Some people would place this in the Advanced/ or Internal/ section of the website. And it belongs there. It also belongs in Basics/, because it is something that someone learning T’ai Chi needs to know from the first lesson, since it’s both a part of growing your skill and a root of understanding the art.
I was taught about the importance of “the” dantian (tan t’ien) – behind and below the belly-button – but it wasn’t until started reading the classics that I learned there are three dantian, and it was not until I got involved in translating classic Chinese medical works that I really appreciated the importance of understanding them. They are:
- The lower dantian, the one we are all taught about: below and behind the belly-button.
- The middle dantian, located behind the sternum.
- The upper dantian, located behind, between, and slightly above the eyes (sometimes placed at the location of the pineal gland).
Very roughly, the lower dantian converts jing (disordered energy from everywhere) into qi (controlled, directed or semi-directed energy within the body), and also stores qi; the middle dantian circulates the qi; and the qi is eventually converted to shen (spirit), and lives in the upper dantian.
There are people who would disagree with even that simple description, saying that qi is primarily stored in the kidneys (and I'd agree that a lot is). Then it gets more esoteric, with arguments over whether qi should flow anywhere freely, or be stored in “buckets.” (I have my own views – that qi should be free to circulate, and live where it wants – but those can wait for another essay.) Then one gets out into mystical-stuff-that-makes-sense-after-20-years, like the Cinnabar Fields merging into the Red Emperor.
All that can be learned or debated later in your practice. There are important reasons to know that there are three dantian from the beginning of your practice:
- It’s essential to perceiving the inside of your body – the "inner shape” of your body. T’ai Chi mastery depends heavily on “interoception,” feeling your inner shape. Knowing where your feet and limbs are and sensing the world around you is enough for swimming or flatland running, but not for T’ai Chi. Knowing the location of the three dantian gives you internal reference points for good posture – three defined points connected by the flow of qi.
- It will hugely shorten the time it takes you to develop an erect posture. There are many postural tips and tricks and analogies given out in classes, but knowing there are three dantian is an essential.
- The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. Start today, and in 20 years you’ll have a grown tree – a full understanding of the three dantian, their relationship to each other, and their relationship to your whole body.