Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints

Transcription

1 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints Class 1: Companion Book Cindy Black, L.Ac., LMT Founder of Big Tree School of Natural Healing 1 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

2 Class 1 Outline: Class 1: Lesson 1 1. Overview of entire course 2. Nature of Acupoints 3. Meridians and Acupoints 4. Point location references 5. Ma Danyang s 12 Heavenly Star Points 6. The Command Points 1. Course Overview Lesson 1: The Nature of acupoints and meridians, and how to locate points Ma Danyang s 12 Heavenly Star Points Command Points Lesson 2: Back Shu Points Influential Points Lesson 3: Five Transporting - Shu Points Part 1 Yin Shu Points Yang Shu Points Lesson 4: Five Transporting - Shu Points Part 2 Yuan Source Points Lesson 5: Point combinations New classifications of the points covered in class This course is packed with information and there s a lot to take in. My motto for this course is: a little bit at a time. Take it easy with yourself, be curious, and find lots of people that you can practice on. The more people you can practice locating the points on, the better. 1 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

3 2. The Nature of Acupoints I want to talk to you about understanding the nature of acupoints. What I mean by the nature of acupoints is that every point has a personality, and there are many different things that go into a point. It s not as simple as: Oh, use this point to relieve a headache. You can find that kind of material anywhere. What I m doing and what I love doing, is giving the bigger explanation. I really want to give the deeper explanation of what s going on. I know that s why you re here too. For every acupoint, there are a few things to consider in order to understand the full picture of the point. Once we have all of the pieces in place, then we understand: Oh that s why I would use that point to relieve a headache. The first thing we need to know is the Organ and related meridian that the point is located on? The next thing we need to know is whether it is Yin or Yang? Everything in Chinese medicine is always going to come back to Yin and Yang. So, it s very important to keep in mind whether this point is on a Yin meridian or a Yang meridian. The next key ingredient is the associated element (one of the Five Elements). The Organs are all categorized and associated with a different element. The same will be true for the points. Next, we consider what point categories a given acupoint may belong to. As you saw in the overview of the course, we re going through many categories. Chinese medicine is thousands and thousands of years old. As people have been learning about these points over the years, they have placed some of them into categories. We will be exploring traditional categories in this class. A point being in a particular category will tell you something about its nature. For instance, the Influential Points are a specific category of points. Not every point is an Influential Point; therefore, there s something about the nature of being an Influential Point that you need to know if you re working with one of those points. Knowing that it s an Influential Point really isn t going to be enough. You need to know the Organ, the meridian, whether it s Yin or Yang, and the element. All of these things are going to come together as you practice and reflect upon these points. As you re using these points and considering all of these different aspects, you will build your experiential knowledge of them. Your experiential knowledge combined with the learning you do here and elsewhere becomes your particular living knowledge of the points. This is your treasure! Your experiential knowledge is extremely important information. Remember that Chinese medicine is thousands of years old and it s built on the expertise of each practitioner. We truly value experiential knowledge. I encourage you to practice as much as you can and respect what your hands, body, mind, and heart are telling you. Keep track of your experiences which are your book of living knowledge. Your living knowledge is extremely important and it will continue to build over time. 2 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

4 Summary of the Nature of Acupoints 1. Related Organ/Meridian 2. Yin or Yang 3. Element 4. Category 5. Experiential knowledge 6. Location - points also have a local effect. 3. Points and Meridians The meridians are covered in great detail in the Guide to the 12 Meridians course. However, I will give a brief overview of meridians and Qi flow here. Qi is the body s energy, which flows through the meridians in the same way that water flows through a riverbed. I find that these simple little sentences require a lot of repetition and a lot of contemplation. In fact, I ve been standing by a river while creating much of this course trying to soak in this concept; since it s extremely important to understand what it is that we re doing here. What are we touching on and what s the bigger picture? The points are the places on the meridians where the Qi can be accessed. So, what does that mean? It s an easy thing to say, but what does that really mean? We have to go back to ancient times, to a medicine that was developed in nature. A medicine based very much on seeing what s outside of us in nature and translating that into a human being. So, let s look at a river. We see that we can t access that river everywhere along its entire pathway. Very similar to a river, there are stretches of meridians that don t have any access points (acupoints) on them. We need to look for that access place. 3 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

5 That s exactly what this is. There is a little road that crosses this particular stream, and it s an access point. It s a place where you can put a canoe in, you can drive your car across, or you can step in. In the same way that we have this access point here on this river, we also have acupoints on meridians. Meridians are simply pathways that are traveling through the body - similar to this stream traveling through the woods. There are particular places (called points or acupoints) where we can contact the Qi flowing in each meridian. Fortunately, we have the ancient practitioners (who figured it all out and passed it down), to thank for this wonderful information. As we move through the course, we re going to get very detailed and specific because we have to look at these individual points. However, I want you to remember that these points are located on specific meridians and each meridian is part of the larger web of meridians. Anytime we re delving into one of these particular points, we are tapping into the whole meridian system. The meridian system, even though it s often depicted as separate entities such as the Gallbladder meridian or the Stomach meridian, is an interconnected web of pathways where Qi travels. The 12 regular meridians flow in an organized fashion and there are points along those meridians. This course focuses on these points. Always remember that every one of those points has the potential to affect the entire system. 4 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

