Want to quit coffee? Focus on your Hara, Charge your Tanden

Maybe the word I talk about the most in class is “The hara” -

The hara, what’s that exactly? Well it’s your inner battery is, and knowing how to charge it is a super power.

Does the hara really matter in Reiki?

Well, let’s put it this way - it’s the entrance door, where everything starts and ends. It’s where your practice has to start, without it, you would be a tree without any roots.

Do you like to dance outside the door of a club? No? Well me either… so, be like Alice, cross the door and join the real party !

Hara is a japanese term for “belly” 腹 - you might recognized the first part of the expression, “hara kiri”, literally translated as “cutting the belly”, where a samurai takes his own life in a very honorable death. (Aka Seppuku)

The term hara isn’t used only in Reiki, far from it. It’s widely used in Acupuncture, QiGong, Massage (Anma), Osteopathy, Martial Arts, Shiatsu, Yoga…

“Physically” the Hara is located, between 2 or 3 inches below the navel, closer to the spine and it’s an energetic center, filled with Ki. ( Ki as universal energy.)

This is where you can find your vital energy, essence and power.

It’s connected to the element of Earth and it is where you can connect to the forces of Nature.

Hara or Tanden - What is the difference?

With practice, you can definitely feel the difference!

The Hara is a focus point for your meditative practice - Tanden is like a storehouse.

When we talk about Tanden, we think about the lower Tanden, because it’s the most important one, but in reality there are three :

The Lower (Shimo) Tanden (AKA Ge Tanden or Seika Tanden) Located deep inside the belly
The Middle (Naka) Tanden (AKA: Chu Tanden) located inside the chest at about the heart level
The Upper (Kami) Tanden (AKA: Jo Tanden) located in the middle of the head between the eyes

The Cinnabar Field

if you look at the Chinese traduction, 丹田 Dantian:

丹, dān “Cinnabar”

田, tián “Field “

Cinnabar is “the common bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury sulfide” and it was a source of interest for many people; Newtown used it for his virility, the Alchemists represented it with the number 3 and thought it could be transformed into gold, the Taoists believed it was a natural source of youth and power and would give immortality - even if though it was a poison!

So the “cinnabar field” is the place where you can find the primordial energy or essence, or Ki, and that is the real source of immortality.

Many breathing meditation exercises help you to locate and work with the hara and we teach some of them in Shoden ( Reiki level 1) and Okuden (Reiki level 2).

They help you to ground, stay focused and speak directly from your true self. Knowing your hara is unconditional if you want to chant the symbols, sutras or the kotodama, but more than that, this is where you will find your non-duality, your true nature.

Once you experience it, you will understand the true meaning of the “field of elixir”.

About the Author

My name is Frederique Morel. I’m a co-director of the Centre

My background is in software development and I am still a playful geek at heart. I love photography, movies, music hikes in Nature, swimming in cold water and dinner with my friends.

I camp often in the wilderness and travel even more abroad. Home is where my feet are. If you hear a big laugh and a touch of French accent, that might be me.