DU-1

Changqiang "Long Strength"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Connecting (Luo) Point — Du Mai

Location

Actions

Regulates the Governing and Directing Vessels
Resolves Dampness
Regulates the two lower orifices
Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices
Extinguishes interior Wind

Key point: The beginning and Connecting point of Du Mai, linking it to Ren Mai — affects both lower orifices and, being at the vessel's lowest end, can also be used to calm the Mind and open its orifices in agitated/manic mental states.

Indications

Lower Orifices

Painful, difficult or retained urination, dark urine, haemorrhoids, difficult defecation, diarrhoea, prolapse of rectum.

Mental / Wind

Manic depression; opisthotonos, tetany, epilepsy, tremor of the head.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

A common local point for prolapse of the anus and haemorrhoids (resolves Damp-Heat in the anus).

DU-2

Yaoshu "Transporting Point of Lower Back"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Extinguishes interior Wind
Strengthens the lower back

Key point: A major point for interior Wind (spasms, convulsions) and hence a key point for epilepsy — needled obliquely upwards, aiming for the needling sensation to travel up the spine.

Indications

Wind

Epilepsy.

Local

Pain in the sacrum, lower backache, stiffness of the lower back.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

Also useful as a local point for chronic sacral backache from Kidney-Yang deficiency.

DU-3

Yaoyangguan "Lumbar Yang Gate"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Strengthens the lower back and legs
Tonifies Yang

Key point: A very frequently used local point for lower backache from Kidney-Yang deficiency, especially when the pain radiates down the legs (also strengthens the legs in Atrophy Syndrome).

Indications

Musculoskeletal

Lower backache, sciatica, stiffness of the lumbar region.

Kidney-Yang

Impotence, white leukorrhoea.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-4

Mingmen "Gate of Life"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Tonifies Kidney-Yang and warms the Gate of Life (Ming Men)
Tonifies Original Qi
Expels Cold
Strengthens the Governing Vessel
Strengthens the lower back
Benefits Essence (Jing)
Clears the Mind

Key point: The most powerful point to strengthen Kidney-Yang and all Yang energies, especially with moxa — but caution is needed: only use moxa here when there is genuine internal Cold, since a person can have Kidney-Yang deficiency alongside Heat elsewhere (e.g. Damp-Heat in the Intestines).

Indications

Kidney-Yang Deficiency

Backache, dizziness, tinnitus, cold knees, feeling of cold in the lower back, frequent pale urination, tiredness, chilliness, cold feet, pain from Cold.

Essence

Seminal emissions.

Mind

Depression, lack of will-power, mental confusion.

Wind (interior)

Tremor of head, opisthotonos, epilepsy.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

Du Mai affects the Mind three ways — via the Essence, via the Heart, and by entering the Brain — which is why DU-4 both warms Yang and lifts mood/clears the Mind in Kidney-Yang-deficient depression.
Although a warming point, it can (unusually) also be used to clear Heat — the author personally does not use it that way.

DU-8

Jinsuo "Tendon Spasm"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Extinguishes interior Wind and relaxes the sinews

Key point: Used for interior-Wind manifestations — convulsions, muscle spasms, tremor, epilepsy — and simply to relieve spasm/contracture of the sinews even without interior Wind.

Indications

Wind / Sinews

Opisthotonos, spasms, epilepsy, stiffness and contraction of the spine.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-9

Zhiyang "Reaching Yang"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Regulates the Liver and Gall Bladder
Resolves Damp-Heat
Opens the chest and diaphragm

Key point: A major point for jaundice — resolves Damp-Heat in the Liver_pencil_sketch/Gall Bladder, and separately relieves chest/diaphragm Qi stagnation (distension, hiccups, sighing).

Indications

Liver / Gall Bladder

Jaundice, feeling of heaviness, bitter taste, hypochondrial fullness, epigastric fullness.

Chest

Chest fullness.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-11

Shendao "Mind Way"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Strengthens the Heart and calms the Mind
Clears Heat
Extinguishes interior Wind

Key point: Level with BL-15 (Heart Back-Shu) and shares its Heart focus — nourishes the Heart and calms the Mind for depression/sadness/anxiety, but can also clear Heart-Heat/drain Heart-Fire.

