Sway the Body and Shake the Sea

The classical verse

The classical seated routine has twelve verse lines for twelve movements, and this movement is one of the ones they do not name — the modern official routine separates it out, while the classical verse passes over it. We have left this blank rather than attach a line that does not belong to it.

The technical notes for this form ask for a lengthened spine, a drawn-in chin, an even pace and a round, connected circle, together with a moderate range and an inward gaze toward hai di at the base of the trunk, described as drawing the attention back to its source.

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. Continue from the previous movement. Separate the hands, reach forward and lay the palms on the knees. Look forward. In a chair: sit toward the front of a stable chair with both feet flat and the hands resting on the thighs.
2. Let the eyelids drop to half mast.
3. Lengthen the spine and draw the chin slightly in. Lean the upper body to the left and begin to circle it clockwise, tracing the circle with the top of the head as seen from above.
4. Keep the pace even and the movement round and continuous, with no jerk or pause at any point of the circle.
5. Keep the range moderate and let both knees stay on the floor throughout; do not lift either knee to gain range. In a chair: keep both sitting bones on the chair and both feet flat, and keep the circles smaller than you think they should be — this is the one form where the range you can reach from a chair is genuinely less than the floor version can give; and if even that feels like strain in the lower back, hold the trunk still and circle only the smallest part of the arc.
6. Complete six circles, then carry the circle round to the front of the body and sit upright.
7. Without stopping, lean the upper body to the right and circle anticlockwise six circles in the same way, knees staying down.
8. On the sixth circle come round to the front of the body again, sit upright, and open the eyes. Look forward.
9. Rest with the hands on the knees for a few slow breaths before the twelfth form.

Breathing and intention

Breathe naturally and without pause, letting the breath follow the circle rather than stop at any point of it. The traditional notes add an inward gaze directed at hai di, the point at the base of the trunk between the two openings, described as drawing the attention back to its source. No efficacy is claimed for it here; it is simply where the text asks the attention to rest.

Common mistakes

• Rotating both sets in the same direction instead of clockwise first and anticlockwise second.
• Letting either knee come up off the floor as the torso leans.
• Taking the circle so far that the lower back is forced into extension at the back of the arc.
• Moving fast enough that the circle becomes a wobble rather than a smooth continuous line.
• Holding the breath or letting the head drop forward instead of keeping the chin drawn in.

Where it comes from

Not among the eight named figures of the Ming set; it was added when the routine was expanded to twelve forms and sits immediately before the closing saliva practice. Classical verse: 《寿世传真》十二图没有与「摇身晃海」对应的句子。古歌诀第十二图是「河车搬运毕，想发火烧身」，属另一套。不自造句子充数。

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.