What are the Three Dan Tian?
Ancient Knowledge and Modern Analysis
What are the Three Dan Tian?
Ancient Daoists believed that the universe is a great conduit of energy. Daoists regard this energy as dan, or elixir. When translating the term Dan, it can be thought of as a refined substance. You can think of this the same way that we refine food into energy in our mitochondria. Dan is said to pervade all things at all times and is the force which always nourishes the universe. Just as this energy exists in the universe, Daoists believe it exists in people too, in special areas called dan tians. Where Dan can be considered energy created by refining a substance, tian is the soil in the earth that nourishes an acorn into a living oak tree. When you look at the character for Tian, it clearly represents land that has been consolidated for farming.
Early Daoism viewed dan as being a transferable energy that could be focused anywhere in the body. It was thought to exist in three main areas of the body. These three areas were named xia (lower dantian), zhong (middle dantian), and shang (upper dantian). You can compare these locations to the way a battery stores and emits energy.
External and Internal Alchemy
There are two forms of practice for alchemy in ancient Chinese medicine: external, known as Wai Dan, and internal, known as Nei Dan. External alchemy is the predecessor to modern chemistry. External alchemists set up experiments with mineral, plant, and even animal sources in an attempt to convert base metals into gold. One of the goals of this alchemy, whether performed in Europe or China, was to discover an elixir to grant immortality to whomever consumed it. This played a major role in the development of herbal medicines for promoting longevity and treating various illnesses.
Internal alchemy is focused on purifying the human body and transforming the spirit to promote longevity, however, it does not use external substances. This is a major rooting point for the development of Qigong practices. In the practice of Qigong, meditation is used to refine Jing-Essence to promote Qi-Energy and refine our spirit, our Shen.
As we have already discussed in this presentation, our bodies create energy in the form of ATP by combining the nutrients from the food we eat with oxygen. As we explore the three dan tians, keep in mind that only one of these areas actually creates energy, while the other two store energy and utilize energy.
The Lower Dan Tian (Xia Dan Tian)
The Lower Dan Tian is the place where our bodies absorb and create the nutrients that promote our energy metabolisms. This is where the potential energy locked inside of our food becomes usable in our bodies. The translation of this area as a “field” makes sense. Think of this place as where acorns first become active in the process of becoming oak trees. It is the bacteria in the soil of this field, also known as our microbiota or gut bacteria, that converts our food into usable energy sources. Our lower dan tian produces energy, just like a field produces nourishment. Also recall, this area is known as the second brain. The lower dan tian provides the energetic and nutritional nourishment for our brains, also known as the upper dan tian (shang dan tian).
There is a bit of confusion regarding which is the “true” lower dan tian and which is the “false” dan tian. The false dan tian is labeled at the point Qi Hai (Ren 6), and it is considered false because it does not directly create energy. This area of our body supplies abdominal fat, which through the process of deep abdominal breathing, can be converted into Qi. Keep in mind that fat contains more than twice the energy that blood sugar does (9 calories vs 4 calories). Body fat is a stored form of energy that can be used at a later date. The true Dan Tian is the large and small intestines because this is the area that actually produces and digests the nutrients that are required for energy production in our mitochondria. This same area includes the adrenal glands and their related sex hormones.
The structure of the abdomen allows energy, or Qi (氣), to be stored at a high level, and from there it can supply the whole body. As we have already discussed, the second brain resides in the abdomen.
The Middle Dan Tian (Zhong Dan Tian)
The Middle Dan Tian is a bit trickier to define. The middle Dan Tian is focused around the area of the diaphragm at the point Shan Zhong, Ren 17. When you look at the diaphragm, it is composed of a good electrically conductive material sandwiched between poor conductors. This is very much the way that batteries work. In a conductor, electric current can flow freely; in an insulator, it cannot. This allows our middle Dan Tian to act as a storage unit for the energy created by our lower Dan Tian.
From a classical Chinese perspective, the fire in the middle Dan Tian refines the water energy of the lower dan tian, the same way a steam engine releases the energy in water to drive a locomotive. This makes sense since this area is the place where our bodies absorb oxygen, and oxygen is what drives the process of converting the nutritional content from the lower dan tian into ATP. Additionally, the diaphragm plays a key role in cultivating and regulating this energy. Practices such as diaphragmatic breathing enhance the flow of qi and promote emotional stability, making the middle dantian the center of emotional refinement and balance.
The Upper Dan Tian (Shang Dan Tian)
The Upper Dan Tian is positioned at the forehead between the eyebrows, or third eye. This area is where Shen, or spirit, is refined and cultivated. The upper dantian is located in the limbic system, situated between the ears in the center of the brain. The limbic system is the portion of the brain that deals with three key functions: emotions, memories, and stimulation (arousal). There are several important structures within the limbic system: the amygdala, hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, basal ganglia, and cingulate gyrus. The thalamus is located within the brainstem and is part of the pathway of information into the cerebrum, which is the section of the brain responsible for thinking and movement. Thinking, doing, and being is what defines who you are. Your limbic system is the home of your spirit, and it is largely correlated to your upper Dan Tian. In lower vertebrates, the pineal gland acts as a photoreceptor, in other words, it represents a third eye.
The lower and upper Dantians communicate through the spinal cord (Chong Mai). The communication occurs here because the spinal cord is composed of material highly conductive to Qi. This enables the two brains to act as one. Physically, they are two; in action, they are one. This is where the refined energy from your middle Dan Tian is used to nourish your spirit.
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