Grandmaster Tse’s Qìgōng Dāo 氣功道 339

Three Qì Balls – Part 1

When we practise Qìgōng 氣功, the first thing we want to develop is our Dāntián 丹田 Qì. People who do not know about Qìgōng, will not know what that is or even what the Dāntián is. The Dāntián is the centre of the body and located below the navel. Dān 丹 means essence, Tián 田 means field, or an area. So the Dāntián is the area of the essence of Qì 氣. When the Dāntián is strong we will be healthy and a have more energy and we will feel good in everything we do.

The Dāntián is not an organ and so we cannot see it, we can only just feel it and be aware of it. If we stand straight with our feet shoulder width apart and our back straight, then the Dāntián is the centre of the body. The Dāntián can grow from a small point to a bigger area, big enough to cover the entire abdomen, and so we need to develop our Dāntián so that is has more Qì.

When we practise Qìgōng, we move from the Dāntián and breathe from the Dāntián, and doing this will start to develop our Dāntián. We can also touch the Dāntián, like we do in the first three movements of Balancing Gong, Holding the Dāntián, Dāntián Up and Down, and Opening and Closing the Dāntián, to stimulate the Dāntián Qì.