All Topics  
Dantian

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Dantian
 
 
  Topics Dantian Topic Home

Dantian, Dan Tien or Tan t'ien ( Dantián ; Tanden; DanJeon; Dantian) literally means "cinnabar or red field" and is loosely translated as "elixir field". It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative techniques and refers specifically to the physical center of gravity located in the abdomen three finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel.

The dantian is important in Neidan
Neidan

In China, as in many cultures, alchemy is a doctrine in which individuals try to gain understanding of the primary principles of the formation and functions of the cosmos....
, qigong
Qigong

Qigong refers to a wide variety of traditional cultivation practices that involve methods of accumulating, circulating, and working with qi, breathing or energy within the body....
, neigong
Neigong

Neigong, also spelled nei kung, neigung, or nae gong, is any of a set of China qigong, meditation and spiritual practice disciplines associated with Daoism and especially the Chinese martial arts....
, tao yin
Tao Yin

Tao Yin is a series of breathing exercises practiced by Taoists to cultivate ch'i or internal energy of the body based upon the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine....
 and other breathing techniques, as well as for traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medicine system in much of the western world....
 and is also widely used throughout East Asia
East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either Geography or cultural terms. Geography and geopolitically, it covers about 12,000,000 km?, or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia as Central Asia....
n meditation
Meditation

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness....
 and martial arts theory, especially the neijia
Nčijia

The term "n?ijia" usually refers to Wudangquan or the internal styles of Chinese martial arts, which Sun Lutang identified in the 1920s as T'ai Chi Ch'uan, X?ngy?qu?n and Bagu?zhang....
 school of Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts

Kung fu and wushu are popular terms that have become synonymous with China martial arts. However, the Chinese language terms kung fu and wushu have very different meanings....
 and Tai Chi Chuan
Tai Chi Chuan

Tai chi chuan is an neijia Chinese martial arts often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of reasons: its Hard and soft , demonstration competitions, health and longevity....
.

According to principles of Chinese alchemy
Chinese alchemy

Chinese alchemy is a part of the larger tradition of Daoism, which centers on the tradition of body-spirit cultivation that developed through the Chinese understandings of medicine and the body....
 there are three dantians in the body: The lower dantian is located 1.3 inches below the navel and is also called the golden stove.
The middle dantian is in the heart and in Western anatomy
Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the body plan. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy ....
 is associated with the Thymus gland.
The upper dantian is in the brain just behind a point directly between the eyebrows and corresponds to the Third eye
Third eye

The third eye is a mysticism and esotericism concept referring in part to the ajna chakra in certain Eastern and Western spiritual traditions....
, in Western anatomy
Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the body plan. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy ....
 this point corresponds to the Pituitary gland
Pituitary gland

The pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g . It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a Dura mater fold ....
..

In speaking specifically of the lower of the three points, the term dantian is often used interchangeably with the Japanese word hara (?; Chinese: fů) which literally means simply "belly".






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Dantian'
Start a new discussion about 'Dantian'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Recent Posts

I would like to know the signs that your cords are severed from the five dantians.








Encyclopedia


Dantian, Dan Tien or Tan t'ien ( Dantián ; Tanden; DanJeon; Dantian) literally means "cinnabar or red field" and is loosely translated as "elixir field". It is described as an important focal point for internal meditative techniques and refers specifically to the physical center of gravity located in the abdomen three finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel.

