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Hey fellows cultivators. I'm curious what y'all think. I've been practicing lower Dantian for many years and last week I felt new sensations. I usually feel heat but this time I felt blissful/mini orgasmic sensation when practicing dantian even when I'm chilling with mindful breathing. This sensation occur only on inhaled. I still feel heat mix With blissful mini orgasmic & evenjng during micro orbit meditation (micro orbit points).each points manifest similar as my dantian sensations. It's been 2 weeks with dantian. I do feel dantian bliss also when practicing Taiji, Buddha breathing, reviser breathing or Aunthenic Neigong Rudi teaches. I feel normal as usual. I asked Master Li from HEQigong convey my dantian is abundant of qi and jing. My master only say it's phenomena during dantian training. Ove all- new light blissful on inhale and micro orbit same occurrence. I don't believe it's like Ron James - energy orgasm(haven't t read it ) Let me know what you think 🤔

How legit are youtube qigong videos ? how beneficial are they ? can they do harm in some way (even small one) ? are they beneficial qi wise ? energetically wise ? are they just good low intensity exercise and that is it (not "Real qigong") nothing more ? in short - how beneficial are they really ? how far can you take it with them ? Just so what im trying to understand is more clear : I am thinking this all in comparison to damo mitchell teaching for example , or stuff written in this forum ... for example on how you cant store qi in the lower dantian before you "build" it first .... yet in many of this videos they talk about drawing qi to the dantian and storing it in the dantian , which according to other teachings its usless and by that view point this youtube videos are misleading examples : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCicH-iz1oU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmmNWj9YtAw&t=24s And also wondering about known sets stuff like 8 brocades and shibashi etc (that are also on youtube) ... and how beneficial are they (cause they say the same things and claimed benifits as the videos above - stuff like storing qi in lower dantian and stuff like improve eyesight or improve liver and kidney functions etc) ?

What's the difference difference between light 💡 orb upper navel vs lower Dantian? my experiences upon focusing on my dantian, I felt inner happiness(exactly if I were to smile when someone taking my picture) and bright light off and on in my sitting meditation and wuji standing dantian meditation. Has anyone practice this? The Essence of Dhammakaya The word “Dhammakaya” is an ancient word means the Body of Enlightenment (Dhamma means the truth or the enlightenment and Kaya means body). This term was found many places in many old Buddhist scriptures both in Theravada and Mahayana schools. It is not the new term or new theory from the Teaching of the Lord Buddha. Dhammakaya is the body that transformed Prince Sidhatta to The Lord Buddha. The enlightenment of the historical Buddha is explained as his mind became perfectly refined and purified to the same level of the refinement and purity of the Dhammakaya, and thus attains the body of enlightenment. The Dhammakaya is therefore seen as central to the Teaching of the Lord Buddha. Dhammakaya is a source of peace, wisdom and true happiness, exists in all human beings and can be attained through the process of self-refinement and self-purification. Dhammakaya Meditation Technique Dhammakaya Meditation Technique was rediscovered by Luang Pu Wat Paknam, the late Abbot of Wat Paknam. With his great work of meditation, he found that the station of stillness or the gateway of The Middle Way is at “The Center of the Body” around two-finger width above the navel. And the center of the body is the best point that any meditation practitioner should lay the mind down upon. The technique is simple but effective. Just keep your body and mind relaxed and maintain your attention slightly at the center of the body. Once you touch or feel the station of stillness at the center of your body, you will experience inner peace, true happiness and the transforming power that Dhammakaya Meditation can provide for every aspect of your life. Although Dhammakaya Meditation was developed as a technique by the Lord Buddha, its practice is not limited to Buddhists. The practice has nothing to do with any organized religion or sectarianism. For this reason, it can be freely practiced by everyone without conflict due to race, creed or religion. People from many religious backgrounds have experienced the benefits of Dhammakaya Meditation and have found no conflict with their profession of faith.

I believe I've been working with the Dantians and the main energy that I've been feeling has been overwhelmingly anger. So I was wondering if that was a common occurance working with these centers, I've been feeling like in the mood, to fight. I've seen it described that way. That. If I remember correctly: when you had them shut down you were some sort of pushover. And since the Dantians are storehouses of energy wouldn't that make sense that the fuel of everything would be anger since it's that energy that pushes to do things and strive for things, defend ourselves - retreat when we have to. What is your exprience with the Dantians?

