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your breath in the same way you did with your perineum. Once you begin to sense the area opening, move on, one by one, to the kidney point, opposite the navel; thoracic 11, opposite your solar plexus; the point between the shoulder blades, opposite the heart; cervical 7, which is the large vertebra at the base of the neck; the jade pillow, which is at the base of the skull; the crown point, at the very top of your head; and the mid-eyebrow point, which we worked with in earlier chapters. Don’t try to force the sensation. Just allow each point to begin to open by itself as a result of the energy of your breath touching it. You don’t need to go through all the points of the governor channel in one sitting. You can spread them out in 10 or 15 minute sessions over several days. If you do spread them out, however, start again with the perineum with each new session and quickly review the points you’ve already sensed.

Figure 35

3 Awakening the centers of the functional channel

When you finally reach the mid-eyebrow point, touch the tip of your tongue lightly to the roof of your mouth just behind your upper teeth, and keep it there for the duration of the practice. (A good location is about where your tongue would go naturally when you say the letters “le” of the word let.) Now let your attention begin to go down the functional channel through your mouth and tongue to your throat center. Again, breathe into and out of this center until you begin to sense a vibration of opening. Then let your attention go in turn to your heart center, about one and one-half inches up from the bottom of your sternum; your solar plexus, about three quarters of the way up between your navel and the bottom of your sternum; your navel; your sexual center, in the area of the pubic bone; and finally back to the perineum. Take your time with this work. Impatience will only get in the way. What is important is to begin to actually feel the vibratory sensation of each center.

4 Circulating the vital breath

Once you can locate and sense the various centers, the next step is to begin to experience your breath energy as it circulates through them. This is not an easy practice. The Taoist classics make clear that sensing the microcosmic orbit in its fullness can take many years. It is important to remember that most of us have little experience working with our attention and energy in this way. For most of us, the energy centers are jammed up with tension and are barely discernible to our awareness. As a result, the process of opening the centers can on occasion be uncomfortable. As you continue to practice gently, however, you will begin to experience a new sense of movement in yourself, and much more direct contact with your energetic presence.

On the surface, the practice is quite simple. As you inhale, sense the breath energy moving up the governor channel from the perineum through the various centers. As you exhale, sense the energy moving down the functional channel from your mid-eyebrow point through the various centers and back again to your perineum. Be sure that the tip of your tongue stays in contact with the roof of your mouth. You can also occasionally try reversing the process—breathing up the functional channel, and down the governor channel. This will help clear the channels of any tensions or toxins. Don’t worry if you can’t sense some kind of movement through all the centers. Simply observe what takes place—where you can sense yourself and where you can’t. Over time, the channels and centers will begin to open more fully, and you will receive new, direct impressions of your inner energies as they move more efficiently through your organism.

In the Taoist tradition the microcosmic orbit is also sometimes referred to as the “the small orbit.” The Taoists also work with the “macrocosmic orbit,” or “large orbit,” in which the vital energy is moved not only through the governor and functional channels, but also through channels in the legs and arms. And there are still further practices that involve other energy pathways deep