Ba Gua's 12 Standing Postures & the Meridians

This PDF expands on the book, Ba Gua Nei Gong Vol. 3: Twelve Posture Standing. One of  the interesting things about the Chinese internal arts is the many different levels of practice possible even in the most fundamental exercises. Ba Gua’s 12 Standing Postures are a good example of this. Each posture builds strength and develops power by creating spiral twists that run through the whole body. These lines of torsion increase the power at the endpoints (For example: the extended hand, or the foot rooting into the floor) by “lining up the body” to create a unified structure. The postures also open and close the “cavities” of the body – the spaces that hold the organs and through which Qi and blood flow. A specific posture guides or draws the Qi and breath, so that it flows  more to one area than another. Through a similar mechanism, the postures also open and activate the Jing-Luo (channels and collaterals) or meridians. Each posture opens and activates a different meridian or group of meridians. 

This article makes the assumption that you are familiar with the Jing-Luo and their general pathways. Much of this material is covered in some detail the book, Ba Gua Circle Walking Nei Gong, the Meridian Opening Palms of Ba Gua Zhang. The Circle Walking Nei Gong postures have their own correspondences with the Jing Luo and the inter- relationship of the walking postures and the standing postures is not only interesting, but forges many critical internal body connections.