Hello everyone! I have often read about "sealing" in different context, like sealing of the dantian, sealing of hui yin and so on. What exactly does this mean?

Hello to all sifus Just started to learn the bone marrow cleansing form of qigong and trying to understand how many total forms are there to practice and which are considered to be important to practice? My intention is to first build up my qi in dantian, then learn to distribute it equally around my body. Would appreciate if anyone can provide a list with the name and purpose of each form as well.

Hey Spiritual cultivators I like to hear any advice on what happened next after three dantians are FILLED and flowing? recently couple days of ago, this happened to him while cultivating my lower dantian then it flow up fill my middle dantian for couples of weeks then fill my upper as well. Now when I cultivating my lower dantian (sitting meditation upon it) the qi flow from lower to middle to upper and now it return back to lower dantian. I like to know more about this process and what WILL happen next?

I hope you dont mind guys that I am frequently posting threads on inqueries. I hope it doesn't bother you. So awhile ago, I meditated after drinking tea. While I was doing the usual meditation, tension gathered on my lower spine. Then everytime I slowly invest air on my dantian, the tension transfers upward like its travelling through my spine. The tension leaves from one section and transfers to the other. Whenever I do reverse breathing though, the tension goes downwards. Sweat is induced from the tensed area too. BTW it does not hurt, its just tensed. Note: please notify me if I posted on the wrong topic.

I want to talk about my experience with Heartfulness. Now, I'm not talking about the form from Mindfulness in the book "Cultivating Heartfulness" that I've seen spoken about around Daobums, but something different that has completely changed the way I cultivate. Most of us are practitioners or at least know of the refining processes of cultivating and internal alchemy. We all know it to be an excruciatingly long and arduous process to refine our internal energies in order to produce measurable results. I have always been drawn to daoist practices from a young age and would meditate without even really knowing what it was, it just felt nice. But i didn't start officially Cultivating until just after college but i was underwhelmed by how little return you get for so much effort. I had processed far enough to have formed my Dantian and refined my senses enough to be able to detect spiritual energies and their movement. However, then i encountered a practice called Heartfulness that utilizes Yogic Transmission and this put my cultivation into hyperdrive! It would normally take me about two weeks to take in qi, extract the impurities, refine it into a higher form, and condense it into a pearl to draw up into the second dantian. But with Heartfulness, i was able to complete that entire process in One Day while i was At Work! I don't sit behind a desk, i work at UPS. I'm constantly moving and i was able to refine a pearl almost Passively while i was constantly busy. It felt like as long as i was doing Heartfulness, the energy would move Intelligently on its own to complete work within me, automatically. After a week of this, my body became stronger. I was able to walk around in 40 degree weather in shorts and a teashirt without getting cold and things that would normally hurt or bruise me would hardly hurt at all. I wanted to share this with my brothers here on Daobums so that you all could give it a try and share your results here! It's completely free, all the teachers are volunteers. https://heartfulness.org/us/masterclass/- This is the three-part video series that introduces the practice and helps you experience the transmission. https://heartfulness.org/us/experience-heartfulness/- You can follow this link and scroll down to “Try Heartfulness with Assistance” for a more personal experience with a real person rather than a video series, though I do recommend the video series first.

Now, I know similar questions have been asked, but I didn't find a specific answer for this one. I try to meditate by becoming aware of my dantian, but I don't know if what I'm feeling is the correct sensation. I heard a bunch of times that the body can create false sensations that would most likely deviate a practitioner from their goal, so I want to be careful. As for what I feel, I guess it's similar to some kind of pressure inside my abdomen (although it's possible it has to do with the digestive activity). Can anyone guide me and give me some tips so that I'm actually doing progress in filling my dantian?

