[Qigong] Major and Minor Circulation in One Month

Author: Jeffi Chao Hui Wu

Time: June 22, 2025, Sunday, 6:15 PM

········································

[Qigong] The Connection of the Microcosmic and Macrocosmic Circulation in One Month
I officially began my systematic practice of standing in horse stance in June 2024, during the early winter in Sydney. This moment marked a watershed in my journey of practice. Although I had maintained a supine sleeping posture for many years, keeping my spine naturally aligned and my neck relaxed, and had also practiced martial arts and physical training for many years, the strictly defined "systematic standing" truly began that year. At that time, I had no deliberate pursuit of the smooth flow of the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations; I simply practiced my forms and stood in horse stance daily with a steady rhythm, maintaining a calm mindset. However, changes quietly began to occur without my notice.
In the first few days of standing, I had no special sensations; I only felt my legs gradually becoming sore, with my muscles being deeply stretched, while my body was surprisingly relaxed. After more than ten days, changes began to manifest. Every morning, the temperature by the Australian seaside often hovered around six or seven degrees, sometimes even lower. I wore only summer clothes, yet I stood firmly in horse stance and practiced for a full hour, or even longer. Throughout the process, I felt no chill; on the contrary, my body felt as if it were slowly filled with a gentle warmth, surging evenly from my soles, ankles, legs, hips, to my spine, back, arms, and finally to the crown of my head, sometimes even causing me to sweat evenly all over. The cold wind hitting my body felt like a slight coolness, yet it could not penetrate the stable warmth rising from within.
All of this was completely devoid of the "deliberate guidance" I had read about in books. I had never practiced any guiding techniques, had no master beside me to instruct, nor did I engage in any intentional focus. I simply maintained a natural and aligned structure in horse stance, grounded with a steady center of gravity, breathing slowly and deeply, without rush or impatience, moving naturally into position, as if my body were adjusting itself in the most instinctive way. My intention remained still, and the energy flowed on its own. I was simply quietly "being," leaving everything else to my body to operate.
Initially, I did not deliberately verify whether I had opened the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations. I merely noticed that my sweat was becoming more evenly distributed day by day, and the warmth in my body gradually expanded from localized areas to the entire body. The most noticeable change was that I woke up feeling refreshed in the morning, my nighttime sleep became deep and stable, and my daily energy levels rose to a new level. In the past winters, my joints, which had been sensitive to cold, such as my knees and ankles, no longer felt any chill while practicing in the morning cold wind; I could even practice until my whole body felt slightly steamy in the cold wind.
The supine sleeping habit I had maintained for decades unexpectedly became a solid foundation for opening the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations. With my spine naturally aligned and my neck slightly retracted, the governing and directing channels remained unobstructed during years of sleep, without bending or compression. This natural state prevented any severe blockage in my meridians; therefore, when I officially began practicing standing, I almost did not experience what is commonly referred to as the "breakthrough period"—no tingling, no swelling pain, and certainly no intense sensation of energy pathways being forcibly opened. My energy flow was smooth and steady, like water flowing along a cleared riverbed, gradually spreading out.
As I continued to persist in standing practice, the operation of my energy began to undergo a qualitative change. I clearly felt that without any intentional focus, the energy would naturally rise, traveling up along my spine, passing through my back and neck, surging to the crown of my head, then flowing down the front and returning to the dantian. At the same time, my limbs gradually developed a continuous warmth, with my palms and soles feeling filled with warm currents, stable and even in temperature. Sometimes, I would experience a sense of transparency during practice, as if my entire body formed a complete circuit of energy and blood circulation from the inside out. This feeling was not abrupt; it was not a breakthrough, but rather a natural unfolding, a result of things coming together as they should.
The moment the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations connected did not involve any so-called "grand experience," no rocket-like impact, nor uncontrollable agitation. It simply happened quietly, as if everything was meant to be this way. At that moment, I truly realized that the so-called "automatic operation of energy" is not a mysterious metaphysics, but a bodily state built upon structure, breathing, relaxation, and natural accumulation. You do not need to deliberately imagine the pathways of energy, nor do you need to force it to operate in a certain way; when the structure is in place, the body will naturally find a smooth way.
Practicing martial arts, standing, and my life have completely merged together. Whether in morning practice by the seaside or in daily movements in the living room, each stance is stable, steady, and natural. Over time, the flow of energy and blood has become increasingly efficient and stable, with the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations becoming the norm, no longer requiring deliberate searching or pursuit.
In summary, my process of connecting the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations is the result of natural accumulation. A constitution that is inherently unobstructed, combined with decades of naturally supine sleeping habits, has kept my body in a state close to balanced alignment. Beginning systematic standing practice in 2024 added a solid framework on this stable foundation. In less than a month, the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations naturally connected—not a breakthrough, but a result of the body conforming to its natural laws.
This experience has further solidified my understanding: to practice martial arts, one must first cultivate the internal work; to cultivate the internal work, one must first focus on structure. Without the support of structure, no amount of guidance or intentional focus is effective. With structure in place, energy and blood flow naturally, and the microcosmic and macrocosmic circulations are not the endpoint, but merely the starting point of the unity of body and mind and the stable operation of energy.

Source: http://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696470