Running and the Dantien

According to the Eastern Tradition a conglomeration of energy is seated a couple of inches below the navel, and a few inches into the body. It is called the Dantien in Chinese and the Tanden or Hara in Japanese according to wikipedia is is "the reservoir of vital or source energy ". The word Hara we find in the ritual self-disembowelment by Samurai called Hara-kiri or Seppuku. The Tanden or Dantien is an extremely important concept in Chinese and Japanese spiritual and martial arts including Tai Chi, Reiki, and any number of the Martial Arts where acrobatic movements abound.

Since I have been working toward incorporating a "mindfulness" into my running - which has made running a more enjoyable endeavour akin to a form of meditation, I thought I would also explore the practical use of the Dantien or Tanden.

Whilst running I focused of becoming aware on the pelvis and concentrated on twisting the pelvis slightly forward - I assisted this by performing this movement in the mirror before hand (whilst no one was watching of course!). By incorporating this pelvis tilt and by running in my Skora Form with a forefoot strike I found an increase of energy in running - a noticeable (and surprising) increase in energy: the run was easy.

This is of course not a new concept to anyone who has read the book Chi Running by Danny Dreyer especially the bit where the author says that the pelvis "contains" Chi energy, like a cauldron contains liquid, you need to keep it straight otherwise you tip the Chi from the pelvis. Whilst I have read the book I found it more useful to come to the same conclusion from the opposite direction, not because I am being told to do it from a book but because I slowly "discover" the right way...in other words a self discovery via experiential learning. To me this has more value but it may be I am just stubborn and need to verify things for myself, and in my own time!

But did it work? Despite a bad back I literally flew through my trail route which I kept to a lowish 6 miles as I am recovering from a flu virus - I took a moderate to slow pace alternating between counting my breaths (breathing meditation) and focusing on my Hara (and tilting or rotating the pelvis forwards (and keeping the whole body relaxed and not all tensed up). It was an easy run and I felt I could have run a few more miles despite recovering from illness and a bad back. The after effect of the run was a total sense of relaxation and a tremendous sense of balance - both physically and mentally. So much so I will be incorporating "mindfulness" into all of my runs from now on. It really does make running a sort of meditation.