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eight brocades introduction

graphic for touch the toes

The eight brocades or ba "eight" duan "section" jin" brocade"  is an excellent set of general exercises for health and fitness. The brocades can be be as active of gentle as you want them to be depending on the amount of flexibility you have.


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As well as the more usual standing set there is also a version that you can perform while sitting down.

Several of these exercises are usually taught with cautions for people with high blood pressure. In particular, the bent-over exercises and any strong inhales are usually not taught to people with high blood pressure. The instructors at Rochester Chen Taijiquan do not have medical training. You and your physician should make the decision on the suitability of these exercises for you.

Because the exercises are so old you'll find them under many names so if you see almost anything beginning with Eight - it could be them.!

some of the names are:-.
8 Golden Treasures Brocade, 8 golden exercises,
8 pieces of Silk, 8 treasures..
8 pieces of silk brocade or 8 section silk brocade,
8 silken movements....
They are all talking about the same series of exercises.

You might even see it called Ba Duan Jin literally meaning eight section brocade.

The snag is that although they are all supposed to be the same set of exercises there are lots of variations of the posture names and a fair bit of variation in the moves themselves.

Some of the older versions are only suitable for people who are already flexible and have good muscle strength.

There is also a question about the suitability for people with heart conditions and high blood pressure because of the deep - "touch your toes" bends...

The good news is that there are a lot of modern adaptations that preserve all the benefits of the eight brocades exercises - safely. Our favorite is Al Simon's version check out our review or sign up for free taster course

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