I'm glad Five Gates Breathing worked out for you Justin.
Now, for my experience with the Microcosmic Orbit.
I began with deep breathing for about five minutes. I became aware of my Qi, and had a strong feeling of Qi in the spine, head, back and Dantien. I began to do Dantien meditation for about 5 more minutes, I used the mantra "hamsa" as I breathed.
When I felt ready, I made sure I was sitting up straight. I closed the eyes and crossed them slightly. I did mula bandha, and I touched the tongue to the roof of the mouth. I inhaled deeply and slowly through the nose while focusing on the huiyin point on the top of the head. I felt Qi well up in my lower back at the beginning of the breath, by the middle of the breath it was between my shoulders, and by the end of the breath when I couldn't inhale anymore it was at the top of the head. The Qi felt like a strong, magnetic, polarized force in the back. I began to exhale, and focused on the lower Dantien. As I began to exhale my face felt numb and tingly, then I felt it in my throat, my stomach got a little hot, and then when I finished the exhalation I felt a strong magnetic pulling around the area of the lower Dantien. As I continued, I felt all of the above sensations, yet they felt much more intense. With each subsequent rising and falling of the Qi, I felt as if the meridians involved were bigger and bigger, like an ocean. I actually heard "waves crashing on a beach", and had visions of a golden-white orb of energy with my eyes closed. It seemed like with each subsequent repetition, more and more Qi was circulating each time. I did about 15 reps over 15 minutes or so, and by the end I felt incredibly energized and relaxed. I swallowed the 'Jade Nectar', the saliva that collected, and felt it go into my stomach, then expand rapidly through the rest of the body as Qi, this caused a blurring of body awareness, so it felt like the Qi was expanding outside the body about 2 feet in each direction as well. I was finished, so I opened my eyes, everything was somewhat hazy because I still had neural discharges. I stood up slowly, then I went and made a cup of tea.