Lift the Heavens and Press the Crown

The classical verse

两脚放舒伸，叉手双虚托

This form belongs to the verse line above, from the classical seated routine. Quoting it is how you can tell whether a version of this movement you find elsewhere is the same one.

The traditional figure sits between the forward fold and the back-rubbing movement in the old sequence. The old verse describes it as crossing the hands and pressing upward against nothing — literally pushing at the sky. The traditional method notes describe lengthening through the waist and the arms with the trunk upright, and drawing the head up while the hands settle onto the crown. This describes how the movement is made, not what it achieves.

How to do it

The official form is practised sitting cross-legged on a firm wedge-shaped cushion with the front edge lower than the back. Every step below also says what to do if you are sitting in a chair — the two are the same movement, only the seat differs, so there is no separate version to choose between.

1. Continuing from the previous form, lift both elbows up until they are level with the shoulders; look forward. In a chair: sit toward the front of a stable chair with both feet flat to begin with, and lift the elbows out and up until the forearms are level with the shoulders.
2. Place the web between thumb and forefinger along the front of the shoulders, past the flanks, and slide both hands down along the ribs to the hip joints; look forward and down.
3. Rotate both arms outward, set the palms against the outside of the legs at the knee joints, and lift upward under the knees; look forward and down. In a chair: carry the palms down the outside of the thighs to the knees and take hold under them, lifting slightly.
4. Without stopping, extend the right leg forward, toes pointing upward, knee slightly bent; look at the right foot. In a chair: extend the right leg forward with the heel resting on the floor and the toes pointing up, knee slightly bent, then do the same with the left leg, resting both hands on top of the knees — extend only as far as the hamstrings comfortably allow. If you cannot extend both legs with the heels down, work one leg at a time for the whole set and keep the other foot flat.
5. Extend the left foot forward so that both legs are drawn together and straight with the toes pointing up, and at the same time rest both palms on the knee joints; look at the toes.
6. Draw both palms back to in front of the abdomen, facing each other, with the palms turned upward.
7. Interlace all ten fingers; look forward and down.
8. Raise the joined hands to the chest; as they arrive, rotate the arms inward and turn the palms over so that they face down.
9. Carry the palms on forward, turn them outward and up, and when they are in front of the forehead with the palms facing up, press straight up with straight arms. At the same time straighten the knees and extend the tops of the feet so they are flat. Keep both arms close against the ears; look forward and down. In a chair: if you cannot extend a leg forward at all, keep both feet flat on the floor and give them the same job — as the hands press up, roll the weight onto the balls of the feet and lengthen the tops of the feet downward, away from you.
10. Raise the arms as far as they will go and let the crown of the head press up into the hands, with the roots of the palms bearing toward the crown of the head, while the tops of the feet stay flat and extended. Hold the top position for a moment. Let the gaze follow the hands upward, but keep the neck long and do not let it arch back. In a chair: if raising both arms overhead is tiring, lower the hands only to eye height rather than stopping, and keep the same rhythm.
11. Sink the shoulders and bend the elbows, turn the palms over and bring them down onto the crown of the head, pressing down with a little effort; at the same time hook both toes up tightly; look forward and down. In a chair: as the hands press down onto the crown, lift the toes and balls up hard toward the shin and keep the heels down. The pointing and the hooking alternate exactly as they do in the seated form, always opposing the hands, and the foot work is never dropped.
12. Rotate the arms inward, turn the palms upward and press straight overhead with straight arms; at the same time straighten the knees and extend the tops of the feet; look forward and down.
13. One press up together with one press down makes one round. Do nine rounds.
14. After the ninth round, finish with the palms turned over and coming down onto the crown of the head, pressing down with a little effort while both toes hook up tightly; look forward and down.

Breathing and intention

The textbook sets no general breathing rule for this form, but it does call for holding the breath for a moment when the hands reach their highest point. Breathe through the nose at an even pace otherwise. If you have high blood pressure, heart disease, glaucoma, a tendency to dizziness, or simply prefer not to hold, keep breathing normally through that hold instead. Never strain when the hands bear down on the crown; keep the press as effort rather than force.

Common mistakes

• Letting the trunk lean or sag so the arms are no longer in line with it when the hands press upward.
• Starting with the hands already interlaced at the chest and skipping the set-up: lifting the elbows, sliding down the ribs, taking the knees and straightening the legs.
• Pressing up with the arms alone. The textbook's key point is that the roots of the palms drive up toward the crown of the head, which is what opens the inner channels of the arms and lengthens the whole back.
• Letting the arms drift away from the ears on the lift, or letting the elbows bend so the hands end up in front of the face rather than above the crown.
• Keeping the feet still through the nine rounds, instead of lengthening the tops of the feet on the upward press and hooking the toes on the downward press.
• Pressing on the crown so lightly that the movement becomes decorative; the official form asks for a press with some effort, while keeping it comfortable.
• Letting the shoulders ride up toward the ears instead of sinking them as the elbows bend and the hands come down.
• Arching the neck back at the top of the press. The gaze goes up toward the hands, but the neck stays long; the trunk and the arms keep one line.
• Holding the arms still at the top instead of settling for a moment before coming down.
• Bending the knees or letting them sag on the press up.

Where it comes from

Recorded in the old eight-figure set as "hands crossed, pressing upward on nothing", paired in the verse with the forward fold that follows it. The modern routine separates the two into their own forms and fixes the count at nine. Classical verse: 原典第9图属「两脚放舒伸，叉手双虚托」，对应的是托天按顶与俯身攀足两式的连做；本站把「低头攀足顿」另归第7式，故本式只取前半句。

The Twelve-Section Brocade is the modern official form of the seated Eight-Section Brocade, also called the literary eight-section brocade (wen baduanjin), which the Ming dynasty texts record in eight figures. Its name appears in the eighteenth-century Shoushi Chuanzhen, and the version in most circulation today comes from the Neigong Tushuo. It was standardised as an official routine in 2010 by the General Administration of Sport of China.