Building the lower dantien

[Feng69]

I saw a video on the tube about building the dantien and I think it's quite good. I learned a very similar exercise but had to pay for it some years ago...what do you think about the exercise, shown in the video? It's important to watch till to the end, because there comes the most important hands movement. 

 

https://youtu.be/M_9f4XJBuX8

 

Best wishes 

Feng69 

 

[Wilhelm]

His approach is pretty simplified but for a free video method covering foundational Dan Tien work it's as good as I've seen

[arthur]

It's the exact same lesson you can get if you read Damo Mitchell's comprehensive Guide to Daoist NeiKung. I think you'll get greater detail if you read the book.

 

Maybe he is his student or come from the same lineage. But basically, the method that he described are as follows:-

 

1. Locate the lower Dan Tian

2. Combine the 3 ‘initiatory elements’ in the lower Dan Tian - Awareness/breath/gravity

3. Consolidate the Jing

4. Rotate the lower Dan Tian

5. Generate the sphere

6. Connect the Dan Tian to the exterior

7. Build the container - yang hand to mold clay

8. Develop the centre of the ‘gourd shape’

9. Build the Yang Qi

10. Fill the Dan Tian

 

 

Abovementioned is based on his book. One thing though, in order to shape/mold the container, one needs to have enough of yang qi coming out of the hand in order for it to have influence over the yin qi in the 'huang' as he called.

 

It was an interesting read, but it think it's pretty much debatable on this prerequisite. A lot of nei kung/qi gong system don't deal with this part, most just go into the filling of dantian. I'm a newbie, so correct me if i'm wrong, sifus who are reading.

[Wilhelm]

29 minutes ago, arthur said:

It's the exact same lesson you can get if you read Damo Mitchell's comprehensive Guide to Daoist NeiKung. I think you'll get greater detail if you read the book.

 

Maybe he is his student or come from the same lineage. But basically, the method that he described are as follows:-

 

1. Locate the lower Dan Tian

2. Combine the 3 ‘initiatory elements’ in the lower Dan Tian - Awareness/breath/gravity

3. Consolidate the Jing

4. Rotate the lower Dan Tian

5. Generate the sphere

6. Connect the Dan Tian to the exterior

7. Build the container - yang hand to mold clay

8. Develop the centre of the ‘gourd shape’

9. Build the Yang Qi

10. Fill the Dan Tian

 

 

Abovementioned is based on his book. One thing though, in order to shape/mold the container, one needs to have enough of yang qi coming out of the hand in order for it to have influence over the yin qi in the 'huang' as he called.

 

It was an interesting read, but it think it's pretty much debatable on this prerequisite. A lot of nei kung/qi gong system don't deal with this part, most just go into the filling of dantian. I'm a newbie, so correct me if i'm wrong, sifus who are reading.

Not a Sifu, but this video (short as it was, and most likely a part of a larger program) shows elements of #s 2 and 5 from that list.

 

Sinking in the Kua (which, looking at his YouTube channel, he's gone into detail about in another video) will help consolidate the Yin field, and the hand movements are there to help shape it.  Yang Qi doesn't come out of the hands, but by opening Laogong as he instructs in the video - the Qi inside is influenced to 'shape the sphere'.

 

Checking out his website, it looks like he trained in South America and then China under some names I'm not familiar with.  Definitely comparable to Damo's method, but possibly from a different line

Edited February 6, 2021 by Wilhelm

[Feng69]

2 hours ago, Wilhelm said:

Not a Sifu, but this video (short as it was, and most likely a part of a larger program) shows elements of #s 2 and 5 from that list.

 

Sinking in the Kua (which, looking at his YouTube channel, he's gone into detail about in another video) will help consolidate the Yin field, and the hand movements are there to help shape it.  Yang Qi doesn't come out of the hands, but by opening Laogong as he instructs in the video - the Qi inside is influenced to 'shape the sphere'.

 

Checking out his website, it looks like he trained in South America and then China under some names I'm not familiar with.  Definitely comparable to Damo's method, but possibly from a different line

Yes I see it like you. 

As I said, I've learned a quite similar exercise to build the container and as I can say, it works. 

For a free video rather good in my opinion. 

