Bao Ding Balls

[Moon Knight]

Months back I read in Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming's Qigong for Health and Martial Arts that one could use bao ding balls to stimulate the ends of the qi meridians in the hands; makes sense. So I went out and bought a set, and use them after a strenuous physical workout (especially if I don't have time to meditate immediately after) or whenever I feel overly-stressed.

 

They seem to help, but I'm not sure I'm getting the most out of them because I'm not sure where best to place my mind while using them. Has anyone else used these, and where do you place your mind? At various times I've focused on my lower tan tien, tried to maintain an overall whole body awareness, or focused solely (or at least primarily) on the hand doing the manipulations. My qi sensitivity is still being developed and I suspect my qi level overall is somewhat low so I can't quite tell which option is best, though if I were to hazard an opinion, it would be that focusing on my hand, and letting my mind exist in the motion of the fingers would be best.

 

Thoughts?

[Mal]

[r.w.smith]

I also like to play with my balls,and yes,It can be quite stimulating at times ROFL

Edited October 4, 2009 by r.w.smith

[Ya Mu]

I have a set that was given to me by the head of the factory in Baoding when I was at the Baoding Qigong Healing Hospital. I think they are OK for a simple meditative state and great for arthritis therapy and arthritis prevention. Probably best to not worry about any type of focus and stay relaxed as possible.

[BrokenFist64]

I used them alot few months back but honestly never really felt much from them and just found it better use of my time to just massage each hand and fingers for 10 mins or so. As for meditative aspect of it listening to the chimes was relaxing but I prefer to just put on some relaxing tunes and meditate that way.

[cheya]

 

 

Months back I read in Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming's Qigong for Health and Martial Arts that one could use bao ding balls to stimulate the ends of the qi meridians in the hands... Has anyone else used these, and where do you place your mind? ....Thoughts?

Hi Moon Knight
A couple years ago, I inherited two identical sets of Baoding balls. They were two inches in diameter, much bigger than the single small set I'd had for years, and I thought they would just be too big to handle. I'd been working alot with feeling energy in my chi gung practice, and when I finallly did pick them up, I was shocked at what I felt. The energy traveled up my arms to my head, down to my feet, back up to my head, back out to my hands. It wasn't a perfect circuit, and it didn't follow meridians, but it was very palpable. I was stunned. I mean, that is what the chinese say the balls do, but it just never occurred to me that the effect would be palpable! I didn't expect to be able to repeat the effect, but indeed, it happens every time I pick up the balls!

I've become somewhat obsessed with Chinese balls, and have bought many pairs on eBay, which I make available for my massage clients. Some balls precipitate the energy effect more than others. Some hints: In general, I need balls in both hands to feel the effect. The old heavier type of balls are much more effective than the new lighter balls, which hardly do anything at all. The heavier balls, having more mass, have a stronger physical vibration. Look for two sets of balls that are at least two inches in diameter (6.5 inch circumference) that weigh at least 13 oz per pair without the box. That's not so easy to do. The new balls are plastic or something, weigh even only half as much as the old ones (pre 1985). Some of the 2" ones weigh as little as 6-8 oz.! Their chime sounds all right, but the sound doesn't convey as vibration the same way, as you can imagine. I think it is the vibration, not the sound, that generates the energetic effect.

Some martial arts places sell big stainless steel balls which have fairly good chiming resonance even though they aren't from the old stocks. Easy to get two matched sets that way. If you can examine them in person, you can pick sets with more appealing and harmonious sound, which is a plus. My dogs leave the room when I start using those stainless balls though!



  Edited July 25, 2016 by cheya

[joeblast]

[minkus]

I also like to play with my balls,and yes,It can be quite stimulating at times ROFL

 

Subtle lol

[Birch]

Yup. Agree with Mal, it was so very 90's;-)

 

Loved the playing with balls jokes - it even managed to keep me laughing into the following - pretty serious thread.

Which I'll now have to re-read;-)

[r.w.smith]

Im sad to say that i lost my pair while shifting house

[Mal]

[buscon]

I'm also a beginner at rotating Bao Ding Balls.

 

@Moon Knight: can you please tell us the page of the book about the bao ding balls ? I can take in a library, and I would like to read that pharagraph - and maybe afterwards I'll also read the entire book.

 

Thank you and have fun with rotating

[cheya]

 

 

I'm not sure I'm getting the most out of them because I'm not sure where best to place my mind while using them. Has anyone else used these, and where do you place your mind? ... Thoughts?

This isn't so much about where to focus as how to focus as you look for the energy.
I got so I could feel the energy within 5-10 seconds every time I started rotating the balls. Then one day I got up from an intense Sudoku session, and picked up the balls. I couldn't find the energy! It took me awhile to realize that I had to be in a right brain mode to feel the energy, and I actually don't switch very well naturally. That day, I was so deeply into the left brain, I had almost no access to energetic perception. Since then I have used the balls to learn to switch into right brain/energy perception mode more rapidly. This has helped me tremendously in my bodywork practice, as tuning in to the energy there is essentially the same switch.

I think using the chinese balls is a useful tool to enhance coordination between brain hemispheres through the corpus callosum, which is probably a minor version of the skill Taisha Abelar was working on in The Sorcerer's Crossing.

  Edited July 25, 2016 by cheya

[Mal]

[joeblast]

magnetic balls would be interesting! I think unitednuclear may have some but I'm unsure if they might be too strong - speaking of magnets I had some of those band aids but wound up just buying the magnets themselves bulk, way cheaper. I think my back could use a round of those actually. but yeah, I got some small ones and a pair of larget 1"x1/4" cylinder magnets and they are *really* strong - enough to stick on either side of your hand (interesting if you're doing taiji or something) but watch out if they accidentally snap together. instant blood blister if you get a flap of skin caught in between...and the more powerful ones can break bones, so depending what you get you have to be careful. I'd think some decent sized ball magnets would probably be best with just traditional ferrite instead of neodymium.

 

for a good selection, check out www.baodingballs.com - I've been thinking of getting a pair of the hematite ones - at .75lb each, that'd be a good workout for your hands!

 

another interesting trick is to rotate 3 in your hand and keep it flat enough so that you can balance & spin a fourth on top of the 3

[Friend]

Edited November 16, 2011 by Friend

[Franklin]

the way i learned from one of my teachers

 

you can rotate the balls 2 ways

- with the balls in constant contact

- with the balls never touching

 

if the balls have chimes

the sound should be continuous

it should not start, stop, or clank

 

 

also keep space in the armpit while you rotate the balls

like the old kung fu movies

where the guy walks around with his arm extended while rotating the balls

 

cheers

Franklin