The Heavenly Drum. Clacking the teeth, sealing the ears, then drumming the Jade Pillow at the base of the skull. Wakes the shén 神 and quiets the breath.
Home / Daoist practice / Yǎngshēng / Eight Seated Brocades
坐式八段錦 · · Dǎoyǐn
The Eight
Seated Brocades.
The core dǎoyǐn sequence taught here. Eight exercises, worked from the head downward, ending with the body settled and the breath already quiet.
The sequence
Eight exercises, head to feet
The Eight Brocades 八段錦 — ba duan jin in pinyin, and often called the Eight Pieces of Brocade or Eight Silken Movements — is one of the best known qigong sets in China. The seated form taught here is quite distinct from the standing set most people meet in a kung fu class. It runs roughly twenty minutes, works from the head downward, and finishes with the practitioner settled enough to sit. That last point is why it holds the position it does in the curriculum: it is a complete practice in its own right, and it is also the most reliable route into quiet sitting.
One
Two
Turning the Heavenly Pillar. The spine rotated one vertebra at a time from the coccyx up, then unwound from the top down. Opens the Du Mai 督脈.
Three
Swirling the Red Dragon. The tongue circling to gather saliva — the Jade Liquid — swallowed in three stages down the Ren Mai 任脈.
Four
Rubbing the Kidneys. Palms warmed and worked in circles over the Mìngmén 命門, the Gate of Life, consolidating what has descended.
Five
Single Winding of the Windlass. One hand at the navel, one at the Mìngmén, turning the lower dantian between them as a well-winch draws water.
Six
Double Winding of the Windlass. Arms circling in opposition, spine still as an axle, opening the middle gate between the shoulder blades.
Seven
Lifting Heaven. A vertical stretch: crown and hands to Heaven, tailbone to Earth, then the front of the body softening down as the arms lower.
Eight
Opening the Leg Channels. Hands tracing down the legs to press Yǒngquán 湧泉 at the sole. Grounds the practice and returns feeling to legs that have been sitting.
Full instructions
The narrative and step-by-step for all eight — the repetitions, the breath coordination and what to feel for — are written up in detail on Ian's own site: Eight Seated Brocades. What is here is the shape of the sequence and where it sits in the curriculum; that is the manual.
How it is used here
In the Daoist session the brocades open the evening, before sitting and before the text. They also work as a standalone daily practice — which is how most people end up using them.
Nothing in the set requires flexibility, equipment or floor space beyond a place to sit. Where an exercise asks for thirty-six repetitions, that number is traditional rather than clinical; fewer, done with attention, is better than the full count done absently.