Time is Crucial

Time is crucial to heal the anxiety with Zhan Zhuang. The body channels can be opened with this standing mediation by doing it daily from three weeks to three years.
Sometimes the blocked energy channels (neural pathways) can be so due to mechanical factors. This makes the healing time longer. So the supplemental exercises can accelerate healing by relieving mechanical pressures on certain nerves. The supplementary exercises like hiatal pressure relieving, massaging of abdominal area, gut smashing etc. could help to heal faster.

Sometimes when playing hard sports a small dislocation of the stomach can happen like volvulus of stomach, gastroptosia etc. These can cause anxiety, too! Download this book Qigong for Health

This exercise from the book may have very good effects by producing chi or dc body electric field.

Lie on the back. Rub the abdomen with the left palm from the left to the
right and then from the right to the left, 10 times respectively. Then change the
right hand to do the same for another 10 times respectively. Rub slowly at first
then quickly, and then slowly again. Repeat for 10 minutes. (from  Qigong for Health)

Zhan Zhuang is a core exercises in the above book.

The potential energy can be discharged into kinetic energy - Fali

During Zhan Zhuang or static stance, the internal nervous energy is increased and circulates in the body. As known wherever there is tension in the body mean that there is a blockage. By putting awareness into the tension area (muscles) and relaxing it through breathing, the tensed areas becomes relaxed and nervous energy circulates freely. However, there is a school of thought, that the relaxation comes itself automatically without the need of mind but simply by just standing for long periods.

The somatic symptoms of anxiety are thought to be accumulated nervous energy somewhere which is being discharged through somatic symptoms (taking the role of a valve). This negative nervous energy (arousal from fear) can be turned into positive energy (comfortable) through relaxation which is a by product of Zhan Zhuang.

In Yiquan, the Fali is the technique in which the energy can be discharged when we go from a total relaxed body to a fast moving punch that comes from contraction of the whole body just as you fight toward the threat.

Hang! … Hang! A simple Exercise for Relieving Functional Hiatal Hernia and Anxiety

Hang! … Hang! … Hang! As often throughout the day as you can, find someplace to hang. You buy a pull-up bar on amazon.com and mount it in a doorway or hang on a door. If you do hang on a door, hang close to the hinges so you don’t end up with the door on the floor on top of you. You can hang on a car door or anything that is handy. You can even lean up against the wall with your hands above your head. You do not have to have your feet off the floor just hold on to something with your hands and let your whole body become loose.

Hang three times a day one minute.

Functional Hiatal Hernia is that type of hernia which is not a structural one where the stomach protrudes through diaphragm but just a push up of stomach against diaphragm by pinching certain parts of vagus nerve. For more info abut hiatal hernia types you can read the book of Phil Selinsky: The Human Machine A Trouble Shooter's Manual Vol. III

Supplemental Exercises - Nei Gong

These exercises that aims to stretch the whole body could be added additionally to the standing meditation: Click here. Especially, to my opinion, the exercise 9 and 10 will benefit the anxiety caused from stomach and vagus nerve due to mechanical causes such as hiatal hernia.

Cool Head and Hot Soles

Somatization disorder is the disorder of the body bio-electricity. The bio-electricity is not flowing freely or the body can not become neutral due to blocked of electrical channels.

A symptom of anxiety is the cold feet, or the discomfort and hotness in different parts of the body. This is due to some parts of the body being excessively charged positively or negatively.

What we call somatization is the process of shifting these electrical charges from one part to another without being able to be neutralized.

Hot head and cold feet is the upside down of what should be with the bio-field. Wuji standing corrects exactly this bio-electricity in such a way that the electrically charged parts of the body (yang) are grounded to the feet (yin). Cool head and warm feet is the secret to health.

Wuji Standing Versus Zhan Zhuang

Wuji Standing is easier to keep correctly when comparing to Zhan Zhuang. For the beginners the Wuji is more powerful in energy boosting and healing because the relaxation is achieved easier.
The effect of lowering energy consumption is higher than Zhan Zhuang. The body consumes less energy then energy storage will increase immediately.

The correct posture in wuji can be maintained just by bending the knees very little and keeping the three points in line: the bahui point, huiyin and the point between bubbling well at the bottom of each foot.

Zhan Zhuang needs a little more time and proficiency to lock the arms' muscles and to achieve relaxation since the hands uses a lot of energy in the beginning by affecting the energy storage. Holding the arms up uses a lot of energy compared to Wuji Standing where hands are at the sides. Wuji posture is the basic of all Zhan Zhuang postures.

Combing both Wuji and Zhan Zhuang is best but doing only Wuji can also achieve extraordinary results. The Wuji posture is more adapt for the weak people to achieve faster results.

Zhan Zhuang and the Unconscious

By doing the Zhan Zhuang exercise for a relatively long time, the body will be transformed energetically (electromagnetic bio-field). Your configuration of energetic-system will become similar to that of ancient masters. Martial arts skills and techniques will be gained through your subconscious.

Moreover, you will gain even the basic instincts of fighting of human developed during evolution but lost due to modern life. This is because Zhan Zhuang ready-to-attack positional state of ancient predator species. So, all these instincts and knowledge come subconsciously and naturally because we tune to our primitive evolutionary biological configuration.

The success of Yiquan is that all new learned techniques are in accordance to our basic fighting instincts. And what is more interesting they are improvement of our basic fighting instinctive techniques which are embedded deeply into our unconsciousness. Because any technique going against our deep instincts is futile.