I have discovered QI Gong and Tai Chi Chuan some 15 years ago in Lisbon, thanks to a small association called Academia de Artes Orientais. In the beginning of every lesson of Tai Chi, there was first a session of Qi Gong, and one of the key features was the practice of the « Eight pieces of brocade ». As the best moment for practice was the morning lesson, I discovered and enjoyed the benefits of a regular practice in the early morning. Then we moved our offices to another location in the city and it became more difficult for me to continue the practice, and I stopped until I rediscovered it some months ago.

The Eight Pieces of Brocade is an Ancient Chinese exercise & fitness Practice.  It is a popular form of Qi Gong, also known as Ba Duan Jin. It originated during the South Song Dynasty nearly 1000 years ago and it offers practices that are accessible for everyone, regardless of age or physical condition. In general, the first practices that students generally learn about are relaxation.

A few weeks ago, I discovered a fantastic video of 40 minutes of Qi Gong on YouTube that I have shared with you in a previous post, and that I follow 2-3 times a week. Today, I would like to share with you a shorter exercise, covering the Eight Pieces of Brocade that will take you only 20 minutes if the other one seems too long for you.

As you can see, there is no age for the practice of Qi Gong, I hope that like me you will appreciate the slow pace of the series of exercises and that it will help you to start well your day.