Positions 6 to 9 (pp.

104-119) in this book have a strong effect on your circula

tory system and, as with all intense exercise, push up your blood pressure durin
g the period of training. Attempt these positions only if your doctor advises th
at your normal blood pressure level will permit this.
Our bodies are filled with energy, but it is blocked within us. We are born burs
ting with life, yet we grow old depleted of vitality. Zhan Zhuang is a unique ex
ercise that reverses this process of decay. Developed in China, it builds up and
releases an extraordinary flow of natural energy that is dormant inside us, and
raises the body and mind to remarkably high levels of fitness. The energy in o
ur bodies is so natural and so spontaneous, we almost never stop to think about
it. It is like the constant rhythm of our lungs and the ceaseless circulation of
our blood.
Thousands upon thousands of chemical reactions are taking place at any one momen
t and countless electrical impulses are passing through every part of the system
. Not only that, but we are all part of the entire flow of energy around us. The
intricate networks of energy in your body form part of the energy of the natura
l world. You are a miniature field of the electromagnetic energy of the universe
.
We begin with the fusion of the life energies of our parents. From the moment of
conception, a new pattern of vitality is born and begins to grow. Floating eff
ortlessly in the fluid of the womb, we absorb nutrition, protection, and immunit
y. We move with the rhythm of our mothers' bodies. Sustenance flows into us thro
ugh the umbilical cord at the centre of our emerging being. But from the moment
of birth we undergo radical changes.
The sustenance that previously came to us in the womb must now come from elsewhe
re. We are forced to draw it in for
ourselves using our lungs, mouths, senses, and muscles. Over time, even the way
we breathe begins to change. At first we breathe naturally, from the belly, as
if still centred around the umbilical cord. But as we age, the centre of breathi
ng gradually moves upward in the torso, so that by late childhood most people th
ink that they control their breathing with their chest muscles. little by little
, just staying alive causes tension to accumulate in our chests, shoulders, neck
s, and brains. From the moment we first open our eyes as newborn babies our live
s fill up with motion. We see everything around us constantly moving. Our bodie
s are continuously experiencing nervous and muscular tension of one sort or anot
her. Our minds are endlessly being pulled this way or that. Even when we sleep,
research has shown that our mental activity continues. If you ask people to sto
p thinking for a few moments and just forget
everything, you will most likely find that they simply cannot do it. Their minds
continue to scamper around like a monkey. The mental tensions in our lives have
a direct and disastrous effect on everything else. A very high proportion of th
e most common ailments that afflict people are related to tension
either as a di
rect result of it, such as headaches, heart attacks, and nervous disorders, or i
ndirectly, as a result of the body's internal
organs and immune system being weakened by tension in the muscles, organs, and n
erves. We rarely relax. Our original state of tranquil growth is lost to us. We
move about in the air, but we are unable to rest in it as we once were able to r
est in the waters of the womb. People try all sorts of ways to relax: watching t
elevision; listening to music; jogging; eating and, of course, sleeping. Others
find yoga and meditation helpful. But only rarely do any of these ways relax bot
h the nervous system and the entire muscle system. In the practice of Zhan Zhuan
g, however, we can find a way to relax the nervous and the muscular systems simu
ltaneously. This clears the pathway for the renewed circulation of the original,
natural energy in our bodies and minds. Doing this is the secret of the Way of
Energy.
Using your original natural energy does not mean entering into a weak, mindless
trance. Relaxing does not mean going limp. The secret of the art of internal str

ength is to rediscover and release the powerful energy that is dormant and block
ed within you. Complete relaxation is only one part of the process; the other is
the development of mental and physical capacities that have lain untapped since
birth. It is common knowledge that we use only a tiny percentage of our brain
cells. It is also true that we are aware of and train only a percentage of our p
hysical capacity.
Most forms of exercise
running, swimming, weight training, team sports, and aero
bics classes concentrate on developing our physical strength. Most develop key m
uscle groups and have a powerful effect on the lungs, heart, and cardiovascular
system. But there is a limit to the extent and benefit of such exercise. Long b
efore your muscles are worked to their full capacity, the demand on your heart a
nd particularly on your lungs is so intense that sooner or later you become fati
gued and must stop. The result is not only temporary exhaustion, but limited dev
elopment of your muscle power. The Zhan Zhuang exercises outlined in this book w
ill enable you to exert the full capacity of your muscle networks over long peri
ods without exhausting your lungs. In fact, your breathing will become even deep
er and slower, generating a generous supply of oxygen to your heart. At the same
time, your pulse rate will rise, enabling your heart to carry these high volume
s of oxygen to your muscles and internal organs. Even though you will be exercis
ing yourself as never before, you will not be left gasping grotesquely for air.
You will be able to exercise without fighting against yourself. Very few other f
orms of exercise stimulate, cleanse, and massage all the body's internal systems
in this way.
EXERTION AND RELAXATION
To accomplish this total cleansing and strengthening and to reduce radically the
level of muscular and nervous tension in your body at the same time requires a
completely different approach to exercise. It requires a method of
training that combines exertion and relaxation simultaneously. This is different
from doing vigorous exercise, such as calisthenics, and following this with a r
esting period. The Way of Energy is based on a dynamic and simultaneous fusion o
two apparently contradictory activities.
f exertion and relaxation