I want to talk about my experience with Heartfulness. Now, I'm not talking about the form from Mindfulness in the book "Cultivating Heartfulness" that I've seen spoken about around Daubums, but something different that has completely changed the way I cultivate. Most of us are practitioners or at least know of the refining processes of cultivating and internal alchemy. We all know it to be an excruciatingly long and arduous process to refine our internal energies in order to produce measurable results. I have always been drawn to daoist practices from a young age and would meditate without even really knowing what it was, it just felt nice. But i didn't start officially Cultivating until just after college but i was underwhelmed by how little return you get for so much effort. I had processed far enough to have formed my Dantian and refined my senses enough to be able to detect spiritual energies and their movement. However, then i encountered a practice called Heartfulness that utilizes Yogic Transmission and this put my cultivation into hyperdrive! It would normally take me about two weeks to take in qi, extract the impurities, refine it into a higher form, and condense it into a pearl to draw up into the second dantian. But with Heartfulness, i was able to complete that entire process in One Day while i was At Work! I don't sit behind a desk, i work at UPS. I'm constantly moving and i was able to refine a pearl almost Passively while i was constantly busy. It felt like as long as i was doing Heartfulness, the energy would move Intelligently on its own to complete work within me, automatically. After a week of this, my body became stronger. I was able to walk around in 40 degree weather in shorts and a teashirt without getting cold and things that would normally hurt or bruise me would hardly hurt at all. I wanted to share this with my brothers here on Daobums so that you all could give it a try and share your results here! It's completely free, all the teachers are volunteers. https://heartfulness.org/us/masterclass/- This is the three-part video series that introduces the practice and helps you experience the transmission. https://heartfulness.org/us/experience-heartfulness/- You can follow this link and scroll down to “Try Heartfulness with Assistance” for a more personal experience with a real person rather than a video series, though I do recommend the video series first.

I am new to cultivation and the problem for me is where to start. I can feel my lower dantian and can feel energy in whole body. I don't know where to start. When I started googling about it...a bunch of stuff came(Embryonic breathing, microcosmic orbit, etc) and it was confusing. I don't know where to start. Please show me the path from where should i start and progress. Thank you.

丹田 Dantian Dantian are the Qi Focus Flow Centers, important focal points for meditative and exercise techniques such as qigong. 張伯端在《金丹四百自序》內有以下一段： 「要知身中一竅，名曰玄牝，此竅者，非心非腎，非口非鼻也，非脾胃也，非穀道也，非膀胱也，非丹田也，非泥丸也，能知此之一竅，則冬 至在此矣，藥物在此矣，火侯亦在此矣，沐浴亦在此矣，結胎亦在此矣，脫體亦在此矣，此竅乃神氣之根，虛無之谷，即在身中求之，不可求 於他也」 The 竅(Qi Focus Flow Centers) of the body is called 玄牝(The root of creation). The 竅 are not heart, kidney, mouth, nostrils, spleen, stomach, anal, bladder, Dantian, or brain. You must know this 竅 well. This is both 冬至(The revival of the sun) and 藥物(神 spirit + 氣qi). 火侯(The fire in the body). 沐浴(Microcosmic Orbit), 結胎(cintamani). It means this too. It is an out-of-body, a hole, and a source of 神(spirit) and 氣(qi). The depths of non-existent things. You have to get this in your body, but don't get it anywhere else. 《丘祖秘傳大丹直指》: 「六論玄竅: 人以命門為玄，腎堂為牡，此處立基，謬之千里矣。不知玄牝乃天地之根， 在西南昆地，臍後腎前，而又非臍下一寸三分，亦 非兩腎間之空竅。此乃真竅，能得而 知。上通泥丸，下透湧泉。中接心腎，內虛而直。不可形求，不可意取。先天真種實藏於 此，通天地， 通神聖，得則生矣，失則死矣，“真人之息以踵”者此也。此天仙下手處， 舍此而下，酆九幽者也」。 The 命門(Qi Focus Flow Centers) are not front of the kidney and behind the belly button, 1.5cm below the belly button, or an empty 竅 between the kidneys. You have to know that this is a real 竅. The top is connected to the 泥丸(the crown[top] of the head) and the bottom is connected the 湧泉(the sole of one's foot). Then, where is Dantian? One cannot quite pin down the Dantian, but it exists. Then,How do I find Dantian? You can find where the heat originates. Take a good look at the picture below. You observe the spine on the opposite side of your belly button or slightly below the belly button. That way it is connected to the Dantian. 玄牝 is a term that comes from the Dao De Jing. Dao De Jing [第六章] 谷神不死，The valley spirit dies not, aye the same; 是謂玄牝。The female mystery thus do we name. 玄牝之門，Its gate, from which at first they issued forth, 是謂天地根。Is called the root from which grew heaven and earth. 綿綿若存，Long and unbroken does its power remain, 用之不勤 Used gently, and without the touch of pain.

