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Luo-Connecting point
Confluent point of the Yang Wei Mai, coupled with Zulinqi GB-41
Binding point of the hand Shaoyang Sinews
2 cun proximal to Yanchi SJ-4, in the depression between the radius and the ulna, on the radial side of the extensor digitorum communis tendons.
Slightly oblique insertion towards the ulnar side or oblique proximal or distal insertion towards the elbow or wrist respectively 0.5 - 1.5 cun, or joined by through needling to Neiguan P-6.
Movement of the patient's arm or hand after needling this point can result in a bent needle.
"The Shaoyang usually has little Blood and much Qi" (Su Wen 素問 ch. 24) implying this channel should normally be needled.
"The hand Yin and Yang receive their Qi via nearby paths so their Qi arrive swiftly. The depth of piercing must not exceed 2 fen and must not remain inserted for longer than one exhalation" (Ling Shu 靈樞 ch. 12).
"It is needled to a depth of three 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).
Expels Wind and releases the Exterior
Benefits the head and ears
Opens the Yang Wei Mai
Clears Heat
Activates the channel and alleviates pain
Superficial Innervation: Posterior cutaneous nerve of the forearm from C5 - C8
Dermatome Segment: C7, C8
Deeper Structures: Median nerve from C5 - T1
See Montaigue, Dim Mak Locations, Taijiworld.com for explanation of effects.
Trigrams: Kun (Earth) below, Xun (Wind) above.
Receptivity within, penetration without — the wind blows over the earth. The gentle and penetrating moves across the receptive ground. This is contemplation: the wind of awareness moving over the ground of what is.
Nuclear Trigrams: Lines 2-3-4 form Gen (Mountain). Lines 3-4-5 form Gen (Mountain). Beneath the contemplation, there is stillness (Gen) doubled. The hidden message: true contemplation is grounded in stillness. The wind may move, but the mountain does not.
Judgement:
觀：盥而不薦，有孚顒若。
Contemplation. Washing the hands but not yet offering. There is sincerity, dignified and reverent.
Contemplation is the act of seeing clearly, without acting. It is the moment before the sacrifice, when everything is prepared and the attention is pure. The wind moves over the earth, observing. The one who contemplates is sincere and dignified.
Lines:
| Line | Yin/Yang | Image | Literal Translation | Commentary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yin | 童觀，小人無咎，君子吝 | Childish contemplation. The small man has no trouble. The gentleman has Regret. | Yin at the bottom. The beginning of contemplation. The child sees only the surface. The small man is content with this. The gentleman has Regret because he knows there is more to see but has not yet seen it. |
| 2 | Yin | 閲觀，利女貞 | Peeping contemplation. Favourable for the woman's perseverance. | Yin at 2, central and correct. The contemplation is narrow — peeping through a crack. This is appropriate for the woman (the receptive, the inner), but not for the gentleman who must see the whole. |
| 3 | Yin | 觀我生，進退 | Contemplating my own life, advancing or retreating. | The threshold. The contemplation turns inward. The one who contemplates examines his own life and decides whether to advance or retreat. This is the crisis of contemplation — the moment when seeing becomes decision. |
| 4 | Yin | 觀國之光，利用賓于王 | Contemplating the light of the state. Favourable to be a guest of the king. | Yin at 4. The first yin line above the threshold. The contemplation now extends outward — the light of the state, the culture, the civilisation. It is favourable to serve the king because the seeing is now wide enough to be useful. |
| 5 | Yang | 觀我生，君子無咎 | Contemplating my own life. The gentleman has no trouble. | The ruler line. Yang at 5, central and correct. The contemplation returns to the self, but now from the place of honour. The gentleman examines his own life and finds it correct. No trouble because the seeing is clear and the life is aligned. |
| 6 | Yang | 觀其生，君子無咎 | Contemplating his life. The gentleman has no trouble. | Yang at the top. The contemplation is now complete. The one who contemplates sees his whole life, from the outside, as if it were another's. The gentleman has no trouble because he has seen clearly and accepted what he has seen. |
Image:
風行地上，觀。先王以省方觀民設教。
Wind moving over the earth: Guan. Thus the former kings inspected the regions, contemplated the people, and established teaching.
The wind moves over the earth, observing everything. The former kings inspected the regions (省方), contemplated the people (觀民), and established teaching (設教). Contemplation is not passive. It is the active observation that leads to understanding and then to teaching. The wind sees everything, and from that seeing comes the establishment of culture.
Acupuncture Point Connections:
Shared with Daling Pc-7.
Inverted into ䷒ (Zhongfu Lu-1 or Tianshu St-25).
Balanced by ䷡ (Lougou Liv-5 or Qiuxu GB-40).
Hexagram attributions are my own with an explanation given in the glossary.
One of the most commonly used distal points of the San Jiao channel for exterior pathogens, especially of a wind-heat variety, headache and pain in the channel.
Despite only Zhongzhu SJ-3 mentioning benefiting the eyes, the indications for this point include redness, pain, swelling of eyes, tearing and superficial obstruction. As the Luo point it can be understood to clear Heat and invigorate Blood. As the confluent point of the Yang Wei Mai it can be understood to release the Exterior, especially in cases where the Yang Qi is stagnated internally and so failing to reach the Exterior in order to repel the pathogen, leaving it stuck in the Shaoyang or Taiyang levels. Therefore it can be used for eye or ear problems when the problem is due to Heat, Blood Stasis, Exterior Wind-Heat invasion and Shaoyang/Taiyang disorders.
Ling Shu Ch. 6 suggests piercing the Luo points if a disease is in the Yang of the Yin realm (e.g. the Fu organs) implying this point for disorders of the San Jiao.
Ling Shu Ch. 10, On Channels, describes the diseases relating to the Luo emanating from this point as:
Repletion: Elbows suffer cramps
Depletion: Unable to contract the lower arm
(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.
When combined with Yangchi SJ-4 and Yingu Kid-10 this point relates to the Sixth Level of Manifestation of the Soul or the Ajna chakra concerned with the Realm of Immortality and the Will to Create endless possibilities. It asks what we would create if we were to live forever? The other two pool Yin and Yang and this point emanates the resulting mixture outwards via the Yang wei mai and the San jiao as an irrigation system.
This stage also relates to the formation of the spiritual embryo and attainment of immortality in meditation practice (Yuen, 2005, 3 Spirits & 7 Souls).
In Sufism this level would relate to the Valley of Bewilderment described by Attar in the Conference of the Birds as:
"Behold! The next is the valley of bewilderment
Here pain and regret ever rave and thunder;
When the pilgrim in this vortex descends
He loses the path in amazement and awe;
He will say 'I know nothing of such riddle,
I know not this or that, I'm blank in
the middle' ..."
Here the mystic awakens to a new reality that is both wonderful and bewildering and is filled with pain and discontent as their previous sense of worldly identity collapses.
Like the other even (Yin) sets there is one point representing Yang (Yangchi SJ-4), one representing Yin (Yingu Kid-10) and one that unifies them (Waiguan SJ-5).
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.
In Thai massage:
Acupressure point (Salguero & Roylance, 2011, Encyclopedia of Thai Massage)
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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