8 Brocades Qigong Practice

this is the Qigong practice of the eight broke AIDS or bodwin jinn we start in a standing meditation left hand over right for women on the Dantean men reversed right hand over left centering breathing quieting the eight brocades are named after the silk brocade x' suggesting a feeling of smooth silken movements the first is for the triple heater two hands support the heavens the arms reach up fingers interlace and then the palms turn towards the sky as you exhale the arms begin to slowly float out and down this repeats inhale gathering from in front of the body fingers interlace about the level of the forehead the palms extend overhead exhaling the arms slowly again release out clearing and releasing this is an excellent practice for reducing stiffness in the shoulders and it also improves blood circulation it's very good for the triple heater which is like our body's thermostat if your body were a three-story building for example you wouldn't want the temperatures to vary too much otherwise you might avoid a room if it's too cold or burn up if you're stuck on the hottest floor it's believed that our triple heater also determines the way we interact with ourselves and the world around us I don't support appropriate behavior within relationships so that we aren't too standoffish too friendly overly nosy or too aloof a balanced triple heater means we act appropriately in any given situation exhaling the arms float out and down and then to finish this first part of the eight brocades will clear the arms hands come up to about the level of the heart and the palms float down in front of the body clearing and letting go the second practice we'll do is for the stomach and spleen the left hand exhales down and the right hand presses apart the two palms are opposing directions then you inhale and change your arms out so now your right hand presses down and your left hand presses up on an in-breath the arms exchange and on the out-breath the two hands press apart as though you're pressing two objects that are quite heavy apart from each other inhalation exchange the arms and again exhale about the level of the the ribs and the level of the ears the two hands press apart continue and repeat the arms alternate and exchange exhaling the arms press apart this is very good for the stomach and spleen it tones the core and it's called raising the hands to condition the stomach and spleen tele P way then juice show in Chinese the benefit of having a healthy spleen and stomach is that we tend to be more stable and in balance when these two organs are also in balance when out of balance we may have a tendency to feel more anxious ungrounded needy or fear towards over thinking over analyzing so having this balanced stomach and spleen can work towards sustaining a very balanced mind nurturing stable body finishing as you exhale with the right hand pressing down the left hand pressing up and then to release both hands come down and we'll finish again with a clearing the hands gently fold in front of the body letting go and releasing clearing some space for the next practice for the third brocade we step the feet wider apart in what's known as horse stance inner elbows come together hands make soft fists and then exhale draw the left hand open in an L shape drawing the right hand back away from that inhale elbows come back together back to the hands together legs straighten exhale right hand mix in L shape and you draw the left hand away from that hand inhaling back up and exhaling slowly pulling away with both hands as though you're opening a bow this practice is called drawing the bow and letting the arrow fly or sometimes called open the bow to shoot the golden eagle in Chinese the name is Luo yokai Gong Sushil yell very good for the liver the heart and the lungs for the liver the sense organ is associated with the eye or vision and so in archery it's super important to have a precision in your gaze healthy vision and clarity there's also a sign of a balanced liver art trees also an art form that works strongly with intention the E and the practice is excellent for strengthening the area of the heart the Chinese character for e is formed using the radicals for the heart the Sun and the verb to establish or stand our hearts and the light of the Sun can help us cultivate clear positions and directions for the lungs associated with inspiration we can be inspired to have true aim and an accurate mark to be a precise Archer we call on our hearts intention draw in deep inspiration and use clear vision ending this SPRO Cade again with a clearing filling with deep intention inspiration insight and clarity the fourth brocade is called looking back to eliminate five fatigues and seven illnesses or sometimes called the wise owl turns its head to eliminate fatigue start with the feet apart exhale turn your head to one side simultaneously open your palms and arms inhale back to Center with the head and the hands exhale turn the head the other way and again open the arms and the hands out repeating this inhale head turns to Center hands turn to Center exhale palms open out head turns out I like to take a soft Bend of the knees as I inhale and also turn the palms towards the Earth exhaling the head turns and the palms turn out like straightening continuing like this allowing the head to turn from side to side like an owl might although an owl can probably turn its head 180 or even 360 degrees it's not quite what we're going for here however the head in Taoism is where the abode of the inner gods is believed to exist we want the pathways there as clear as can be with a clear pathway to those inner God's our intuition may be more fine-tuned we can appease those gods and more importantly we can release some chronic tension very common to have tension in the neck and shoulders particularly in these days and ages when we sit in front of computers a lot or carry heavy things on our shoulders so this benefits the shoulders tremendously particularly a muscle called the sternocleidomastoid aiding our fatigue and improving our overall ability to feel release the neck and shoulders again finishing this with a clearing of the hands releasing and letting go this next practice starts with a legs and horse stance so step the feet wide apart bend the knees exhale towards the right leg swing the head and chest around to the left leg and then inhale the heart and head up exhale over towards the leg again and then swing the body around towards the right leg inhale the heart head rise up repeating exhale towards the right slowly migrate around to the left lion leg and inhale come up continue this sequence which is called interestingly bending over wagging the tail to calm heart fire this is a translation from kenneth Cohen a Qigong teacher also sometimes this is