I consider it a translation error.(The secret of the golden flower) original(text) link: http://thesecretofthegoldenflower.com/ch1.html 1. chapter 1 10. Therefore you have only to turn the light around; that is the deepest and most wonderful secret. 各司其事。諸子只去回光 chapter 3 12.What the sages have passed on has not departed from inner illumination. Confucius called it: ultimate knowledge, Buddha called it: the observing mind, Lao-tse called it: inner observation, it is all the same 聖聖相傳，不離反照。孔云：“致知”，釋曰：“觀心”，老云：“內觀”，皆此法也 聖聖相傳，不離反照: [反照] is passed down from saint to saint. 回光: the light around --> Focusing on dantian 回光返照: It's a short moment when you come back to your senses and act before you die. In Buddhism, it also means to spirituality in your mind without relying on language or letters. So it means Focusing on dantian, not turning the light around 2. chapter 1 The Confucians call it the empty dwelling in the middle; The Buddhists call it the terrace of the spirit; The Taoists call it the ancestral land, the yellow court, the mysterious pass or the prenatal opening. ”儒曰：“虛中”；釋曰：“靈台”；道曰：“祖土”；曰“黃庭”、曰“玄關”、曰“先天竅”。蓋天心猶宅舍一般，光乃主人翁也。 These words mean dantian . 3. chapter 1 The Golden Flower is light. What is light? It is symbolized by a golden flower, which hides the word light in it. It is the true energy of the prenatal Taiyi. 金華即光也，光是何色？取象於金華，亦秘一光字在內，是先天太乙之真氣 The Golden Flower is light = 先天太乙之真氣 = gi = not sunlight = Can’t see! = Can feel = it's like a warmth. 4. chapter 3 1. Master Lu (Dongbin) said, what is the origin of the term 回光? It began with the 文始真人. When the light is turned around, the energies of heaven and earth, yin and yang, all congeal. will it become spirit-fire(真陽real yang), suddenly a millet pearl is born by itself, just as an embryo forms from the intercourse of a man and a woman. 光之回(Just watch, You cannot turn around of the light), 即火候也(This is firing process) 回光之名何昉乎？ 昉之自文始真人也。回光則天地陰陽之氣無不凝, 光中自然一點真陽，忽生黍珠，如夫婦交合有胎 光之回，即火候也。 火候也(This is firing process)=回光(Just watch, You cannot turn around of the light) There were accidents in many other places.

From other posts, I saw that a basic method of gathering qi in the dantian is to do abdominal breathing while concentratig on it. While it might work, I want to know if there is a mudra or a hand position so that I can increase awareness in the dantian. (I also know about full lotus, but since i dont have much flexibility, I want to get the best results.)

Taoist GrandMaster Wang Li Ping will be teaching a ten day intensive in China, starting on the afternoon of Dec. 21st and ending at noon on the 31st. Mr. Richard Liao will be translating. Please email [email protected] for complete details. www.dragongate-academy.org Our goal is to build a bridge between Master Wang Liping and everyone interested in Taoism. We wish to benefit all to communicate their experiences during their practice to learn the Taoist Golden Elixir system. We hope the heritage of Dragon Gate shall live on in the new era to enrich lives everywhere.

Hi everyone, I would greatly appreciate any help with this question on Taoist meditation. In my studies I've noticed that the older texts suggest joining the mind and breath at the lower dantian to build the elixir, but in reading some later texts such as The Secret Of The Golden Flower, and Taoist Yoga, they focus more on the third eye and add more complicated techniques such as rolling the eyes. Some of this seems contradictory and unnecessary, although I understand the elixir moves upwards in the body after being vitalized in the dantian. Also, in Zen for instance, they do not stress any complicated techniques. I've heard focusing on the third eye will just give you a headache and focusing on the lower dantian is the classic method. I would be very grateful if you could give me your opinion on this topic. I understand there is a lot of information out there and it takes time to sift through to the essence. Thanks so much!

