The Eight Pieces of Brocade: A Wai Dan Chi Kung Exercise Set for Maintaining and Improving Health

by Yang Jwing-Ming

The Eight Pieces Of Brocade is a set of eight simple exercises that can maintain your health and increase your energy reserves if you are healthy, and speed your recovery if you are ill. Every day millions of Chinese do these gentle stretching and turning movements to loosen up their bodies, improve the circulation of the blood and Chi (internal energy), and strengthen their internal organs. If you have no inclination to jog, or aren't able to participate in strenuous exercises, "The Eight Pieces of Brocade" may be for you. You need no equipment & very little space. You don't need a partner or a leader, & you can practice indoors or out. The Eight Pieces Of Brocade's is actually two sets of exercises, one done while sitting, and the other wile standing. The sitting set is a great way to wake yourself up in the morning. The standing set is ideal for people of all ages, especially those leading sedentary lives

Genres: Martial Arts, Health, Nonfiction

70 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1900

Reviews

[Carlos]

A perfect introuction to chikung.

A great introduction in theory, sources and roots by a master in the subject. It's nice to see a critic "westerner" point of view and concern about modern research in an author so recognized in the matter.

By the way, the Eight Brocade excercises explanation in clear, and the guideness about mind focus through the each Piece is helpful.

Like always, in any art or serious deep discipline, learning only by reading is a poor practice, it's better to find a good master that teaches you from the direct practice. But if you are a chikung practitioner already, I think that this book could be a very good source to learn some new ways of increase and maintain your health.

Simple and well written. A very good book in the subject.

[Phil Calandra]

"Eight Simple Qigong Exercises for Health....", among other things include the history and theory of Qigong, sitting exercises and the Eight Standing Pieces of Brocade. In terms of the actual practice, the explanations and illustrations are not nearly clear enough to begin a practice. Also, there is no guidance in terms of the co-ordination of the breath with the movements and there is little discussion about the nature and the flow of Qi. Perhaps the video version used in conjunction with the book would be more helpful. I would suggest instead Dr. Stanley Wilsons' book "Qigong for Beginners-Eight Easy Movements fro Vibrant Health".

[Christina]

Want to know the history of Qigong? Here it is.
Want to know the posture, stance, movements of each exercise? He Pre they are.
Want to know what organs are stimulated or treated in each exercise? Read and learn.
Want the sitting position for each? Dr. Jwing-Ming Yang supplies.
Want a glossary of translated terms? Granted.

[Ibrahim]

Ancient knowledge sometimes interesting things to learn. Qigong can be as good as Tai-Chi (but I never get though it yet). I think it will be fun.