Dantien - the centre -The Basic Principles of Qigong

Then practising Qigong one part of the body is very important -the centre, known in Chinese as Dantien. It is an area within us that stores our Qi to balance our body - like the sun in our solar system, the father in a family, the capital of a country. 'Dan' means crystal or the essence of energy, while 'Tien' means field or area for the essence of energy. In the beginning when we practise Qigong the Dantien starts to store the Qi energy. At first the Qi stored in the Dantien is gas (air and Qi), which flows around the body causing warm, tingling sensations; then as you progress it becomes liquid, like blood, semen and the milk of a nursing mother. Finally, if you keep practising, the essence of liquid energy becomes crystal (solid) Dan. W'hen high-level Buddhist and Daoist monks die and are cremated, their solid Dan survives and can be found amongst their ashes. Buddhists call this Xie Li Zi. When we first practise Qigong we bring the Qi to the Dantien (see below). After a while, when the Qi becomes strong enough, it will go through the front channel (Ren Channel) and the back channel (Du Channel) to form a circle (Xiao Zhou Tien -microcosmic orbit). After this has happened, the twelve main channels will become clear. These are: the Lung Channel; the Pericardium Channel; the Heart Channel; the Spleen Channel; the Liver Channel; the Kidney Channel; the Large Intestine Channel; the Triple Warmer Channel; the Small Intestine Channel; the Stomach Channel; the Gall Bladder Channel; and the Urinary Bladder Channel. The Dantien is like a bank account: once you have opened it you can put your money in, and the more money you have the more you can deposit. In Qigong, the more energy you collect, the more you can put into your Dantien, so you become healthy and strong (see Chapter 4).Now we will look at different kinds of training within Qigong. All are aimed at developing your health by collecting Qi and bringing it to the Dantien.