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Luo-Connecting point
Binding point of the foot Shaoyin Sinews
Approximately 0.5 cun posterior to the midpoint of the line drawn between Taixi Kid-3 and Shuiquan Kid-5, on the anterior border of the Achilles tendon
Oblique-perpendicular insertion directed anteriorly 0.5 cun
"The Shaoyin usually has little Blood and much Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Shaoyin is to be pierced 2 fen deep and remain inserted for three exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of two fen, (the needle) is retained for a duration of seven exhalations, and it is moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).
Reinforces the Kidneys
Anchors the Qi and benefits the Lung
Strengthens the will and dispels fear
Shared with Jinggu Bl-64 and balanced by ䷢ (Shenmen He-7 or Zhizheng SI-7).
Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.
Superficial Innervation: Medial calcaneal branches of tibial nerve (S1 - S2)
Dermatome Segment: S1
Can be a target for disabling an opponent with a sword or knife by severing the Achilles tendon and possibly causing large amounts of bleeding from the posterior tibial artery. Its location makes it most likely to be struck on an already immobilised opponent and was most often used as a punishment on a captive.
Impedes the flow of Yang Qi throughout the body causing instant weakness and feeling of fullness in the head like it will explode (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).
Ling Shu Ch. 10, On Channels, describes the diseases relating to the Luo emanating from this point as:
Repletion: Closure with protuberance-illness (prostate hypertrophy)
Depletion: Lower back aches
(Unschuld, 2016).
Ling Shu Ch. 19, On the Four Seasonal Qi, advises using the channels and Luo vessels for diseases which occur in spring. They are pierced deeply if severe and more shallow if mild. For the other seasons:
- in summer choose the Yang channels and Luo located in the partings between the skin and flesh
- in autumn choose the Shu-Stream points unless the disease in the Fu organs, then use the He-Sea points
- in winter choose Jing-Well and Ying-Spring opening and retain the needle.
Ling Shu Ch. 21, On Cold and Heat Diseases, repeats the advice to use Luo in spring but and adds that they can also treat diseases of the skin.
For the other seasons it differs slightly from Ch. 19:
- in summer choose the partings in skin structures which also treat the muscle and flesh
- in autumn Taiyuan Lu-9 is chosen and can treat the sinews and vessels (this may also apply to other Shu-Stream points for this purpose, text is unclear)
- in winter one chooses the main channel points which also treat the bones and marrow.
The same chapter also says that if it is the bones which feel cold and heat sensations and the patient sweats ceaselessly it should be treated with the Foot Shaoyin Luo vessels on the inner thigh. If the teeth have dried up or the bones have ceasing Qi then no cure is possible.
Ling Shu Ch. 22, On Mania and Madness, advises that if the breath is shortened and brief and movement makes the Qi appear restrained then the foot Shaoyin channel is to be supplemented and the Luo are to be drained.
Ling Shu Ch. 26, On Miscellaneous Diseases, advises piercing the foot Shaoyin blood vessels in the hollow of the knee for lower back pain with heat in the centre and panting (probably Weizhong Bl-40 rather than here but this is the origin of the foot Shaoyin Luo).
Dazhong Kid-4 and Waiguan SJ-5 release emotions from the repressed (Yuan-Qi) level in Jeffrey Yuen's system of using the Luo to harmonise emotions.
The full protocol is to:
- Tonify the Yuan-Source point of the Yin meridian that relates to the emotional disposition being expressed.
- Bleed or plum blossom the Luo related to the level of expression (Waiguan SJ-5 and Dazhong Kid-4 in this example) in a figure 8 (e.g. Right arm -> Left leg -> Right leg -> Left arm) starting with the side with dominant symptoms. If unsure all levels can be released.
- Bleed or plum blossom the Luo of the Yang meridian connected to the Yuan-Source point tonified at the beginning (Yuen, 2004, The Luo Vessels lecture transcript, NESA; Chin, 2003, The Luo Vessels).
I think of it as tonifying the organ to bring the emotion up and then releasing it from the Luo via its transverse connection, like in a guest-host protocol, with the additional Luo being added to focus on the level of release.
鐘 translates as bell but has many connections to time, referring to bells that announce the passage of time. Bells were important ritual objects in Zhou and Han dynasty China (Landers, 2017), as were cycles of time. Much of classical medicine centres around maintaining harmony between the personal and cosmic temporal cycles suggesting that this point's name may have referred to the trajectory of the Luo which connects to the Heart, whose beating may have been compared to a ritual bell, keeping time during sacred ceremonies.
The etymology of 鐘 also reveals the characters 金 "gold" and 童 "child or servant boy". This may indicate that it was the role of a slave boy to keep time and strike the bells with a hammer at specific times. Clapperless bells were a feature of the Zhou and Han dynasties (The Met Museum, Six Niuzhong Bells).
Basic information on location, needle depth, TCM actions, indications and combinations is taken from Deadman et al (2001): A Manual of Acupuncture with additional anatomical information researched by reference to Gray's Anatomy (38th Ed., 1995) unless otherwise referenced. Images were found on acupunctureschoolonline.com and can be traced back to Claudia Focks (2008) Atlas of Acupuncture originally. I cannot claim any credit or rights over them. Other sources should be quoted in the text.
For some of the more unusual terms I have created a glossary here
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