My intro to the Sojucheon / Microcosmic Orbit book
An ongoing attempt to explain what Qigong is in plain English
A big theme of my life is exploring some arcane topic or having a difficult experience and wanting to explain it as simply as possible. I have a deep need to be understood and to share my experiences when I think they’re useful for other people.
So when my teachers recently published a book about the Sojucheon / Microcosmic Orbit I ended up writing a forward to explain the experience in the practice to leave breadcrumbs for other seekers.
You can read it below
In this book you’ll read some in-depth, nuanced explanations about Qi (energy) and how to practice the Sojucheon, but clarity in defining Sojucheon up front is necessary, as well as a brief clarification of what Qigong is.
Qigong is an ancient Chinese system of physical exercise and meditation that combines movement, breathing, and mental concentration to promote health and well-being. The purpose of Qigong is to store Qi from nature in what Chinese Medicine refers to as the Dantian (and what some traditions call the second chakra). Once you’ve accumulated enough Qi (energy) inside your Dantian, that Qi energy will move to your tailbone and then make its way up your spine to the top of your head and back down again, forming the Sojucheon. Also, Sojucheon translated to English is the Microcosmic Orbit, and you’ll probably see both here and there.
There are a lot of ways you gradually learn to store and exchange Qi, the physical sensation of storing this energy is very subtle, and so is the sensation of the orbit up your spine and back down again. Without the guidance of Master Han and Grandmaster Choi, I would not have noticed what was going on inside my body even after two years of consistent practice.
Now, you may be skeptical about the idea of “storing Qi inside of the Dantian” and I want to encourage the skepticism. This is one of those things that you need to experience and learn about over time in order to understand and believe. But what I will recommend is that you do some research into grounding, where you stand barefoot on the earth and notice the positive benefits of reduced inflammation, and more. You’ll notice that the current science hypothesizes that exchanging electrons with the earth reduces inflammation and has a positive impact on all sorts of disease patterns.
“Multi-disciplinary research has revealed that electrically conductive contact of the human body with the surface of the Earth (grounding or earthing) produces intriguing effects on physiology and health. Such effects relate to inflammation, immune responses, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.”
This book teaches you about the system in which Qi energy cycles through your body in a 24 hour period, across weeks, months, and a year, and how your body’s rhythms align with nature. Our modern lives have us out of balance with our own bodies and with nature. Consistent Qigong practice recharges the body’s natural energy so it can flow fully through its normal cycle and achieve balance. In order to charge the body we must learn to exchange Qi with nature and thus bring our bodies back into harmony with nature.
As your practice deepens, you’ll start to notice how the the Sojucheon is a lot more than “just” a circulation of Qi; it is the path of “The Cultivation of both Inner Nature(Seong) and Fate(Myung)” (性命雙修)—the simultaneous cultivation of essence (jeong) and spirit (shin). Only when the mind is emptied, and the spirit becomes clear and quiet, can refined energy then accumulate and begin to circulate. Through this circulation, stagnant and impure energies are released, and the body and spirit begin to restore their original harmony. As Master Han said to me once, “Everything you consume, food, energy, thoughts affects your energy.” Practicing Qigong while aiming to harmonize with nature gradually becomes a holistic practice that touches every part of your life. By paying attention, I notice on a day-by-day basis how my diet, my thoughts, my actions, and who I spend my time around impact how the Sojucheon feels inside my body. This kinesthetic feedback makes this cultivation very immanent and real. It’s a gift to have a clear signal telling you how your practice is going day-to-day.
This book illuminates the journey of the Microcosmic Orbit practice through a range of metaphors: refining energy like in alchemical distillation, gently steaming and spreading Qi like vapor, and tending to one’s internal state as a farmer nurtures the soil. These images aim to make the profound principles of inner alchemy more accessible and tangible.
The insights shared via metaphors and concepts are not theoretical. They are a real practice you can start today. What’s in this book is the result of long, sincere research and practice—refined over years of personal cultivation from Grandmaster Choi and Master Han who have collected wisdom and lessons from ancient texts and distilled them based on their own experience and practice in order to create a new record for a new generation of seekers.
The Microcosmic Orbit is not mastered in a day; it unfolds gradually, in rhythm with each individual’s inner development. Along this path, one does not simply improve health, but encounters the deeper process of attaining harmony.
May this book serve as a small guiding light in your journey of inner cultivation.