called swing the head and tail to eliminate heart fire heart fire is xinhua and what this benefits is indeed the feeling in the heart sometimes when it's overexerted the feeling of being burnt out or out of control and ideally the heart fire is burning beautifully soft warm light a sense of kindness and harmony is developed when the heart fire is in balance and this is a sense of harmony within you and around you a feeling of balance and ease within the self can also improve relationships with others to finish this one again step the feet closer together clearing again with the hands drawing down inviting a sense of tranquility and quietness this next when the hands start on the lower back and kidneys trace the fingers down the backs of the legs and then inhale start to draw up the inner legs tracing to the inner groins but where the body torso starts float the hands off the body and up towards the sky and from the sky draw down some essence and spirit filling into the body take an in-breath again and then hands draw to the lower back exhale trace the hands down the backs of the legs this is the urinary bladder or line as you inhale trace up the inner Lakes a kidney Meridian line about where the groins are float the hands off the body reach upwards towards the sky as you exhale draw down from the sky essence and spirit this is what the sky the heavens is believed to give our form again inhale and then take the hands to the lower back exhale draw the hands tracing the backs of the legs and down coming up the inner legs inhale gather from the earth what feeds and nourishes the body the blood and bones take the hands up overhead towards the sky draw from the sky things that support the spirit and essence filling into the body this practice is called two hands climb the legs to strengthen the kidneys Leon Chopin Joe Gulshan yell very good for the Jing or essence healthy kidneys help regulate our energy that we use daily as well as through a lifetime it relates to the element of water which when imbalance can give one more tenacity inner strength a sense of belonging and an understanding of our origins it relates to stillness silence ease when in balance we get that sense of greater quietness and stillness even if we're active and busy for example if you're running a marathon or in a boxing match you still possess an inner silence a quietness and ease within the strength and perseverance you need to continue finishing here with a slow descent of the hands down clearing out and then a final clearing of this practice the hands slowly fold in front of the chest creating that sense of greater inner quietness ease and stillness now this next brocade the seventh one is sometimes called punching with an angry gaze to increase strength feet step apart and you exhale your right palm and a fist forward inhale draw that hand back elbow bends change out the arms exhaling the left hand forward inhale the palm turns back up the fist turns up and as you exhale the palm fist turns forwards and down again I'm bending my knees up and down a little bit it feels good to add a little bit of movement for the knees and hips here I find this practice is particularly good for the liver the liver can express anger and anger can be both healthy and unhealthy this practice works to create a sense of appropriate balance in the liver so that anger when it does manifest expresses itself in a healthy appropriate way this is also really good for reducing stress and strengthening concentration good for prevention if arthritis through the hands the wrists the elbows just take another in-breath and then start to release releasing with that clearing settling letting go of inappropriate anger making room for some kindness now this last of the eight broke aids practice is a great name called shake the back seven times to eliminate the hundred illnesses Bay ho Chi tin by being show you exhale and fold down curling the chin down rolling down just as far as feels comfortable you don't have to go as far as I have gone down but then inhale and roll up tailbone down bellies strong open pack into a little backbend exhale come up lift the heels up and down and shake the body again repeat curl forwards and down rolling towards the ground bend the knees here as much as feels comfortable and then inhale roll your way back up keep rolling up and back tailbone moves forwards and down be careful not to compress anywhere in the lower back and then exhale come up and a little up on the heels just to shake and settle the chi you want to think about when you pour flour into a jar kind of shake it around to let it settle this is the idea that we're working with here having done some practices that regulate in balance that she we also want that Chi to settle and find just a streamlined presence in the body exhale back up and a little jolt a little shake of the heels we're actually only doing this five times it's described to be a seven but you can do this seven times at home if you'd like the little shake at the end as you exhale come up that little shake is great for conditioning that she's smoothing it out this practice is overall great for circulation it helps recover from fatigue makes your body feel refreshed your spirit feel refreshed it's particularly active in the back bending aspect so sometimes believed to help the kidneys the urinary bladder conditions the liver and lungs we'll finish here again with a clearing allowing the hundred illnesses the by being to be eliminated through our practice of Chi goal sometimes also called the Dalian or tau estiga so we will end with a standing meditation women left hand over right men right over left the hands are placed over the done Thien which is the energy center a place where Chi is planted cultivated and harvested this ends the eighth brocades practice

Channel: Mimi Kuo-Deemer

Views: 4,497,503

Keywords: Qigong (Martial Art), Baduanjin Qigong, Health (Industry)

Id: 3K-0JpiJu-o

Length: 18min 34sec (1114 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 19 2014

Reddit Comments

[u/Lpbo]

I try to use this video every morning, impressive what a difference it makes to my day

[u/[deleted]]

I find another good one here

[u/metalmyco]

This was the video that got me started practicing Qigong.

[u/Fairytalefangirl]

Thanks for sharing and I'll watch it for sure!

I think Mimi Kuo-Deemer has a whole series of full length videos up on yogaandfitness.tv in case anyone is curious.

[u/StefJoMa]

Mimi is a fab teacher!! She has more vids on YouTube.

[u/MMKH]

I still got the Instant Health Qigong course on Udemy by Shifu Yan Lei. Going to practice that this morning :)

[u/Aromatic_Director690]

Have you considered learning from Lee Holden?

[u/PoeticallyBreo]

Thank you for sharing!

[u/CriticalPrint9052]

This is great! Thanks so much for sharing