I was drawn to the Health Benefits of Baduanjin Exercises as I have a lifelong interest in healing and energy medicine and have been a natural therapist for over 25 years.  The workshop was expertly run by Sifu Craig, who was able to impart the knowledge with clarity, humour and efficiency; very enjoyable.

All exercises used the horse-stance to varying degrees, the most challenging being ‘shake head and wag tail’ and ‘carry the foot’.  These two in particular required good core strength and strong quad muscles.

I really liked ‘carry earth and support heaven…’.  This seemed to have a very therapeutic effect on centering and grounding, and overall balance.

The exercises ‘draw bow…’, ‘lift arms separately…’ and ‘…look backwards’ all required torsional movements of the spine.  From the chiropractic perspective, exercises which move spinal and extremity joints through their full range of motion (ROM) have a beneficial effect on neural input to the brain.  The spinal joints are richly endowed with neural receptors, notably mechanoreceptors (for movement) and nociceptors (for pain).  These act more or less in opposition to each other:  Proper ROM promotes mechanoreceptor activity and reduces nociceptive input. Whereas joint (any joint) restriction, whether it is due to injury, inactivity or poor posture will reverse this ratio. The neural ‘information’ gathered from all parts of the body are transmitted to the brain through various tracts within the spinal cord (eg. spinocerebellar, spinothalamic tracts, etc.).

These sorts of exercises can therefore promote healthy neural input and improve not only one’s physical condition but, studies have shown, also enhance mood, a sense of wellbeing and immune function. Vascular and lymphatic circulation is also improved with the alternating flexion/contraction of musculature.  And, as is the case with many energy-based exercises (eg. yoga, pilates), proper breathing is essential to adequately oxygenate tissues and maximise the overall health benefits.  All these facets are present in the Baduanjin set of exercises.

I would strongly encourage anyone to participate in a Baduanjin workshop and for those of us who did Sifu Craig’s to keep up daily practice he recommended!

For more details of the Baduanjin exercises, read the article here.

Anda MacMillan, Tai Chi Warragul