The Small Heavenly Circuit is considered one of the oldest and most powerful techniques in Qigong. This particular meditation & breathing technique links the 2 energy pathways that run along the midline of your body into a cycling loop.

- 1st pathway is the Du Mai / Governing Vessel). It extends up the back of your spine.

- The 2nd pathway is the Ren Mai /Conception Vessel, that runs down the front of the body.

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Reminder: 

• Keep the eyes closed, the head and body straight but relaxed. The head is as if it was lifted by a thread and the tongue is touching the upper palate connecting the Du Mai and Ren Mai channels.

• Before circulating the Qi up it is important to have significant Qi stored in the lower Dantien. When there is an abundance of Qi in the Lower Dantien, then the Qi will naturally move through the Small Heaven circle as a lake flowing into its adjacent river. 

• Try to sense the Qi flowing through the meridians and key energy gates as opposed to using imagination.

• It is important to use your awareness and not your imagination to guide the Qi.

• Qi follows where the mind guides it, energy moves where we put our intent.

• Direct the Qi, but do not force the Qi flow. Do not be in pursuit of the Qi.

• You may use your breath as in instrument for guiding and drawing the Qi to the meridians and key energy gates, however Qi can be directed without the breath.

• You may “bathe” or linger at key energy gates in developing your practice so that you may learn to easily sense the key energy gates as you practice Small Heaven.

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Du Mai:

The Du Mai meridian extends from the perineum up the spine around the back of your head, it crosses over the top of your head and your forehead and ends in your mouth. There is an acupoint on the hard palate that acts as a bridge between Du Mai and Ren Mai. The tongue acts as the switch that connects these two meridians. As you touch the tip of your tongue to the roof of your mouth, softly, the Qi circulating in Du Mai flows through the tongue into Ren Mai begins in the area around your chin and extends down the midline, passes through the neck, chest, and abdomen, and continues all the way down to the perineum where it rejoins Du Mai. This is called the Magpie Bridge, or Da Qiao.

 

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Since all 20 meridians cross the path of the Small Heavenly Circuit, the energy cultivated through this practice flows into the rest of the body, nourishing and harmonizing the internal organs with potent Qi.

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There are 11 points that we use to orient awareness as it courses up the back and down the front of the body.

-  3 of these points lie on the Mai on the front of the body,

-  1 point inside the mouth acts as a relay between the two channels and

-  the other 7 points lie on Du Mai on the back. 

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The 2 Ren Mai points 

1. Xia Dantian (Lower Elixir Field) - About three finger-widths down from your navel, level with your center of gravity which lies between the 4th and 5th lumbar vertebrae. 

2. Hui Yin (perineum) - On the pelvic floor between the anus and the genitals. 

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The 6 Du Mai points 

1. Wei Lu (DU 2) - In the space between the sacrum and the coccyx. 

2. Ming Men (Gate of Life, DU 4) - At the midline, between L2 and L3, at the of your inflection point of your lower back. 

3. Jia Ji (DU 9) - At the spine, at the level of the inferior angle of the scapula when you are standing or siting. 

4. Da Zhui (Big Bone, DU 14) - Just interior to the spinous process of C7 at the base of the neck. 

5. Yu Zhen (Jade Pillow, DU 16) - On the midline, in the depression just below the occiput at the base of the skull. 

6. Bai Hui (One Hundred Meetings, DU 20) - The topmost point at the top of your head. 

7. Yin Tang (Shining Chamber) - At the midpoint between the eyebrows. 

 

Bridging point 

1. Que Qiao (Magpie Bridge, transition point) - On the hard palate, at the location where the tip of your tongue touches the roof of your mouth with least effort. 

 

The last Ren Mai Point 

1. Shan Zhong (Heart Center, Ren 17) - At the center of the sternum on the midline, on the 4th intercostal space 

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Guided visualization of the Micro Cosmit Orbit is intended to help you awaken a sense of the point locations and the qualities related to them.

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I Prefer the Guided Meditation of Robert Peng. You can purchase it at Udemy / Sounds True.