Eight Pieces Brocade Physical, Mental, and Emotional Health Benefits

Striking (Punching) With Angry Eyes

The Governing Vessel Channel controls all yang channels. I placed “Striking” with the Governing Vessel Channel because: “This exercise develops the flow of chi from your feet through your entire body and extends it through your hands and eyes.”

P. 78, The Way of Energy. Upward movement is usually considered a yang activity, so I paired the controller of the yang channels with the upward movement of the Governing Vessel Meridian.

Internal Health Benefits of this position: improves circulation and nervous system, strengthens eye muscles.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works chest (pectorals), back, shoulder, and arm muscles; helps trim waistline; improves circulation and nervous system, strengthens eye muscles.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: it supports the benefits of the yang organs; the Large Intestine, Stomach, Small Intestine, Bladder, Triple Burner, and Gall Bladder.

Shooting an Eagle with a Bow and Arrow is particularly beneficial for the energy channels associated with the paired organs of Lung (yin) and Large Intestine (yang).

Internal Health Benefits of this position: opens the chest cavity which promotes heart and lung health, and improves circulation and oxygenation of blood; promotes health of the small intestine.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works muscles of upper back, neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, fingers; opens the chest cavity which promotes heart and lung health, and improves circulation and oxygenation of blood.

[Also, I placed this position with Lung/Large Intestine because of the hand positions: Index finger is start of large intestine, index finger and thumb are ends of lung channels.]

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: promotes emotional balance; promotes ability to quickly regain composure following an emotional reaction; promotes "big picture" thinking and vision; promotes resolution of grief and sorrow; promotes unbiased judgment; seat of "Ah-ha!" flashes of inspiration.

Mental or emotional unbalance could manifest as lack of emotional response, or hysteria; unresolved grief; lack of sense of completion or closure.

Separating Heaven And Earth (also known as Regulate Spleen & Stomach By Raising Each Hand) is particularly beneficial for the energy channels associated with the paired organs of Spleen (yin) and Stomach (yang).

Internal Health Benefits of this position: promotes health of liver, gall bladder, spleen, stomach, and intestines.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works muscles of middle and upper back, shoulders, wrists, and stretches the spine.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: promotes clear thinking, decisiveness, insight, enthusiasm to engage in life; seat of motivation and creativity.

Mental or emotional unbalance could manifest as excessive worry, difficulty in making decisions, confusion; could be overly helpful or distant and unhelpful.

Head and Hips Removes Excess Heat From the Heart is particularly beneficial for the energy channels associated with the paired organs of Heart (yin) and Small Intestine (yang)

There are two main variations on this position:

1 – semi-squat and turning from side to side;

2 – raising the arm above the head and leaning to the side

Internal Health Benefits of this position: Reduces tension, benefits nervous system, encourages positive, even flow of energy throughout body.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works all back muscles, shoulder and neck muscles; reduces tension, benefits nervous system, encourages positive, even flow of energy throughout body.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: promotes interactions and behaviors that are timely and suitable to the context and the situation; supports showing respect, being thoughtful, and offering to be of help at the right time; promotes the ability to clearly communicate through precise word choice; supports short-term memory; seat of consciousness, self-awareness, and connection to and living in harmony with the world.

Mental or emotional unbalance could manifest as insomnia, anxiety, discomfort in being around people, inappropriate or strange behaviors.

Supporting The Sky With Both Hands Regulates All Internal Organs is particularly beneficial for the energy channels associated with the Pericardium (yin) and Triple Heater (yang).

Internal Health Benefits of this position: massages all internal organs, promotes circulation and oxygenation of blood, beneficial for back and spine, improves posture, and relieves tiredness.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works muscles of upper back, neck, shoulders, arms, wrists, fingers; promotes circulation and oxygenation of blood, beneficial for back and spine, improves posture, relieves tiredness.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: promotes interactions and behaviors that are timely and suitable to the context and the situation; supports showing respect, being thoughtful, and offering to be of help at the right time; promotes the ability to clearly communicate through precise word choice; supports short-term memory; seat of consciousness, self-awareness, and connection to and living in harmony with the world. (Same as Heart - see above)

Mental or emotional unbalance could manifest as insomnia, anxiety, discomfort in being around people, inappropriate or strange behaviors. (Same as Heart)

Bend Forward And Touch Toes (also called Touching the Feet With Both Hands Reinforces the Kidneys and Loins) is particularly beneficial for the energy channels associated with the paired organs of Kidney (yin) and Bladder (yang).

Internal Health Benefits of this position: strengthens lower back and leg muscles, benefits abdominal organs and muscles, strengthens kidneys and adrenal glands.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works to strengthen lower back and all leg muscles; stretches and relaxes back and shoulder muscles.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: promotes will power, efforts and commitments that allow for personal responsibility for life; understanding that correct living is effortless (to "go with the flow" of universal energy); the seat of spirituality and wisdom.

Mental or emotional unbalance could manifest as phobias, anxiety surrounding life and death, inability to appreciate one's own age and wisdom.

Looking Back Like A Cow Gazing at the Moon is particularly beneficial for the energy channels associated with the paired organs of Liver (yin) and Gallbladder (yang)

Internal Health Benefits of this position: promotes circulation to head, supports nervous system, stimulates kidneys, strengthens eye, neck, and shoulder muscles. This is an excellent exercise for remedying high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries.

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works muscles of neck, upper back, wrists; trims waist; promotes circulation to head, supports nervous system; strengthens eye, neck, and shoulder muscles.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: promotes healthy personal boundaries; supports ability to remain un-tense thereby allowing greater tolerance to physical pain; promotes kindness and benevolence.

Mental or emotional unbalance could manifest as anger, stubbornness; lack of self-worth or self-esteem; numbness or insensitivity to physical and emotional/spiritual suffering of self and others.

Shaking Off Illness

I can’t recall where I saw this, but this movement allows for energy to be let go or sent back into the earth instead of being raised from it. I have paired this movement with the Conception Vessel Channel. Alternative names of this exercise support this idea: “Seven Disorders and Hundreds of Illnesses Disappear and are Left Behind Your Back” and “Reaching Down to Dissipate Disease.”

Internal Health Benefits of this position: internal organ massage; benefits spine, nervous system, and balance. Especially, this activity activates lymph system. (Tuberose.com)

Exercise and Relaxation Benefits of this position: works muscles of calves, thighs, and lower back; beneficial for the nervous system, and balance.

Mental and Emotional Benefits of this position: it supports the benefits of the yin organs; the Lung, Spleen, Heart, Kidney, Pericardium, and Liver.

Bibliography:

Chuen, Lam Kam The Way of Energy, Fireside (Simon & Schuster Inc), NY, 1991, ISBN 0671736450

Garofalo, Michael P., “Eight Section Brocade” http://www.egreenway.com/taichichuan/esb.htm

Kaptchuk, Ted J., O.M.D, The Web That Has No Weaver: Understanding Chinese Medicine, McGraw-Hill, NY, 2000, ISBN 0809228408

Tuberose.com http://www.tuberose.com/Cancer.html Cells are able to function better with fresh lymph fluid filled with the proper concentrations of oxygen, glucose and all other nutrients. When fresh supplies replace the waste products of cells--the toxins, bacteria viruses, poisons, trash and debris--cells are healthier, and so are you. But the lymphatic system is completely dependent on some kind of movement to stimulate the pumping action. When you do rebound exercise, your lymphatic system moves about twenty times as fast as it does at rest.

Acupuncture charts courtesy of Pedro Bernardy and RyuBuKan Dojo. For informational purposes only.