Microcosmic Orbit
Sit quietly. Erect. Hands folded in lap. Tip of tongue touching center of soft palate. Breathe through nose.
Draw breath through nose down the front centerline to perineum. Exhale slowly, leading it back up spine and around top of head and down forehead.
Inhale and repeat in continuous circulation. Finish 1″ below navel by concentrating on tan tien/hara for 5 minutes.
Advanced practice:
Eyes closed. Lips together. Tongue lighting touching “point of fire” at top of soft palate. Breathe through nose. Sit straight on the edge of a chair, sexual organs hanging/stationed over the edge. Lift the head, Palms folded facing upward in lap. Men: right palm on bottom; women: left on bottom.
This meditation involves circulating the qi along the Ren (front/functional) and Du (rear/governing) channels in a continuous loop.
Breath comes in through the nose and is drawn down the front (Ren) functional channel to the tan tien (a spot 1″ below the navel and 1″ beneath the surface).
For now, just concentrate on brining the qi to your abdomen. You will eventually feel a tingling or burning sensation there. Once you do, then shift the attention to the next point on the circuit (sexual organs). And so on.
The intention is to open the acupuncture points at each point on the circuit.
An alternative practice of the microcosmic orbit is to lightly and continuously circulate the qi around the entire orbit in a loop. It is described above.
Upon completion of your meditation, circle the qi around your tan tien 32x clockwise, then 32x counter-clockwise, then again 32x clockwise. The purpose of this is to gather the qi in the abdomen to keep it from lodging in your internal organs and causing unintended physical complications.