Dan Tien, Chakras?

Alright, maybe I can get some opinions on this... I began learning Tai Chi a few years back (until I moved) and was, of course, taught about Dan Tien (or however you prefer to spell it). Other people I've talked to deny dan tien and its location, and instead tell me about the number of Chakras in the body.
I was wondering how they were similar/different. The only thing I know is "chakras" came from India =\ Are they used ever in Tai Chi? Would anyone consider them valid or invalid for energy usage? Why the difference in ideas of body makeup in different countries, when both use energy?

two different cultures two different topics though both are a centering of energy

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Yes, but I was wondering how they were different, or even harder to answer.. why they're different. Don't they accomplish the same thing?

your best research would be a site on vedic concepts not a new age site but a site related to vedic medicine concepts or kundalini


but very short...dan tien center or seat of chi

charkra energy centers relative to spirit/mind/ life force funtion

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Nev...you should take this one

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Are you saying you've met Tai Chi people who deny dan-tien?

If I had, I wouldn't know what to do with them! Nah, non-Tai Chi people.

I just find the differences strange. I mean, they both apparently work, don't they? How are the body's energy cycles really made up? Is it chakras vs dan tien, an either/or scenario? Does it really matter what one believes it to be?

That they are both pieces of ancient nonsense that have no basis in fact????

"Then why do so may people practice it?" would be a dumb answer putting a lot of faith in the human race, haha
We'll assume that at least some of what can be accomplished by using energy centers is real, for the sake of my question. *g*

Chakra is like your energy reserves... the moment you open up 1 chakra you begin to feel it....
the deal with chakra is that we have 7/8(depending on who is your guru ) chakras in our body. it starts from chakra at your end of taibone. then moving upwards to your sex organs then the thrid about 2 inchs above it then comes navel, chest, throat, b/w the eyes and at the top of head(this is 8th chakra, tho this is common in both systems' belief) ppl who says we have 7 chakras doesn't believe in the one located 2 in below navel...
as the theory goes.. chakra is more or less like your abilities ... like if you master ur first chakra the one in tailbone. you won't get ill because of its power... then as u move upwards you gain more power n stuff like that...
its easy to open up this chakra... if you are attuned by real master...5/6 chakras will open up instantly but then you hav to learn how to keep them open and allow energy flows. normally all the other chakra's(except the tailbone) closes in 24 hr.

most ppl who practice yoga/meditation have this chakra opened sooner or later... but it slow n gradual n they don't even feel like it.

In Yoga you concentrate on the chakra relating to the exercise. as you try to open up chakras and use it's power...

for me it's hard to explain science behind it.. I never studied much on this... but there r some un explainable things which I have felt and can't even comment on it...
and 1 thing I dont do drugs, alcohol n any of mind numbing things...
-TkdWarrior-

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oh if you notice in both beliefs(chinese n indian) there's one energy source located 2 inch below navel...but chinese doens't hav rest of chakra's.. I bet they got diluted info from us lol..
seriously I think the meridian system is another thing which sort of compensate other chakras energy acc to my belief... I don't remember any meridian system in india tho.

but I still think Nev will be better person to answer this.
Aqira knows lot about it.. but why he's keepin shut??? his wife is yoga expert.. if I remember right..
-TkdWarrior-

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Both chakras and dan tien are real energy locii.

The human body, mind and spirit are very complex. So complex that neither modern medicine, nor ancient Vedic, nor ancient Chinese Taoist sciences have been able to understand the whole. Each of these three disciplines have peered into and delved into and studied very carefully over the centuries and each has found different things of interest. And what they have found seemed to them as the "Ultimate Truth". But in fact, what they found was just a small portion of what makes up a Human.

Yes, the dan tien exists and it is very important in kung-fu and qi gong for pumping the chi throughout the body and for complete respiration and health.

Yes, the seven chakras exist and each of them acts as a plexus for the smooth movement of their particular body locations and have been found to be connected to spiritual aspects of a Human Being.

The Human Being is complex enough that discovering only one part of ourselves is so amazing to us that we often forget that there is even more to discover! So, seek the highest level and then go higher!

“	Originally Posted By: Dancing Vixen Alright, maybe I can get some opinions on this... I began learning Tai Chi a few years back (until I moved) and was, of course, taught about Dan Tien (or however you prefer to spell it). Other people I've talked to deny dan tien and its location, and instead tell me about the number of Chakras in the body. I was wondering how they were similar/different. The only thing I know is "chakras" came from India =\ Are they used ever in Tai Chi? Would anyone consider them valid or invalid for energy usage? Why the difference in ideas of body makeup in different countries, when both use energy?	”

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Thanks banjar and tkdwarrior! ^_^

Perhaps the information was "diluted"... or that's as far as they got. Maybe it's different per person? Per belief? I suppose it isn't something you can really know without discovering for yourself. And maybe it isn't as cut-and-dry as, say, math with its clear (ha) rules about how things work...

You know the Chinese and Indians aren't actually very far away at all . In the Chinese view there are actually three Dan-tiens the lower one which corresponds to the Root Chakra the middle one which corresponds to the heart chakra and the upper one which corresponds to the third eye chakra, the Chinese and Indians place them in the same places as well. Also the Shaolin Gung fu was said to have been started by an Indian Monk named Ta Mo who taught the monks of Shaolin health exercises to balance there meditations with.