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Luo-Connecting point
Confluent point of the Chong Mai, coupled with Neiguan Pc-6
On the medial side of the foot, in the depression distal and inferior to the base of the first metatarsal bone.
Perpendicular insertion 0.5 - 1 cun
"The Taiyin usually has much Qi and little Blood" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The foot Taiyin is to be pierced 3 fen deep and remain inserted for four exhalations" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of four fen, (the needle) is retained for a duration of twenty exhalations, and it is moxaed with three cones" (Huangfu Mi 皇甫謐, 3rd Century, Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing 針灸甲乙經).
Fortifies the Spleen and harmonises the Middle Jiao
Regulates Qi and resolves Dampness
Calms the Shen
Benefits the Heart and chest
Regulates the Chong Mai
䷙ Da Xu 大畜 ䷙ Da Xu 大畜 Cultivating the Great
Shared with Chongyang St-42. Balanced by ䷬ (Taiyuan Lu-9 or Wenliu LI-6).
Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.
Superficial Innervation: Superficial peroneal nerve from L4 - S1
Dermatome Segment: L4
Striking this point causes dizziness and immediate great local pain with associated Qi drainage, even knock out and much long term damage. The pain caused by this strike can last for days and cannot be helped by painkillers, causing muscle tension all over the body and sleepless nights.
As the Chong Mai Master point, damage here causes a disruption of pre- and post-natal Qi and to the Yin and Yang balance of the Spleen and Stomach, leading to a great lessening of one’s life-force and gradual deterioration of the recipient’s quality of life. The ability to practice energetic exercises like yoga and Qigong diminishes. It will also cause disturbance in all of the organs in both long and short term, but especially the Heart due to the Luo channel emanating from this point and connecting to the Heart (Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com).
Taiyin 太陰 also means "lunar" in Chinese, suggesting that the reason this point has such an influence over gynaecology that it was chosen to open the Chong Mai is due to it being the Luo (Blood) point of the Taiyin (Moon). Its name meaning "Grandfather Grandson" would make it an obvious choice for issues of fertility.
Combined with the other Taiyin Luo Lieque Lu-7, "Broken Sequence," it is easy to see the connection between these points and fertility and a continuous line of inheritance.
Ling Shu Ch. 10 describes the diseases relating to the Luo emanating from this point as:
Repletion: Cutting pain in the intestine
Depletion: Abdomen swells like a drum
(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.
Ling Shu Ch. 22, On Mania and Madness, advises to bleed this channel in instances of insanity. The original just states the division (eg. bleed foot Taiyin) implying the main channel by omission but since it recommends bleeding the data is being entered under the Luo points unless a specific point is mentioned:
- If a manic patient's back is stiff and bent in the adverse direction with pain in the spine then the hand and foot Taiyang (Wu and Wu, 2010), and the foot Yangming and Taiyin (Unschuld, 2016) are bled.
- In the early stages of madness when sadness and hunger lead to the patient being grieved and forgetful, easily enraged with a tendency to be fearful, the foot Taiyin and Yangming can also be bled as an alternative (Unschuld, 2016) or as an addition (Wu & Wu, 2010) to bleeding the hand Taiyang and Yangming.
- If a major delight causes a person to see demon-spirits and laugh inside but be unable to express it then blood is removed from the foot Taiyin, Taiyang and Yangming, and then from the hand Taiyin and Yangming.
- If counterflow is causing the chest feels like it is about to burst, the intestines feel a sharp pain, the patient is vexed and cannot eat and the pulses are rough then this channel is bled and drained if the feet are warm and the foot Yangming channel is bled and supplemented if they are cool.
Yuen explains the name of this point refers to its importance in treating inherited conditions as the opening point of the Chong Mai (Yuen, 2005, The Extraordinary Vessels). This links the Chong Mai with the Daoist concept of Cheng Fu (承負, Inherited Burden) introduced in the Taiping Jing. Cheng Fu is a rough equivalent to karma but includes not just the accumulated deeds of past lives, but also of the deeds of one's ancestors and affects both the individual and societal level.
This point can be used as an alternative to Qichong St-30 when combined with Guangming GB-37 and Yintang to treat deficiencies related to the final Seventh Level of Manifestation of the Soul, equivalent to the Sahasrara crown chakra. It deals with the interconnectedness of all things, collective consciousness and connection with the Divine. As two possible locations for the opening of the Chong mai these can be used to represent the return to the source (Yuen, 2005, 3 Spirits & 7 Souls).
All of the points in this set have a strong association with the Blood and the region of the eyes and hence the Shen: Gongsun Sp-4 and Qichong St-30 being on the Chong Mai which governs Blood and terminates at the eyes, Guangming GB-37 being a Luo point that spreads across the foot to Chongyang St-42 where it accesses the Chong Mai and is often used for eye disorders, while Yintang is located between the eyes which is often bled.
In Sufism this level would relate to the Valley of Poverty and Annihilation described by Attar in the Conference of the Birds as:
"He who is drowned in the absolute sea of bliss
Forever is lost, forever is in peace;
And if he manages to emerge from the ocean
He will be gifted to see by revelation ..."
Here the mystic is absorbed into the Divine in a state of timeless bliss.
Neiguan Pc-6 and Gongsun Sp-4 release emotions from the suppressed (Ying-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 (Neiguan Pc-6 and Gongsun Sp-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.
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
Steve Woodley Acupuncture & Traditional Medicine
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