I'm new to the game and I'm having difficulties establishing a firm daily practice. I understand the general concepts, but don't know the practicals. I'm more advanced in other forms of energy practice but I'm just beginning my journey into internal alchemy. 1) What's the fastest way to gather energy in the dantian? 2) How do you Cultivate Jing? Gathering Qi in the dantian is one thing but how do I generate life force? (jing) Or is it Jing that gathers in the Dantian... 3) I can sense energy, but I can't distinguish between the three types yet. Is there a practice specifically for enhancing sensing? Or is that just attained as you go kinda thing. 4) I'm trying to get used to reverse abdominal breathing but I can't get used to it. It completely disturbs my meditative state. I feel like I'm doing something wrong. It's different from "Reverse Breathing", right?

I'm fascinated with the psoas. But it's also the part of my body giving me the most trouble with getting energy flow going. It seems like anything I do causes energy to pool above the lower abdomen, and just trickle down the legs, affecting the free flowing through the channels. I've tried a lot of energetic interventions, and nothing seems to have touched this like working directly with the physical body. Recently started a spontaneous Qigong practice, and in a few days my body went from stiff to supple, and energy flow from slow and turbid to somewhat decent. And it also loosened up my mostly unresponsive psoas. I currently do a hip mobility routine and yoga stretches for the hip, David Berceli's Trauma / Tension Release Exercises, the couch stretch for the hip flexors and the Egoscue Supine groin progressive release. If anyone has any experience with this part of the body or can point me to something I could do that would help, I'd appreciate it greatly. In any case, I'm always up for a discussion about the psoas. Love, urbanyogi

Hi all... I've been a lurker here for a long time now and everything you guys share has been really helpful and I really appreciate you giving your time. Tl:Dr on the bottom. My current journey started off with Vipassana meditation (did the 10 day Goenka retreat in 2010). Then onto what is now being called as neo-advaita, power of now, observing thoughts etc. I had a brief foray into Vipassana noting practice (the Dharma overground forum and Daniel Ingram's MCTB) and while reading Ingram's book, I realised what my aim was with doing spiritual practices. Right now my aim is to be at peak performance, develop intuition and joy and peace, develop creativity bubble with vitality and health. I should also clarify that I've been battling a chronic illness through all this, and was bedridden for almost the whole of 2011. Oh yeah, and I'm 29 right now. Trying different things and gradually getting better, and I started realising the limitations of working only with energy while ignoring the physical structure, the muscles, Fascia and connective tissue that form the substrate for the energy to flow. (this is only my own insight, and I may well be wrong about the whole thing). When I started working on mobility, stretching, freeing up my pelvis and hips, I found my energy levels soaring. I started to feel the energy start to flow down my legs and feet. The heaviness in my head and brain fog started to clear, and little by little, I started coming into flow. I also experienced weird psychological reactions to the stretching, for which I could find no conventional explanation except Qi releasing. Recently, I started swaying during meditation again. Some meditation teachers told me to let it happen, others told me to keep myself still. Synchronously, I found myself back on The Daobums, reading about spontaneous Qigong. So then I decided to go deeper into the swaying. Something about it felt like a deeper part inside of me calling me. And that was the best decision I've ever made. I'm able to maintain a good flow of energy inside me, with minimal energy pooling in any one place. My body has become much more supple, like a cats. My pain and stiffness is quite now, and is easily dealt with with a session of swaying. After years of tight hamstrings, I gained 2 inches of reach and can touch my knuckles to the ground. And recently, I've been having unity experiences of bliss and joy and connectedness to everything, able to feel, quite literally, the oceans of energy around me. Of course, it didn't last, but I don't mind. Last couple of things I'm struggling with, a psoas muscle that's locked tight, and really seems to be restricting the flow of energy down my legs. And when after my spontaneous Qigong practice I place my hands on my lower Dantian, after about 20-30 minutes my lower belly and psoas starts to tremble and vibrate, and I feel it releasing. And any mental work or stimulation still tires me to no end, (which is why I've never posted before), feels like the energy starts pooling above my lower abdomen and builds up, instead of flowing down the leg, and I have to let it flow all out which takes a lot of time. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks for reading (if you made it this far!). Tl:Dr - I had chronic illness and was bedridden. A long spiritual and healing journey has finally brought me to Qigong. I have experienced fixing the structural aspects of the body such as posture, muscles, Fascia and connective tissue is amazing to optimise energy flow. I started spontaneously moving during meditation, and after reading about it on The Daobums, decided to go deeper into spontaneous Qigong practice. I feel like a new man now, energy flowing better, energy levels up, muscles looser and stronger and having unity experiences occasionally. Last couple of things I'm struggling with, a psoas muscle that's locked tight, and really seems to be restricting the flow of energy down my legs. And when after my spontaneous Qigong practice I place my hands on my lower Dantian, after about 20-30 minutes my lower belly and psoas starts to tremble and vibrate, and I feel it releasing. And any mental work or stimulation still tires me to no end, (which is why I've never posted before), feels like the energy starts pooling above my lower abdomen and builds up, instead of flowing down the leg, and I have to let it flow all out which takes a lot of time. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Love, urbanyogi