Indications

Mind

Sadness, anxiety, poor memory, palpitations, disorientation, timidity.

Heat

Fever, feeling of heat.

Wind

Epilepsy in children, lockjaw.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-12

Shenzhu "Body Pillar"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Clears Lung-Heat
Extinguishes interior Wind
Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices
Tonifies Lung-Qi

Key point: Opposite actions depending on technique: reducing clears Lung-Heat and interior Wind (epilepsy, convulsions); reinforcing tonifies Lung-Qi (level with BL-13) — the author uses it in autumn, combined with BL-13, to prevent seasonal allergic rhinitis flaring in spring.

Indications

Lung-Heat

Heat in the chest, cough, feeling of heat, breathlessness, thirst, agitation.

Wind / Mental (child)

Epilepsy in children, opisthotonos, manic behaviour, rage.

Lung-Qi Deficiency

Tiredness, weak voice, propensity to catch cold, allergic rhinitis, asthma.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-13

Taodao "Kiln Way"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Meeting point (Du Mai • Bladder)

Location

Actions

Regulates the Lesser Yang

Key point: Clears Heat at the Lesser Yang stage — its cardinal sign being alternating chills and fever — and also clears lingering residual Heat in postviral fatigue syndrome.

Indications

Lesser Yang

Malaria, alternating feeling of cold and feeling of heat.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-14

Dazhui "Big Vertebra"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Meeting point of Du Mai with all Yang channelsPoint of the Sea of Qi

Location

Actions

Clears Heat
Releases the Exterior and expels exterior Wind
Regulates Nutritive and Defensive Qi

Key point: Its effect flips with technique: reducing releases the Exterior (Wind-Heat specifically) and clears interior Heat/Wind; reinforcing with direct moxa tonifies Yang (especially Heart- and Kidney-Yang) and, as the meeting point of all Yang channels, clears and stimulates the Brain/Mind.

Indications

Heat

Fever, feeling of heat.

Exterior Wind

Aversion to cold, fever, body aches, occipital headache and stiffness, slight sweating.

Wind (interior)

Epilepsy.

Mind / Yang deficiency

Depression, tiredness, poor memory/concentration, chilliness, profuse pale urination.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-15

Yamen "Door to Dumbness"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Point of the Yang Linking Vessel (Yang Wei Mai)Point of the Sea of Qi

Location

Actions

Extinguishes interior Wind
Benefits the tongue and stimulates speech
Clears the Mind

Key point: Mainly used to promote speech — children with speech delay, or adults with aphasia after Wind-stroke. (Extraordinary claims about curing deaf-mute children, made during the Cultural Revolution, are now acknowledged by Chinese doctors as largely exaggerated.)

Indications

Wind / Emergency

Loss of consciousness from Wind-stroke, epilepsy.

Speech

Stiffness of tongue, inability to speak, loss of voice, flaccidity of tongue.

Mind

Feeling of heaviness of the head, poor memory/concentration.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-16

Fengfu "Wind Palace"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Point of the Yang Linking Vessel (Yang Wei Mai)Point of the Sea of MarrowWindow of Heaven PointSun Si Miao Ghost PointPoint of the Eye System

Location

Actions

Extinguishes interior Wind
Expels exterior Wind
Nourishes Marrow and benefits the Brain
Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices

Key point: Eliminates both exterior and interior Wind, making it useful across Wind-stroke, epilepsy, severe giddiness and exterior invasions alike — and as a point of the Eye System and Sea of Marrow, it's also an important headache point (Liver-Yang rising, Liver-Wind, Liver-Fire).

Indications

Wind-stroke

Opisthotonos, aphasia from Wind-stroke, hemiplegia.

Exterior Wind

Aversion to cold, fever, body aches, occipital stiffness and headache.

Head

Headache, dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision.

