The Microcosmic Orbit - Fill Yourself with Light

This technique comes from the Taoist tradition and is used for cultivating and circulating energy. It sweeps your chi, your personal energy, along the energetic pathways in your body and is central to many Taoist types of exercise such as T’ai Chi and Qigong. When you open your microcosmic Orbit within, you can expand beyond your body and unite with the universal energy field. A slowly moving orbit may cause blockages in the meridians from stored impurities. 

There are two energy arrows;The first one is called the governor channel—male. It begins at the base of the stone and travels up the back, bringing kundalini energy up the spine. It moves higher than the head and then comes down through the pituitary and pineal gland to the roof of the mouth. This is the yang or hot energy. 

The second energy channel is called the functional—or female00 channels, running down the front of the body from the tip of the tongue back down to the perineum (the spot behind your genitals). This is the yin or cold energy. 

Together, these channels form your Microcosmic Orbit. by learning how to circulate energy and have it flowing smoothing through the Orbit, you will become more conscious of energy and how it moves inside you. Then you will be able to direct and move energy into areas of your body that need healing. 

• Sit comfortably and close your eyes. Take a deep breath and set your intention to full yourself with energy and light. Rest your tongue either on the hard palate, the soft part of the roof of your mouth or behind your upper teeth—whatever position is most comfortable for you. 
• Focus your attention on your lower body. It’s three finger widths below your navel and about a third of the way into your body. Visualize the buildup of light, energy and warmth until the entire area is filled. Once your progress in your practice and become more attuned to the flow of energy, you may feel the energy as a sense of warmth as it moves through the different stages of the orbit. 
• Imagine warm energy moving from the lower body down toward your tailbone, which is the starting point of the orbit. From there, imagine the energy flowing up your spine, first to the Gate of Lie—a dime sized area in the centre of the lower back at the height of your belly button. From there proceed up your spinal cord, opening the energy channel. 
• When the warm energy reaches the top of your spine, visualize it heading into your skull to the pineal gland, right in the centre of your head. Pause for a moment or two and then let the energy head down the front of your body. 
• As the warm energy moves down the front of your body, imagine a golden ball of warm light flowing through the pituitary gland, down the throat into the stomach, and then into your lower body. Let it return to the bottom of your torso, to your perineum, where the orbit began in the area of the tailbone. 
• Continue doing the orbit, circulating the energy, going at a comfortable speed and breathing into any stuck areas. Visualize your channel opening wide. 
• After your have practiced the orbit several times, now imagine the warm energy comes up your spine as your inhale. After holding your breath briefly above the top of the head, exhale as you continue following the orbit down to the lower body. Allow your breath to move the ball of energy rather than trying to push it with your will. 
• The ancient greek symbolized the practice of the orbit with the serpent and its tail. When the serpent is biting it’s tail, it forms a complete circle. As you do the orbit, imagine or feel the energy flowing like a conveyor belt or golden serpent through all parts of your body at once. Be wary with yourself while learning this new technique. 

After you’re comfortable doing the orbit, breathing in as you go up the back and exhaling as you go down the front, you can progress to using the following cycle of moving energy as a way to fill yourself with light in order to cope with outside challenges. 

• Feel or imagine a particular upsetting person, event or situation that is stressful for you now or was in the past. Focus on that person, event or situation and place it in a box. Visualize that box on the conveyor belt that goes around the orbit.
• Your orbit may seem heavy and slow for a while, but don’t get discouraged. It will resume normal speed. Keep moving along the orbit until the box and whats in it dissipates. You can also imagine releasing the box into the light what it gets to the pineal gland. If you’re visualizing the box and its colours, the orbit itself may look dark or murky for a while, but will later lighten and clear. 
• As the box moves through your microcosmic orbit, you may immediately learn the lesson that the situation arose to teach you, or you may have an insight at a later time. It is also possible that nothing will be revealed but you will see yourself respond differently whenever a similar situation arises. These are all normal responses.
• When you’re done, let your higher consciousness full the space that opened up when you cleared the stressful matter in the box.