Is Your T’an Tien Actually Located Below Your Navel?

The tan t’ien and space are representatives of the universal. (Or, what the properties of the center of gravity (COG) / center of mass (COM) has taught me about the tan t’ien and how it is representative of the Universal.)

Yes, I am making a big leap saying the properties of COM can inform us about the properties of the tan t’ien just because the location of the tan t’ien is usually associated with the location of the center of gravity (COG) / center of mass (COM). The location when standing in anatomical position is usually stated as being two to three inches below the navel and just in front of the spine.

This brings up my first teaching that there is no one designated location of COM. It is dynamic. Even in anatomical position, the COM can be higher or lower based on the shape of the individual. As the body moves into a different position, the COM shifts to a different location. It has the characteristic of knowing, aware functionality. In a squat the COM is usually not even in the body since it is the point that functions as the equal distribution of mass around it. The even distribution of mass gives it the characteristic of equality and equanimity. The COM has no attachment to being in any certain location.

Since there is no one location that can be pointed to as the COM, it also has the characteristic of emptiness. “Empty” in that there is “no-thing” and “ness” — the potential that functions based on the causes and conditions present (e.g., the shape).

Another way it functions is that if a force is placed upon the mass (e.g., body) through its COM, the mass moves as a whole in the direction of the force. If the force is not through the COM, it causes the extraneous motion of rotation or spinning. However, this is only true if the mass is suspended in space or on a frictionless, non-resistant surface. It can apply to our T’ai Chi Chih (TCC) if there is no resistance or friction in the joints which is the aim of the quality of softness we are intending in our practice.

What contributes to the softness is having our body segments aligned with the line of gravity that passes through the COM. If they are not, there is tension created in the body. Then as we move, that line of gravity through the COM must stay over the base of support in order to be balanced. The sense of weight shift allows us to feel that dynamic nature of the COM moving over the base of support.

These characteristics of COM, being a dynamic potential with its equanimous, knowing, aware emptiness, are the same characteristics as that of the universal. A teacher of mine described the universal as being like a hologram in that each piece of a hologram contains a representation of the whole. Since every bit of matter has a COM from the macro level (e.g., the body) to the atomic level, each bit of matter contains the representation of the whole, the universal. So, I am conjecturing that the tan t’ien is that representation of the universal and universally connects us to every bit of matter in the universe.