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| Two of the Four Buddhist Guardian Kings of the Cardinal Directions at a temple in Shanghai. Photo taken during the author's travels around China in 2006. |
Progressing on from the SanTi martial posture, I have begun training one-legged standing, currently during a 9 day retreat at TaoLin YiQuan Academy in the countryside north of Beijing.
This posture - when done correctly with correct guidance - puts some serious strain on the hip tendons and can become quite painful at times, but afterwards one recovers very quickly and there are no detrimental side effects.
The opening hips and the raised leg are very similar in appearance to many Mahayana Buddhist statues depicting various characters from the pantheon of Bodhisattvas and guardians. In this sense, this posture feels much more like yoga than the previous ones.
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| Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Kashmir; 8th century. |
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The coach said this training is good for developing a good stamp-kick, and I have no doubt it will make sitting in meditation on the floor easier.
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