The dantian is important in Neidan
Neidan

In China, as in many cultures, alchemy is a doctrine in which individuals try to gain understanding of the primary principles of the formation and functions of the cosmos....
, qigong
Qigong

Qigong refers to a wide variety of traditional cultivation practices that involve methods of accumulating, circulating, and working with qi, breathing or energy within the body....
, neigong
Neigong

Neigong, also spelled nei kung, neigung, or nae gong, is any of a set of China qigong, meditation and spiritual practice disciplines associated with Daoism and especially the Chinese martial arts....
, tao yin
Tao Yin

Tao Yin is a series of breathing exercises practiced by Taoists to cultivate ch'i or internal energy of the body based upon the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine....
 and other breathing techniques, as well as for traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine

Traditional Chinese medicine includes a range of traditional medicine practices originating in China. Although well accepted in the mainstream of medical care throughout East Asia, it is considered an alternative medicine system in much of the western world....
 and is also widely used throughout East Asia
East Asia

East Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either Geography or cultural terms. Geography and geopolitically, it covers about 12,000,000 km?, or about 28 percent of the Asian continent, about 15 percent bigger than the area of Europe, though some categorize Tibet, Xinjiang, and Mongolia as Central Asia....
n meditation
Meditation

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness....
 and martial arts theory, especially the neijia
Nčijia

The term "n?ijia" usually refers to Wudangquan or the internal styles of Chinese martial arts, which Sun Lutang identified in the 1920s as T'ai Chi Ch'uan, X?ngy?qu?n and Bagu?zhang....
 school of Chinese martial arts
Chinese martial arts

Kung fu and wushu are popular terms that have become synonymous with China martial arts. However, the Chinese language terms kung fu and wushu have very different meanings....
 and Tai Chi Chuan
Tai Chi Chuan

Tai chi chuan is an neijia Chinese martial arts often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of reasons: its Hard and soft , demonstration competitions, health and longevity....
.

According to principles of Chinese alchemy
Chinese alchemy

Chinese alchemy is a part of the larger tradition of Daoism, which centers on the tradition of body-spirit cultivation that developed through the Chinese understandings of medicine and the body....
 there are three dantians in the body: The lower dantian is located 1.3 inches below the navel and is also called the golden stove.
The middle dantian is in the heart and in Western anatomy
Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the body plan. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy ....
 is associated with the Thymus gland.
The upper dantian is in the brain just behind a point directly between the eyebrows and corresponds to the Third eye
Third eye

The third eye is a mysticism and esotericism concept referring in part to the ajna chakra in certain Eastern and Western spiritual traditions....
, in Western anatomy
Anatomy

Anatomy is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the body plan. It is a general term that includes human anatomy, animal anatomy and plant anatomy ....
 this point corresponds to the Pituitary gland
Pituitary gland

The pituitary gland, or hypophysis, is an endocrine gland about the size of a pea and weighing 0.5 g . It is a protrusion off the bottom of the hypothalamus at the base of the brain, and rests in a small, bony cavity covered by a Dura mater fold ....
..

In speaking specifically of the lower of the three points, the term dantian is often used interchangeably with the Japanese word hara (?; Chinese: fů) which literally means simply "belly". In Chinese
China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
 and Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
ese tradition, it is considered the physical center of gravity for the human body and by extension the seat of one's internal energy (qi
Qi

In traditional Chinese culture, qi is an active principle forming part of any living thing.It is frequently translated as "energy flow," and is often compared to Western notions of energeia or ?lan vital as well as the Yoga Pranayama of prana....
). A master of calligraphy
Calligraphy

Calligraphy is the art of writing . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner" ....
, swordsmanship
Swordsmanship

Swordsman redirects here. For the comic book characters, see Swordsman . For the 1990 Hong Kong film, see The Swordsman.Swordsmanship refers to the skills of a swordsman, a person versed in the art of the sword....
, tea ceremony
Tea ceremony

A tea ceremony is an Asian ritual form of making tea. The term generally refers to the Japanese tea ceremony. One can also refer to the whole set of rituals, tools, mudra, etc....
, martial arts or comparable disciplines is held in the Japanese tradition to be "acting from the hara". (However it should be noted that whereas the dantian is a fixed location anatomical region of the body that the centre of gravity is a theoretical concept and can move about even moving outside of the body in relation to the movement of the limbs.)

