Eight Section Brocade Qigong

Eight-Sectioned Brocade may be the most popularly practiced form of Qigong. It courses Qi in all the channels and benefits all the organs. You do not need to understand anything about Qi: this practice will lead you to that understanding.

Eight-Sectioned Brocade (Ba Duan Jin) has a long history. It was popularly practiced and already documented in texts as early as the Song Dynasty (1150’s). There are two main styles of practice: Sitting Ba Duan and Standing Ba Duan. Sitting Ba Duan is also called the Wen (文) style and Standing Ba Duan the Wu (武) style. Wen means scholarly, Wu means martial. Here Wen Wu don’t have anything to do with creating literature or fighting: Wen and Wu are stand-in terms for Yin and Yang. Yin is more internal with less body movements. Yang is more external with more body movements.

Standing Ba Duan is further differentiated into a Southern School and a Northern School. Southern School Ba Duan Jin has simpler movements and lower degree of difficulty. Northern School has more complex movements and higher degree of difficulty.

Heaven & Earth

Videos found on the internet are mostly Southern School style, with rather simple movements and lots of repetitions. The style that I teach is Northern School style. There is more use of the horse stance and movements are more intricate with a higher degree of difficulty. There are also no repetitions. It serves the purpose of Ba Duan Jin well: a complete system of movements for renewing and strengthening both the physical and energetic body, benefitting all the organs, promoting balance and coordination, and uniting the three realms of heaven, earth, and human.

Dragon Gate Has A Fish Story

UNLIKE ITS COUNTERPART IN WESTERN MYTHOLOGY THE CHINESE DRAGON FLIES IN THE SKY AND IS A SYMBOL OF THE SUPREME YANG.

Dragon Gate was located at the very top of a series of waterfalls. Carps struggled hard to reach it but inevitably were beaten down by the currents. Maybe a few of the most determined ones made it to the top and leapt over the Dragon Gate. They immediately turned into dragons and flew into the sky. It is a story of persistent effort, transformation, and transcendence.

There are several Dragon Gates located in different provinces in China. The one where our Qigong form came from is in Shaanxi. Qiu Chuji, founder of the Dragon Gate sect of Taoism, lived and practiced for over ten years in the grottos there, hence the name Dragon Gate Qigong.

Qiu Chuji was also remembered for traveling to meet Genghis Khan at his invitation. Genghis Khan was interested in medicine for immortality. Qiu Chuji taught him practices for prolonging life but told him there was no elixir for immortality.

Can't live forever but living healthier and longer and attaining some degree of transcendence is definitely possible. Dragon Gate Qigong is one way.

Leap over the gate, turn into a dragon, fly into the sky!

A method for self-discovery and realization

THE EIGHT SEAS

This is a brief presentation of the Eight Extraordinary Channels (also called the Eight Seas) and a qigong practice (with a link to a video) to activate their deep energetics. It is a method for self-discovery and realization.

Put simply, life has two aspects: what we’re given to work with (constitution), and what we do with it.

Constitutional Qi (Yuan Qi) is what we’re born with. Genetics is a big determining factor. At every turn in life we do have a choice as to which path to take but usually our so-called free will is limited by our constitutional makeup. The practice of Qigong is to free us from these limitations and even change our constitutional makeup. This is our epigenetics at work.

Here are the currents of the Eight Seas:

  1. Chong Mai (Penetrating Channel) determines our gender, ethnicity and natural disposition.

    The Ren and the Du are polar opposites but also mutually interdependent pairing of Yin and Yang:

  2. Ren Mai (Enabling Channel) provides the Du Mai  the material for building.

  3. Du Mai (Governing Channel) constructs using what the Ren provides.

    Wei Mai (Linking Channel): There are two and again there is a Yin/Yang division. The Wei Mai contains the blueprint for the process of growth, maturation, and aging. Throughout life it interacts with external and internal factors to affect our physical being:

  4. Yang Wei Mai (Yang Linking Channel) has to do with bodily functions as it is affected by external and climatic factors. For example, exposure to cold wind causing Bell’s Palsy resulting in deviation of the mouth.

  5. Yin Wei Mai (Yin Linking Channel) has to do with structural changes caused by internal and mental factors. It relates to our inner life. For example, depression resulting in a wilting body structure.

    Qiao Mai (Heel Channel) involves the present moment. Similarly there are two aspects, the Yin and the Yang:

  6. Yin Qiao Mai (Yin Heel Channel) has to do with how we perceive ourselves.

  7. Yang Qiao Mai (Yang Heel Channel) has to do with how we perceive the world.

  8. Dai Mai (Belt Channel) involves issues and emotions that have been bothering us for a long time. We know they need to be changed but we don’t have the wherewithal to do it so we hide them under the belt.

Here’s a link to a video of the Eight Seas qigong form. It is brief and rather easy to practice. Practice of this form activates and harmonizes the deep energetics of the Eight Extraordinary Chanels to promote self-discovery and self-realization.