The macrocosmic orbit qigong is one exercise in the tradition of qigong meditation. Qigong is an ancient practice using breath, movement and meditative focus to cultivate energy flow throughout the body, mind and spirit. Qigong practitioners learn about the body's meridians, or lines of energy flow, that are at the basis of Chinese medicine and many other traditions.

The macrocosmic orbit qigong is an advanced exercise for using breath and concentration in strengthening your energy. There are a number of variations of this exercise and each practitioner must decide for him or herself which one is best for them. Learning this technique requires the instruction of an experienced teacher who has studied the this exercise thoroughly.

The Fire Approach to Energy Circulation

Much of qigong breath work involves learning about breathing and drawing energy through different parts of the body, especially the concept of abdominal breathing. Abdominal breathing means envisioning breath beginning in the abdomen, a few inches below the navel. Life force energy is visualized as traveling all the way down the lungs and into the abdomen where it vitalizes the body and then the mind and spirit. In this practice, the abdominal breath principle is combined with energy flow in the conception vessel and governing vessel.

The conception vessel is a meridian that begins at a point between the legs and moves upward, through the belly and center of the chest to the lower edge of the bottom lip. The governing vessel begins at the same spot and then travels up the back of the body along the spine and over the top of the head to the upper lip. These powerful energy lines are where concentration is focused during the macrocosmic orbit qigong exercise.

The direction of energy flow in the conception and governing vessel circuit is an important consideration for maximum benefit. Often, the direction is influenced by the gender of the practitioner. Frequently, having the energy flow go up the spine and down the front of the body is recommended for males, and the other direction for females. Other factors can determine the direction as well and a teacher can help the student determine which direction is best.

The Water Method Approach to Building Your Energy

In our school, we don't emphasize visualization and force to drive circulation. Instead, over time, you learn to move energy directly with your mind through refining your feeling awareness.

We practice:

• Relaxed, natural breath that gently massages the internal organs.
• Circular physical movements that teach us how to move subtle physical structures like joints and fascia directly.
• Rising/falling and gathering/releasing energetic flows powered by actual fascia and joint movement.

Students are introduced to these methods through the Marriage of Heaven and Earth Qigong.

Over time, we introduce fire elements to complete the macrocosmic orbit with the Spiraling Energy Body Qigong set.

The macrocosmic orbit qigong is a powerful, advanced energy exercises of the Taoist tradition. It helps strengthen the spirit, develop and energize the qi. It involves visualizing qi moving along a specific course of meridian lines. The technique dates back as far as the I Ching.