Mind

Manic behaviour, desire to commit suicide, sadness, fear.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-17

Naohu "Brain Window"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Meeting point (Du Mai • Bladder)

Location

Actions

Extinguishes interior Wind
Benefits the eyes
Benefits the Brain
Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices

Key point: Used mostly to subdue interior Wind affecting the Brain — epilepsy, Wind-stroke, severe giddiness.

Indications

Wind

Epilepsy, lockjaw.

Eyes

Blurred vision, myopia, eye pain, excessive lacrimation.

Head / Mind

Feeling of heaviness of the head, dizziness, manic behaviour.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-19

Houding "Posterior Vertex"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)No special Five-Element classification

Location

Actions

Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices

Key point: A powerful calmer of the Mind, very often used for severe anxiety — commonly combined with REN-15.

Indications

Mind

Manic behaviour, anxiety, mental restlessness, insomnia.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-20

Baihui "Hundred Meetings"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Meeting point (Du Mai • Bladder • Gall Bladder • Triple Burner • Liver)Point of the Sea of Marrow

Location

Actions

Extinguishes interior Wind
Subdues Liver-Yang
Raises Yang
Benefits the Brain and sense organs
Lifts the Mind
Promotes resuscitation

Key point: At the vertex — the convergence point of the Yang channels — it has a dual action: expelling Excess Yang from the head (headaches from Liver-Yang rising/Wind) or, with direct moxa, powerfully raising clear Yang for prolapse of internal organs and sinking-Qi patterns. Never use moxa here if there are any Heat signs or high blood pressure.

Indications

Interior Wind

Wind-stroke, hemiplegia, opisthotonos, loss of consciousness, epilepsy.

Liver-Yang

Headache, dizziness, tinnitus, blurred vision.

Sinking Qi

Prolapse of stomach/uterus/bladder/anus, very frequent urination, incontinence.

Mind

Poor memory, depression, loss of consciousness.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

Combine with DU-26 and P-6 to promote resuscitation in loss of consciousness.

DU-23

Shangxing "Upper Star"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Sun Si Miao Ghost Point

Location

Actions

Opens the nose
Brightens the eyes

Key point: Mostly used for chronic nose disorders (allergic rhinitis, sinusitis) to open the nose and resolve Dampness from the nose and sinuses.

Indications

Nose

Nasal congestion and discharge, loss of sense of smell, nasal polyps, sneezing, nosebleed.

Eyes

Blurred vision, pain in the eyes, myopia.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-24

Shenting "Mind Courtyard"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Meeting point (Du Mai • Stomach)

Location

Actions

Calms and lifts the Mind, opens the Mind's orifices
Extinguishes interior Wind
Benefits the nose
Brightens the eyes

Key point: Distinctive for being able to both calm AND lift the Mind — used for anxiety/insomnia just as much as for depression and sadness (even in psychiatric practice for schizophrenia). Combine with G.B.-13 for severe anxiety and fears.

Indications

Mind

Manic depression, depression, anxiety, poor memory, insomnia.

Wind / Head

Opisthotonos, epilepsy, dizziness, vertigo.

Nose / Eyes

Clear nasal discharge, nasal congestion, nosebleed, lacrimation, blurred vision.

Clinical Pearls (summarized from Comments)

DU-26

Renzhong (Shuigou) "Middle of Person"

Du Mai (Governing Vessel)Meeting point (Du Mai • Large Intestine • Stomach)Sun Si Miao Ghost Point

Location

Actions

Promotes resuscitation and extinguishes interior Wind
Opens the nose
Calms the Mind and opens the Mind's orifices
Benefits the lumbar spine
Regulates the Water Passages of the Upper Burner

Key point: The classic emergency resuscitation point for loss of consciousness — also an empirical distal point for acute sprain of the lower back on the spine's midline (reduce while the patient gently bends backward and forward).

Indications

Emergency / Wind

Loss of consciousness, coma, Wind-stroke, lockjaw, deviation of eye and mouth, epilepsy.

Nose / Mind

Nosebleed, clear nasal discharge, loss of sense of smell, manic depression.

Musculoskeletal

Stiffness and pain of the lumbar spine on the midline, inability to bend forward.

Fluids

Oedema of the upper part of the body.