Yes, there are more exercises and more complicated stuff for dantien work, but if one does for example eight brocades or something like that but has not learned how to build the sphere and is therefore not able to store the qi built from the Qigong , the exercise from the video could be a good one to begin with. 

Only my opinion. 

Best wishes 

Feng69 

[salaam123]

BTW, why does Damo Mitchell say in the MC Orbit video series that the dan tien is between Chi Hai and Ming Men in the middle of the body above perineum, and in his book, A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Nei Gong, he pictures it at the level of Chi Hai in the middle of the body above perineum. It's a subtle difference but in my eyes a quite major one.

[dwai]

One should pay attention to the shape of the hands — they should be like a “fair maiden’s hand”...slightly curved and not stretched wide open with locked finger joints. A good way is to work on generating a Qi/taiji ball between the palms. That’ll get the Lao gong points activated. 
 

Just standing in proper wuji posture with mind resting on the lower dantien area will result in sinking Qi into the area. There will be a filling sensation there. 

[Feng69]

On 26.2.2021 at 9:14 PM, salaam123 said:

BTW, why does Damo Mitchell say in the MC Orbit video series that the dan tien is between Chi Hai and Ming Men in the middle of the body above perineum, and in his book, A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Nei Gong, he pictures it at the level of Chi Hai in the middle of the body above perineum. It's a subtle difference but in my eyes a quite major one.

Sorry, haven't seen the video series about the MCO. 

I have seen many other clibs from him and during the last weeks read his book "a comprehensive guide..." and I also read his first book about neigong. 

In my opinion he writes good stuff even sometimes there are some differences between the old and the new book and some videos. 

But perhaps it has to do with his own experience, changing over the years. 

Edited March 4, 2021 by Feng69

[Maddie]

This seems to be a lot more involved than what I learned in Dr. Yang's book. In his book you just focus on the Dan Tien and breathe. If I do this a while I usually feel tingling in the area. I didn't realize there was more involved.

  Developing the Dan Tien has a stabilizing effect on the emotions doesn't it?

[Indiken]

.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Indiken

[Feng69]

17 hours ago, dmattwads said:

This seems to be a lot more involved than what I learned in Dr. Yang's book. In his book you just focus on the Dan Tien and breathe. If I do this a while I usually feel tingling in the area. I didn't realize there was more involved.

  Developing the Dan Tien has a stabilizing effect on the emotions doesn't it?

 As I learned, there are different things to do for developing the Dan Tien. 

A light awareness on the lower abdomen area is one thing. To feel into this area during standing and moving exercises.

Next thing is letting the breath sink into this area. (Even we know that breath is only going into the lungs, it feels like breath is sinking into the lower abdomen)

And the third thing are exercises where we move the hands for building the shape of the dantien in the correct way. 

I didn't know for many years that I had to do it that way. But since I do it, there seems to build something inside. 

But I am not a professional for that kind of stuff. I am only practicing two hours the day a mix of dao yin exercises, taichi form and standing in different postures and an exercise very simular to that  shown in the video. 

I dont know if that exercises stabilize the emotions in a special way and I am in the lucky position, that my emotions are in general rather stable since I am 19 or 20...now I am in my fiftties an I feel still very happy and stable inside most of the time. Yes, Taiji and Qigong is great for my body and my spirit...but I am not sure if it stabilizes emotions...perhaps the oposite could be the case, if someone with unstable emotions begins with the art (talking in general not talking about you or another person), perhaps it could increase some negativ emotions because of the releasing effect of the exercises.

So sorry, I think there are many people here in the bums with more and better knowledge about that.

And again sorry for my rather bad Englisch. Hope you understand what I wrote. 

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Feng69

[JohnC]

17 hours ago, dmattwads said:

This seems to be a lot more involved than what I learned in Dr. Yang's book. In his book you just focus on the Dan Tien and breathe. If I do this a while I usually feel tingling in the area. I didn't realize there was more involved.

  Developing the Dan Tien has a stabilizing effect on the emotions doesn't it?

It is both.

 

Complicated and not.

 

Some lineages are VERY specific in the things they do and the steps for progress.

While I've been a part of a lineage, that you kick off the practice and let things go and it takes care of everything.

 

I think the lineage, and practice matter more.