Golden Eight
Eight movements. A practice you actually keep.
Golden Eight is a ten-week introduction to Baduanjin, taught live by Stephen Thompson and built around the standardized Health Qigong sequence. You learn each movement standing, get a seated and reduced-range version of every one, and learn which claims come from history, from traditional Chinese medicine, from the modern Health Qigong standard, from biomedical research, and from Rooted Reclaimers' own agency framework, so you always know what kind of claim you are hearing.
Cohort 1 starts the week of November 12, 2026. 8 to 10 seats. First cohort.
Starts
Week of Nov 12, 2026
Seats
8 to 10
Price
$249
Format
Live, Saturdays 7:00am Central
What this trains
Eight movements built for repetition, not for a stage.
Baduanjin means Eight Pieces of Brocade. The name reaches back to Song-era literature, and the movements and their sequencing have changed across centuries of daoyin texts. This course anchors on the modern standardized Health Qigong sequence, and teaches the traditional Chinese medicine associations that travel with each movement as what they are: a traditional framework, not an anatomy lesson.
Every module runs the same way. You learn the standing version first, then get the seated or reduced-range version built into that same module, not bolted on as an afterthought. Where the seated version changes something real, a balance point, a weight shift, a range of motion, the module names the change instead of hiding it. Five evidence lanes run under every claim you hear: what history documents, what traditional Chinese medicine holds as a framework, what the modern Health Qigong standard sets as technique, what biomedical research has actually measured, and what Rooted Reclaimers' agency framework draws from the movement. You leave able to tell those five apart on your own.
The course fits a thoughtful beginner or a returning practitioner who wants a calm, structured practice and prefers choice over performance pressure. It does not fit someone looking for a workout, a competition form, or a medical treatment, and the next section says why.
The course
Ten modules, one sequence.
One module a week, each running about an hour live. Every session pairs demonstration with a component drill, a full guided practice, and a seated or reduced-range adaptation lab, so the version you actually need gets practiced, not just described.
MODULE 01
Entering the Brocade
The five evidence lanes, a standing or seated base, and unforced breath. You learn to change or stop a movement without apology, before you learn the first one.
MODULE 02
Hold Up Heaven (Two Hands)
An upward reach that lengthens the whole trunk. Sanjiao named as a traditional whole-region framework, not a map onto Western anatomy.
MODULE 03
Draw the Bow (Left and Right)
A wide stance and an archer’s draw, worked on both sides. Liver and Lung named as a traditional relationship, not an anatomical left-right claim.
MODULE 04
Raise One Hand / Separate Heaven and Earth
One hand rises while the other presses down, alternating sides without leaning. Spleen ascent and Stomach descent, named as the traditional middle-region model they are.
MODULE 05
Look Back (Wise Owl Gazes Backward)
A gentle rotation led by the eyes, then the neck, then the upper trunk, with full return to center between sides. Eye-only movement is offered for anyone managing dizziness or neck concerns.
MODULE 06
Sway the Head and Swing the Tail
A side-to-side weight shift and trunk arc, in standing or seated form. Heart and Kidney named as a traditional upper-lower model, not literal cardiac heat.
MODULE 07
Reach the Feet (Two Hands)
A supported hip hinge and a controlled return. Foot contact is optional; the fold and the return get the attention, not the reach.
MODULE 08
Fists and Fierce Eyes
Deliberate muscular effort, then a full release. “Angry eyes” means a focused gaze, not an emotional state.
MODULE 09
Seven Jolts
A slow heel raise and a quiet landing, up to seven rounds. Fewer rounds is the sounder choice when fatigue builds, not a failed attempt.
MODULE 10
Weaving the Eight
The full sequence, led twice: once for technique, once for continuity. You leave with a practice plan sized to your actual week.
You leave with
A sequence you can actually run again on your own.
A complete, memorable eight-movement sequence, in the version that fits your body.
Setup, breathing, transition, and correction cues for every movement.
A seated and lower-intensity path built into each module, not offered as an afterthought.
A workbook and a short micropractice menu you can run on a busy day.
The ability to name which of the five evidence lanes any claim about the practice belongs to.
Said plainly
This is educational movement instruction.
Golden Eight teaches movement, breath, and evidence literacy. It is not medical care, not psychotherapy, not rehabilitation, and not a promise to treat, prevent, or cure any disease. Work inside a comfortable range at every session. For symptoms, an injury, or a condition-specific question, get care from someone qualified to answer it first.
Traditional Chinese medicine associations appear throughout the course as a traditional framework, the way the tradition itself holds them. They are not presented as anatomy, and the course does not translate them into a biomedical mechanism they were never built to name.
Cohort 1
The week of November 12, 2026.
Ten Saturday mornings
One live session a week, roughly an hour, Saturdays at 7:00am Central.
A seated or standing base
Every module teaches both paths in the same session. Choose your base at the start of each class, and change it mid-session if your body asks for something different that day.
A practice plan you set
Module 10 closes the course with a plan sized to your actual week: a two-minute micropractice, a one-movement focus, a half-set, or the complete sequence. You choose the frequency and the stop rule.
$249 covers the whole course: ten live sessions, the workbook, the practice videos, and the completion certificate. 8 to 10 seats. First cohort.
Enrollment and billing route through Rooted Reclaimers LLC.
Questions
Before you enroll.
Do I need experience?
No. The course begins with stance, breath, pacing, and adaptation. Module 1 assumes nothing.
Do I need to stand?
No. Every movement includes a seated version built into the same module. Where the seated version changes something real, the module names the change instead of hiding it.
Is this a medical program?
No. The course discusses research carefully, but it does not diagnose or treat anything.
How much room do I need?
Enough space to extend both arms without hitting furniture, and a stable chair nearby.
One recommendation, one question
If you want a calm, structured practice you will actually return to, and not a workout or a cure, ten weeks with Stephen Thompson builds it.
Is this the practice you want to build?
Reserve a seat →Questions first? Email docthompsondacmdc@gmail.com and ask anything before you commit a seat.