Shu points for beginners

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There are 12 organ meridians. Six of these are Yang; six of these are Yin.

 

Out of the 6 Yang meridians, 3 pass through the hand and 3 pass through the

foot. 3 of the 6 Yin meridians pass through the hand, 3 through the foot.

 

The 3 Yin meridians which pass through the hand with a descending flow of

energy are the Lung, Heart, and Pericardium. The 3 hand Yang meridians with

an ascending flow of energy are the Small Intestine, the Large Intestine,

and the Triple Heater.

 

The 3 foot Yang meridians (which have a descending flow of energy) are the

Stomach, the Bladder, and the Gallbladder. The 3 foot Yin meridians (which

have an ascending flow of energy) are the Liver, the Kidneys, and the

Spleen.

 

When you look at energy flow in the body, it's like a web. These pathways

don't just deadend. They switch over to other pathways.

 

If you look at charts of the meridians, you will see that each of the 12

organ meridians have a point near the tip of a finger or the tip of a toe.

It is in the fingers and toes that the polarity of Qi changes from Yin to

Yang and from Yang to Yin. There are switches here between Yang meridians

and Yin meridians.

 

Before of this switch in polarity in the area of the fingers and toes, Qi

flow is very unstable and superficially in an area that runs from near the

tips of the fingers and toes to the elbows and knees. Because Qi flow is so

superficial in this area, it is a section which is particularly vulnerable

to entry by External Pernicious Evils (Cold, Dampness, Heat, Wind, Dryness).

It's also a section where Protective Qi tends to gather.

 

Because the flow of Qi is so unstable and superficial in the areas between

the toes and the knees and the fingers and the elbows, any needling or

acupressure that you do in these areas is going to have greater results than

if done futher along the channel.

 

Between the fingers and the elbow and the toes and the knees there are 5

very special points which are called Shu points (aka Transporting Points,

aka Element Points)

 

The point nearest the tip of the fingers or toes is call the Well point. The

Well point will always be the first or last point on the meridian -

depending on if the flow of energy is ascending or descending. If the flow

is ascending, the Well point will be Small Intestine 1 or Large Intestine I

1 or Triple Heater 1 (hand Yang meridians) or Spleen 1, Kidney 1, or Liver 1

(foot Yin meridians). (BTW, the first point on the Kidney meridian is in

the middle of the sole of the foot, but for this particular meridian, this

is the point closest to the toes.) The last point of the merdians with a

descending flow of energy will be the Well point - Lung 11, Heart 9, and

Pericardium 9 for the Yin hand meridians, and Stomach 45, B67, and

Gallbladder 44 for the foot Yang meridians.

 

The Spring point, the second in the series of Transporting points, is always

the second point of the meridian if the flow of energy is ascending, the

next to the last if the flow is descending.

 

The third point in the series is the Stream point. Here things start to get

a little more complex. It will be the 3rd point of ascending meridians or

the 3 from the last in the case of descending meridians except in the case

of the Gallbladder meridian. The Stream point of the Gallbladder meridian is

actually 41, the fourth from the last point.

 

The 4th point in the Transporting points series is the River point. It won't

necessarily be the 4th or 4th from the end point of the meridian.

 

The 5th point is the Sea Point. It will be at the elbow or knee.

 

Most of this is not going to make sense to beginners until I start to go

into what the Well, Spring, Stream, River, and Sea points do in general.

Also, because these Transporting points are also Element points, they can be

used very easily to tonify or sedate a meridian. It is quite possible to

practice very effective acupuncture and acupressure using just the Element

points.

 

Victoria

 

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