Inner Vitality Qigong^TM

In the Qigong community, we often talk about centering ourselves. What does it mean be centered? It means to keep your mind centered in your lower dantian. The lower dantian is an energy center in the body located about 1.5 to 2 inches below the naval and about 2 inches inside the body (varies a little with body size). It is not a point but a volume. The lower dantian stores the energy from the kidneys, called original Qi or the Qi you were born with. Following Qigong practice, we center ourselves in dantian to gather and store energy obtained from the practice to dantian. This is sometimes referred to as cultivating Qi in the dantian.

If you find yourself becoming too stressed or emotional, bring your mind back to your center. Focus your mind in your lower dantian. This will help you keep better control over your emotions and help you to calm down and preserve your Qi. If you find your mind wandering or racing too much, focus on your breathing and put your mind's attention in your dantian. After a while, your mind will calm and your ability to focus will return. This also works for a busy mind that prevents you from going to sleep. When we are timid or fearful of a situation, we often breathe shallowly from the chest, instead of deep diaphragmatic or abdominal breath. There is also a tendency to speak softly from our throat, instead of a place of power from the abdomen. If you find yourself threatened or nervous, move your mind's focus to the lower dantian. This will allow you to generate the courage and feel more powerful.

During your day-to-day activities, keep your mind focused on lower dantian as much as possible. This will help to not only keep your awareness in your body, as to how you are feeling and what your body condition is, but it will also help to conserve your energy. It will also bring a mindfulness to your life. Qigong Master Mingtong Gu taught me that you should keep 50% of your mind focused inside your body. So if you aren't doing a specific Qigong practice, you might as well focus on your lower dantian.