Hey! So, from what i've understood most systems of inner alchemy have similar stages of development. Also, most of them have elements of accumulating inner fire, pairing yin and yang/water and fire/lead and mercury/hun and po. The theory of it can be understood in many different terms, and is in most cases described clearly. I've been wondering about something that doesn't take much space in literature though: vibrations in the dantian. I've been able to find cross-cultural references to most stages of inner development and alchemy, but have a hard time finding references to the stage of development where the dantian starts shaking/vibrating. Do any of you have any thoughts on this? How is it mentioned symbolically in literature about neidan (or other systems). What are your experiences? Is it a theoretical part of a system you practice? One thought I've had as an explanation is that many of the signs of development are purposefully not described, as to avoid that a student focuses on a result in stead of the method, and ends up distorting the process and bringing about an incomplete elixir, or harming the body. Thus the teacher will know for sure when the sign develops that the student is ready, and not just "willing" forth an effect in the body. I'm going to ask my shifu about this on thursday, until then I hope I can pass the subject back and forth with you bums a bit

It happens to me when I get close to somebody, to sense their "color". It's not aura and it's not something I can see with physical eyes. It's something which has the core in the middle dantian (between heart chakra and throat chakra). By now, most of the people I've "seen" has white core surrounded by blue energy.This blue energy includes all parts of the body and it's flowing even through blood vessels. It can be cyan-blue or dark blue. Sometimes, rarely, I see people with "gold" energy. The core is white-gold, like sunlight, and the rest is kind of the same, a bit more yellow and often mixed with green. In the latest years I've been searching in books and asking people about those things. Found nearly nothing relevant. My question is: what is the meaning of the colors and how can I come to a better understanding of what I see?

Hey! The deal is this: I am putting together an exhibition about chinese medicine where I will illustrate the relation between anatomy and energy, between medicine and cultivation. There are some topics I will take up with my pictures: -direct relationship between anatomy and energywork -illustrations of movement of qi -illustration of healthy qi movement contra diseased qi movement Now, practitioners of chinese medicine and cultivators, i need your help. I am 80% handyman when it comes to my artwork, and I want to broaden my spectrum of ideas. What are creative ways to illustrate these things? And, do you have any other ideas of what you would want shown through an image? So far I have only made two images: 1. cultivation. This image is a more anatomically-oriented version of the neijing tu combined with some elements from the xiuzhen tu. 2. internal and external pathways shown with anatomy and the three dantian. So, please everybody, give me your opinions and ideas for how I can make a really awesome exhibition in october, and if lucky help evolve the way we imagine our body and mind. best wishes, j

Hi, I would like some down to earth advice, please. Having ate some food, I read a chapter of a book, and then got into bed. Could not sleep so meditated. Not in a hardcore Zen fashion. Just nice and easy, let events flow and settle sort of thing. I could feel my body processing the food. There must be a chaka gate there which takes energy out the food? When my body had processed the food, I felt a whole lot lighter and more settled in my meditation. After a few minutes I felt an intense pressure at forehead. It felt like it was going to pop. I was a bit scared. I quickly rolled over and concentrated on few other things. I would like to know what such a intense pressure signifies? Should I have allowed it to pop ? Just before I felt this pressure, I also felt some kundlini-syndrome worms wriggling down my forehead. Sorry if I don't use the right terms but I don't know them! Reply however or as technically as you like; I have a good ability to comprehend this subject as I'm already reborn from my initial conception inside the One.

What exactly is a dan tien? I know the three dan tiens are major energy centers in the body (LDT, MDT, and UDT) but physically what are these centers? Are they glands, groups of nerve fibers, etc.? Anyone have a concrete understanding of what it is? The only thing I've been able to find are abstract explanations.