The Ba Duan Jin, or Baduan Jin, or the 8 Brocades, or Eight Pieces of Brocade, is one of the most popular sets of Qigong forms. Ba means eight. Duan refers to the benefits of the exercise, but literally means holding or carrying. And Jin means silk.
While each form of the set affects different organs and meridians, the overall intention is to express with silken movements. And if you imagine the fascia, or connective tissue, or the Huang as it's referred to in Traditional Chinese Medicine, as smooth silken material that can become crumbled, or thickened, or inflamed; we are smoothing this fine sheet of silk.
The 8 Brocades can be traced back to a culturally, brilliant era in Chinese history, the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE).
Many subtle interpretations of the 8 Brocades are practiced today. I will include a very informative video by Mimi Kuo Deemer, another two videos by Shi Heng Yi of the Shaolin Temple Europe, and yet another by Vivian Chao. AND, I've just found another video with variations of the forms that I really love. This video is from the Shaolin Temple UK, Shi Yan Ming is demonstrating. Each video is inspiring in different ways. This week we practiced the 8 Brocades as taught by Mimi Kuo Deemer. Next week I will introduce the Shaolin forms.
Enjoy.
Brian
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