The Small Heavenly Orbit Mini Course!!
Small Heavenly Orbit Mini Course:
The Small Heavenly Orbit is one of the most important methods of Internal Alchemy and Qigong practice which connects the cycle of energy around the body.
It is also a practice with more than 1000 years of history and has gone by many names including the River Wheel, Midnight and Midday Orbit, the Dharma Wheel and has had an influence in Chinese Daoism, Qigong and even Buddhist thought.
This is such an important practice, but do you know how it is done? Do you know how to make progress?
Let me be a little blunt, most people who claim to understand the Small Heavenly Orbit are only partly informed about its nature and many people think it is just about circulating the mind around the body which is a mistake which medieval Daoists called 空转何车 Kong Zhuan He Che/The False Circulation of the River Wheel since there is no Qi in the area, only mental intention which leads to the burning of the track and makes it harder to progress in the future.
The first thing you need to do before you practice is understand whether you are trying to practice for health or spiritual purposes, since the method you use requires a different approach depending on your goal.
Although the Small Orbit has many variations, in my research I have come across three that are the most important:
1: Zi Wu Orbit of Internal Alchemy:
this version of the orbit is the alchemical method of transforming the Yin essence of the body to Yang energy and is the foundational stage of practice of internal alchemy known as refining the essence and transforming Qi. Most people who wish to study internal alchemy must complete this stage before they go on to more advanced studies of the large orbit and transforming the void.
2: Dao Yin Small Orbit:
by around 1700 various people in the Chinese Medicine and folk Daoist world began experimenting with methods of opening the orbit assisted by techniques of saliva gathering and visualization with breathing and stretching practices. These methods use ancient Daoist techniques but apply the knowledge of the orbit running up the back and down the front of the body and are mainly used for health purposes.
3: Qigong Small Orbit:
This special method advanced by the Qigong master Li Shaobo called The True Qi Circulation Method is a modern Qigong approach which combines Internal Alchemy, Dao Yin and Chinese Medicine knowledge to open the orbit in the “post heaven” state to facilitate healing, but at a higher level can be used to facilitate Internal Alchemy practice after the orbit is complete.
Each of these three methods have their own unique benefits and although they should not be randomly mixed in practice, you may choose to perform them at appropriate times. For instance if you just want a little energy and don't have too much free time you can perform the Dao Yin Orbit in less than a minute, whereas if you want to have special energetic healing benefits for your body you may choose to perform the Qigong orbit which could take between 15 – 30 minutes and have a deeper and more relaxing effect on your body. If you aspire to understanding the profound art of Internal Alchemy you may choose to begin the study of the Zi Wu Orbit and although it is impossible to teach it as a technique (it is a phenomenon of proper meditation practice over many months up to several years), it is possible to teach the foundational knowledge you need to learn and master the nature of the orbit so when your meditation practice arrives you will be able to take advantage of it.
My Small Orbit Mini Course is part of the Comparative Curriculum at Qigong Project where we will look at the same practices through the lens of Daoist Internal Alchemy, Classical and Modern Dao Yin and Qigong in order to fortify and deepen our practice and discernment of energetic studies from China.
We will be using three documents to guide us:
1: The Nei Jing Tu/Inner Pathway Chart:
This classic Daoist image instructs us about the inner geography of the Du and Ren Meridians connecting the front and back of the body. We can use the secret meanings of the images in the chart to learn how the true mind pairs water and fire and causes the true Qi and the energy of the life gate to rise to the palace of heaven, as well as how to return and store the energy.
I will also use my practical and theoretical knowledge of the Small Orbit (which I completed in 2017) to explain many of the essential phenomena of the practice from start to end.
2: Xiao Yaozi Dao Yin Jue: the Xiao Yaozi Dao Yin Jue/Master of Carefree Wandering Dao Yin Formula is an 18th century document teaching various methods to stimulate and collect the Qi of the body along the same meridian pathways used in the Internal Alchemy Small Orbit, the main difference being that according to this method we can use the mind to subtly lead the Qi within the energetic pathways. This document contains sixteen sections on energy work, each of which will be included and explained so you can apply them in practice.
3: Li Shaobo's Zhen Qi Yun Xing Fa:
The True Qi Circulation Method is the best Qigong Small Orbit in existence and I will teach from one of master Li's documents on the method. You will learn how to develop the Qigong orbit and some interesting features of the solar plexus which acts as a focal point to stimulate energetic development in the Lower Dantian.
By the time you are done this course you will be highly informed about the nature of the Small Orbit and how to practice according to three different modalities.
If you are a fan of Qigong and Daoist Meditation this is your chance to go deeper than you ever imagined and learn some genuinely life changing practices.
FAQ:
Q: How is the course offered?
A: This is a prerecorded lecture series which I will begin delivering in the first week of October.
There will be three sections, one for each area of study with new materials being released each week until the third week.
Q: What medium is the course offered in?
A: You will receive video lectures and PDF documents including those mentioned above.
Q: I am new to Qigong and Meditation, can I still learn the Small Orbit?
A: Yes, there is no problem at all to study this!! I will attempt to simplify terms, but some topics such as Dantian, and Qi are already assumed to be understood at a basic level, so you may want to do a little research if you aren't familiar with those terms yet.
Q: I've already learned a variation of the Small Orbit, do you think this course will still be good for me?
A: Absolutely! You have learned one variation, but in this course we teach three of the most popular approaches to practice and so much more!! Even seasoned Qigong practitioners will find this course informative and beneficial and it will be especially useful to people who already know one method because it can offer insight about how to use it in different contexts to get even more benefit!!
Q: Are there any moving practices, or is it all done while seated?
A: There will be a small amount of Dao Yin movements which are basically stretching done while seated, but the majority of the practice is done in seated meditation.
Q: How much does the mini course cost and how can I sign up?
A: it is $45 for the course and you can sign up here on my gumroad page by clicking “I want this.” and following the instructions.
Q: Where do I access the course?
A: Right here on gumroad. After you make your purchase you will have access to the course page where you will get the videos and PDFs as soon as they are uploaded. My plan is to start releasing materials on October 2nd 2024 and keep going with new materials once a week until everything is up.
So what do you think? Does this seem like the most exciting Qigong and meditation course you've heard about in a long time? If so then by all means please join us as we delve into this fascinating and important material!!!