A Personal Reflection on Practicing the Eight Brocades Form
I've been practicing Eight Treasures Golden Flower Exercises recently, and I have many feelings and reflections to share. Today, I'm sharing some of my feelings and experiences while practicing.
Eight Brocades Form, Second Form 'Left and Right Bowing Like Shooting a Dragon' – Phrase:Take a step forward, stand upright, clasp hands at the wrists, perform a horse-step squat, and pull the bowstring. Change the palms to extend the arms, and while stepping forward, look up.
The 'Left and Right Bowing' movement uses chest protection to expand the ribs, and the shoulder and arm muscles are exercised, strengthening breathing and regulating the ratio of muscle and fat. It's a great method for both slimming down and fitness. It also increases lung capacity and enhances physical fitness. It's a good exercise for those who want to increase their lung capacity.
Left Bowing
Recently, while practicing, I've found that if my heart is calm and focused, achieving a state of one-heartedness without distractions, I quickly feel a warmth throughout my body, sweating, and feel refreshed after finishing the exercise. If my heart is not calm, even if I don't feel warm, and I feel tired after finishing the exercise. Our traditional Chinese fitness methods emphasize calmness, aiming for a heart that is free of distractions and truly blank, when you achieve that state, you'll realize that the movements themselves are just auxiliary, the real key is your inner heart. If your heart isn't calm, no matter how many good movements you do, you won't achieve true fitness.
Right Bowing
This reminded me of monks, some of whom only meditate and read scriptures without moving, yet they are very healthy and long-lived. This is because they've reached a certain level of calmness, achieving a state that has a fitness effect.
This also made me think of a term – psychosomatic diseases. According to some information, more than 70% of human diseases are caused by psychological factors. That is, more than 70% of human diseases are caused by our minds. This perfectly proves that my elders have always emphasized the importance of 'calmness and purification' in fitness.
Calmness, this is the method of cultivation for practicing
A complete set of Eight Brocades Form is a simple series of movements, but a person can write a book about it, which proves this method is not simple. It contains a lot of inner meaning, which can only be understood by those who practice it seriously and according to the requirements.
In traditional Chinese methods, techniques are generally divided into two parts: the movement part and the heart method. If you only learn the movements without the heart method, you might 'cause harm to yourself' – this fully demonstrates the importance of 'calmness' in cultivation.
This is a little feeling I gained from practicing recently, which I hope can help more friends. If you agree with what I said, please give me a thumbs up and share it. If you disagree, please point it out in the comments, and I will humbly accept it, thank you!
