. If your mind does not want to cooperate, count your breaths so you can focus on something that is not stressful. This will allow you to expand, get lighter, have deeper and more relaxed breathing and feel energized.

Should your body get tired of standing while doing “nothing”, you can sit and continue the meditation but continue to stay aligned as before. Stand up again when you feel rested. Strive to do “nothing” for 30 minutes a day. An hour a day is even better.
Most people have reported some of these changes after doing “nothing” for 100 hours (over a period of time):

o Improved sense of awareness
o Improved mental clarity
o Improved energy
o Improved athletic ability
o Disappearance of chronic ailments
o Tighter and more youthful looking skin
o Brighter eyes
o An increased ability to sense other people’s feelings and thoughts.

You might shake. When doing “nothing” correctly, your body will increase its Chi (energy) reserves. It is believed that this is life force energy and it contains all the wisdom and knowledge in the Universe. As Chi builds in your body, it will find areas where you have blockages to Chi flow and will try to work through the resistance. This is when you might experience shaking in your body. You might feel shaking in your leg, lower back, your shoulder or arm, maybe even an internal organ(s). You must not let this frighten you because this means your body is healing, getting stronger and more complete so your soul can express itself through a more perfect body. Can you believe it, all this from doing “nothing”! So, the next time you are feeling stressed, burned out and don’t feel like working out at all----do “nothing”.