Taoist and Buddhist teachers often instruct their students to center their mind in dantian, held to aid control of thought
Thought

Thought and thinking are mind Theory of forms and processes, respectively Thinking allows beings to model the world and to deal with it according to their goal, plans, ends and desires....
s and emotion
Emotion

An emotion is a mental and physiological state associated with a wide variety of feelings, thoughts, and behavior.Emotions are subjective experiences, or experienced from an individual point of view....
s. Therefore, acting from the dantian is considered to be related to the state of samadhi
Samadhi (Buddhism)

In Buddhism, samadhi is mental concentration or composing the mind.In the Pali literature, samadhi is found in the following contexts:* In the Noble Eightfold Path, "right concentration" is the eighth path factor....
.

The dantian also roughly corresponds to the India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n concept of the manipura
Manipura

Manipura called 'city of jewels' is the third primary chakra according to Hindu tradition....
, or navel chakra
Chakra

Chakra is a Sanskrit word that translates as wheel or disc.Chakra is a concept referring to wheel-like vortices which, according to traditional Indian medicine, are believed to exist in the surface of the etheric double of man....
 in yoga
Yoga

Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word is associated with meditative practices in both Buddhism and Hinduism....
 philosophy, thought to be the seat of prana
Prana

Prana is the Sanskrit for "breath" .It is one of the five organs of vitality or sensation, viz. prana "breath", Vac "speech", caksus "sight", shrotra "hearing", and manas "thought" ....
 that radiates outwards to the entire body.

External links



See also

  • Aikido
    Aikido

    is a Japanese martial art developed by Morihei Ueshiba as a synthesis of his martial studies, philosophy, and religious beliefs. Aikido is often translated as "the Way of unifying Qi" or as "the Way of harmonious spirit." Ueshiba's goal was to create an art that practitioners could use to defend themselves while also protecting their attacker fro...
  • Haragei
    Haragei

    Haragei is a Japanese word referring to the art of exuding one's personal energy, Qi primarily from the Dantian, at base of the abdomen, three finger widths below and two finger widths behind the navel....
  • Jing (TCM)
    Jing (TCM)

    Jing is the Chinese word for "essence", specifically kidney essence. Along with Qi and Shen , it is considered one of the Three Treasures Sanbao ?? of Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM....
  • Kiai
    Kiai

    is a Japanese language term used in martial arts. There are numerous examples of the battle cry in other cultures: kiai is perhaps primarily a development of this....
  • Kundalini
    Kundalini

    Kundalini Sanskrit, literally "coiled". In Indian yoga, a "corporeal energy" - an unconscious, instinctive or libidinal force or Shakti, envisioned either as a goddess or else as a sleeping serpent coiled at the base of the spine, hence a number of English renderings of the term such as 'serpent power'....
  • Meditation
    Meditation

    Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness....
  • Mindfulness
    Mindfulness

    Mindfulness is a mental state, characterized by concentrated awareness of one's thoughts, actions or motivations. Mindfulness plays a central role in the teaching of the Gautama Buddha where it is affirmed that "correct" or "right" mindfulness is an essential factor in the path to Bodhi and Moksha....
  • Misogi
    Misogi

    is a Shinto practice of ritual purification. This may be undertaken through exhaustive activities such as extended periods without sleep, breath training , standing under waterfalls, or other methods....
  • Pushing hands
    Pushing hands

    Pushing hands, , or sticky hands, is a name for two-person training routines practiced in Nei chia Chinese martial arts such as Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Tai Chi Chuan , Liuhebafa, Quan Fa, and Yiquan....
  • Secret of the Golden Flower
  • Silk reeling
    Silk reeling

    Silk reeling , also called winding silk energy ch?nsij?ng , refers to a set of neigong movement principles expressed in traditional styles of t'ai chi ch'uan, but especially emphasised by the Chen style tai chi chuan and Wu style tai chi chuans of t'ai chi ch'uan....
  • Tai Chi Chuan
    Tai Chi Chuan

    Tai chi chuan is an neijia Chinese martial arts often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of reasons: its Hard and soft , demonstration competitions, health and longevity....
  • Triple burner