The area of the hara, approximately two finger-widths below the navel, is called the lower dantien (or tanden). Dan means the medicine of immortality; tien means field. It is the field of the elixir of life, sometimes also called the “Sea of Qi.” The Ren Chong, kidney, stomach, liver, and spleen channels pass through it. The qi of the organs and meridians of the entire body collect in the lower dantien, like a vast storehouse of power.

(Adapted from “Hara,” by Kondañña, Massage & Bodywork, June/July 2001.) See hara.