Dantien is the center of gravity and storage center for qi in Asian philosophy, medicine, and martial arts. It is located below and behind the navel and can improve balance and generate more power in athletes. It is also used in meditation and traditional Chinese medicine.
Dantien is a concept that occurs frequently in Asian philosophy, medicine, and martial arts. The dantien is the body’s center of gravity and, in theory, the storage center for qi, or life force. It is located just below and behind the navel, although some traditions suggest that the body actually has three dantien points, at the navel, heart and forehead. Students in courses dealing with traditional Chinese philosophy, such as qi gong classes, are often introduced to the concept of dantien at an early stage.
You may also see dantien written as dan tien, dantian, tan t’ien, or so on, due to the fact that romanization from Chinese characters is often highly flawed. The term translates as “red field,” and many people visualize the dantien as a physical field of energy, as well as a point on the body. Dantien is sometimes thought of as a sphere of energy in the body that can be manipulated or regulated.
Philosophy aside, the stomach is very close to the center of gravity for the human body, and as athletes know, learning to use that center of gravity can help generate more power. Being aware of your center of gravity and bringing it low in your stomach can also improve balance, which is beneficial for athletes such as boxers and fencers, as it can prevent a fall when the body is extended in an attack. The concept of the dantien, therefore, is very important in martial arts, with instructors encouraging students to center their energy in the dantien for more powerful strikes and greater balance.
There are a variety of contexts in which the dantien can emerge. During meditation, people can be encouraged to breathe deeply into their dantien and focus their mind on the energy it contains. The dantien is also used in traditional Chinese medicine, with practitioners exploring the flow of the body’s energy and the amount of energy stored at this key point in the body. Some practices like qi gong are supposed to improve energy flow and strengthen the dantien, the energy chamber for later use.
The idea of the lower abdomen as the seat of life force and energy is by no means unique to Asia. This body part has powerful symbolism in many cultures and appears in a wide variety of medicinal practices and traditional sports, although it may not always be explicitly defined as a powerhouse of mental energy in Western athletics.
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