About Wuji - standing pose for Qigong & Tai Chi
WUJI POSTURE Feet shoulder distance apart, toes and knees pointing directly forward.
This is a standing meditation and transitional posture, similar to a child's pose in yoga.
You are practicing the state of emptiness; relaxed, trusting, comfortably supported in your own physical structure.
Wuji can be practiced with various hand placements including palms to the earth, palms facing lower abdomen
(lower dantian) or palms facing chest.
RELAX OPEN THE JOINTS Toes, ankles, slight bend in knees, hips relaxing down as though you were going to sit onto a high stool. Relax up the spine, neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, fingers. Create space under your armpits, rotate palms to face back if helpful.
FORM THE TAIJI POLE The “pole” or central axis of the body extends from the crown of the head to the pelvic floor to the center of the earth. The top of the pole represents yang energy of heaven, the bottom of the pole represents yin energy of earth. To activate the pole lift the pubic bone up, sink the tailbone down onto the imaginary high stool. Feel the front of the hip creases relax open (known as the Kwa).
Draw the entire scull back slightly to feel the connection between the sacrum and the base of the skull.
The spine will feel like it is being pulled in 2 directions.
The crown feels open and moving upward, like you are being suspended by a string from the sky, it will feel like you are hanging from a string. Your center of gravity is sinking down through the center of your feet into the earth.
The tongue rests softly on the roof of the mouth behind the front teeth. Tune into heaven and earth through the activated centerline of your body.
SINK THE BREATH INTO THE ABDOMEN
Also referred to as your lower dantian. Relax your chest to help the breath sink.
Maintain your structure as you breath long, slow, deep abdominal breaths.
USE INTENT RATHER THAN FORCE You will allow your mind to settle, focus and become more aware of your inner and outer world. Including awareness of your body structure and all sensations. Wherever you place your mental attention, qi will flow. As you develop your mind-body connection you will learn to move qi with your mental focus.
SMILE Allow a smile to spread through your eyes and shine through your heart. Smiling is a beneficial practice that lightens and opens the heart, fosters gratitude and self love, and positively affects body chemistry!
The Benefits of Practicing Wuji
The posture of stillness, receptivity, and balance
Wuji is the posture of emptiness, a return to our natural state of balance and wholeness.
Standing in Wuji, we release effort and cultivate presence.
It is the fertile stillness before movement—the place from which all forms of Tai Chi and Qigong are born.
Through this gentle alignment of body, breath, and awareness, we remember what it means to simply be.
Physical Benefits
• Encourages natural alignment of the spine and joints
• Relieves tension and decompresses the lower back, hips, and shoulders
• Improves balance, stability, and coordination
• Increases body awareness and subtle postural intelligence
• Enhances circulation and the flow of Qi throughout the body
Energetic Benefits
• Cultivates stillness at the center of movement
• Builds a reservoir of Qi in the lower Dantian
• Clears energetic blockages, restoring harmony to the meridians
• Strengthens grounding and connection with Earth energy
• Prepares the energetic body for Tai Chi or Qigong flow
Mental & Emotional Benefits
• Calms the nervous system and releases stress
• Sharpens focus and mental clarity
• Creates a space of inner silence and centered awareness
• Balances emotions and dissolves agitation
• Builds patience, trust, and confidence in natural unfolding
Spiritual & Integrative Benefits
• Returns us to the state of “before movement”—the source of creation
• Deepens the felt sense of unity between body, mind, and spirit
• Opens the heart to a sense of spacious presence and inner peace
• Aligns us with the rhythms of nature and universal flow
In Wuji, we return to the fertile stillness from which all movement is born.
Compiled by The Sacred Center – Rev. Shelley Dungan