Hara
In many forms of martial arts and yoga, the hara (tan t'ien) is emphasized as the physical center of gravity, the source of energy and/or the center of intake and distribution of energy throughout the body(ies), and the center/initiator of movements.
My experience of the hara is that it (the abdominal region) warms up during tai chi, chi gong, Zen practice, yoga and also Breema. This warmth or heat seems to distribute and nourish throughout the body, and gives a sense of comfort, fullness and being at home. I also notice the ease and flow of movements when they "come from" the hara, in any movement practice.
In reading about it, I also notice that it is sometimes equated with the third chakra (Manipura), sometimes the second (Svadhisthana), and sometimes both - covering the whole abdominal region.
It is usually described as located one or two inches below the navel, although sometimes also as the lower abdomen or the whole abdominal cavity (hara means belly in Japanese).
Different descriptions
It is interesting that there is no consensus on which chakra it corresponds with.
It may be another case of fluidity, in this case where the energy bodies may reconfigure to some extent according to frameworks and practices.
In some traditions, the hara (tan t'ien) may come into focus and be experienced as precisely located at a point below the navel - and this may either correspond with the second or third chakra. In other traditions, the hara emerges more as the lower abdomen or the whole abdominal region - including both second and third chakras.
In my case, the hara seems to include the abdominal region as a whole - and both second and third chakra.
Labels: energy