The Small Heavenly Circuit

This is an old Daoist exercise often called the microcosmic orbit. You start from a settled belly, then let your attention travel a loop through the body: up the back, over the crown and down the front, back to where it began. It’s less about doing anything and more about noticing the whole circle.

The working

1. Sit upright and breathe slowly into the lower belly, as in The Sovereign Throne. Rest your attention a little below the navel for a few breaths.
2. Let your attention drift down the front of the belly to the base of the body, then to the tailbone.
3. From the tailbone, move it slowly up the spine: the lower back, between the shoulder blades, the back of the neck, the back of the head, the crown.
4. From the crown, let it come down the front: the forehead, the face, the throat, the chest, and back to the belly.
5. Take as many breaths as you need for each loop. Keep the attention light, like a mist travelling the path rather than a finger pressing on it. If a part feels stuck, breathe toward it and move on.
6. Make three to five loops. With practice, one loop may come to fit a single breath, up the back as you breathe in and down the front as you breathe out.

Closing

Finish by resting your attention in the belly for a few breaths. If the circuit left you dizzy, restless or too warm, skip it for a while and come back to plain belly breathing instead.