6 4. Point Location Class 1: Lesson 2 Points were originally named not numbered. Thousands of years ago, when the sages and practitioners were discovering this whole system, they named the points. The numbering system came later on when other cultures, such as the Europeans, encountered Chinese medicine. They were excited: Hey, we want to learn this stuff too! Since the point names were fairly complicated and hard to remember, it was a lot easier for Westerners to label the points with numbers. Keep in mind the points were originally named and that the numbers came later on. Primarily in this course, I ll be using the numbers; but for some points, I want you to see the name. Sometimes, when you contemplate the point names for a long time, it gives you a sense of their nature and what they do. The names were not arbitrary; they re given for a reason. The more we contemplate the names, the more we kind of merge with an understanding of the potential of the points. If you do go on to study acupuncture or Chinese medicine further, you ll definitely want to have a pretty good handle on the names. Many of the traditional Chinese teachers will talk about the names of the points rather than the numbers. When they re learning in China, the point names come first even though they also learn the point numbers. I want you to have as much depth of understanding as possible. Example of a point name and number: Liver 3 - is the point number. Liver 3 is abbreviated LV 3. The name of LV 3 is Tai Chong. Tai Chong means Great Rushing. So, the name of the point is Tai Chong and the number is LV 3. 5 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

7 Below is a quick review of the 12 meridians for you: Yin Meridians Yang Meridians Meridian Abbreviation Meridian Abbreviation Lung LU Large Intestine LI Spleen SP Stomach ST Heart HT Small Intestine SI Kidney KD Bladder BL Pericardium P San Jiao SJ Liver LV Gallbladder GB As you know, all of the meridians are paired as Yin and Yang. I have listed the meridians here in their Yin-Yang partnerships. For instance, the Lung is the Yin meridian that is paired with the Large Intestine, which is the Yang meridian. In the chart above, all of the Yin meridians are on the left, and their partner Yang meridians are on the right. Also, please notice the abbreviations that I ll be using throughout the course. For instance, Liver 3 will be abbreviated as LV 3. We know that LV 3 is a Liver point and that it is point number three on the Liver meridian. You can refer back to this chart as needed. You may not need to know it now but if you learn it, soon it will just become part of the fabric of what you know. Then you will be able to throw this chart out because you will have it totally in your mind and heart. 6 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

8 5. Point Location Point location is an art and a science. There are directions about how to find points that rely on different kinds of measurements and on external observations. One thing that makes it such a wonderful form of medicine is that we can use our own power of observation. We observe in the same way that the ancients, who were figuring it all out, observed. We are looking at the same form of a human body. We are looking at the same bones, bumps, cracks, grooves, etc. Based on these landmarks, there are a whole set of instructions on how to locate the points. The first part of those instructions teaches you how to measure the human body. We have a specific measurement called a cun ( tsoon ). Even though it s spelled cun it is pronounced like T-S-O-O-N. Cun is the measure of one inch. This is not an objective or external inch like you might find on a ruler. A cun is relative to the person. Let me show you how this works. One inch, or 1 cun, is equal to the width of your thumb. So, we may say that point X is 3 cun away from the high point of the ankle bone. Then you think: Okay 3 cun - that s three thumb widths. Then you might imagine planting your thumb all over yourself trying to measure 3 cun. What s wonderful is that you don t have to do that because we have other ways to measure distances. 7 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

9 More Cun Measurements: It was a remarkable discovery that we all have these relative measurements. In practice, you will notice that your thumbs and fingers are different widths than other people s. That s where this gets interesting. Basically, the message is that you can t just take your four fingers and stick them on somebody else and assume that it s going to be three cun. The only way that would work out is if the width of your hand was the exactly the same width as their hand. Therefore, always take a moment to notice and measure your thumb relative to the other person s. Is your thumb wider or more narrow? You will make adjustments on your point location measurements based on that difference. 8 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

10 Cun Measurements on Body Parts: Here are a couple of shortcuts, thankfully. Take a close look at the images below and get to know the relative measurements shown. Your homework is to start observing people and noticing their different dimensions and ratios. Just casually have a look at the width of someone s thumb, or put your thumb up to a friend s thumb and start figuring this stuff out. We want to get really interested and curious in the external reference points and structures. You combine your knowledge of these ratios with the map of the points and the directions for locating points. Make it your homework to stick your thumbs all over people, measuring their palms, foreheads, forearms, and comparing their thumbs to yours. Go ahead! It s going to be a fun learning experience! Let s put some of this into practice. As I mentioned earlier, the cun measurement is relative to the size of the person. So, a smaller person will have a shorter forearm when standing next to a larger person who has a much longer forearm. However, they are both still 12 cun because it s a relative measurement to each person. Even a two month old baby has a forearm that is 12 cun; and when that baby becomes a six foot five basketball star, their forearm is still 12 cun. The important thing that I want you to get out of this is that these measurements are relative to the person. Locate a point 3 cun proximal to the center of the wrist crease. 3 cun proximal means three cun closer to the elbow from the wrist point. Here s how you would find that point without having to stick your thumbs all over somebody. Step 1 - know that from the wrist crease to the elbow is 12 cun Step 2 - divide the forearm into equal halves which shows you where 6 cun proximal to the wrist crease is. Step 3 - divide that distance into equal halves and now you have the 3 cun mark. Easy like pie, right? 9 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

11 Many times it s just breaking the distance in half. It works out exceptionally well when the part of the body you re working with is an even number. Since you already know the meridians, you can locate the meridian on the center line of the forearm (Pericardium). The directions are similar to your GPS. You get directions like find the wrist crease and then go 3 cun proximal on the center line. If your head is spinning a little bit, take it easy and take a deep breath. You have the slides and the webinar presentation to refer back to. Take your time going back through the slides and play around on your own forearm for a little bit. Once you begin applying this with the points, it s all going to make a lot more sense. 10 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

12 6. Ma Danyang s 12 Heavenly Star Points Ma Danyang was an extremely famous, big-shot physician in ancient China. These are the 12 points that he decided were the most important points. Technically, it s said that he had a set of 11 points and someone else added on LV 3. Today, as a group, they are known as Ma Danyang s 12 Heavenly Star Points. Seriously, he was an incredibly successful and well loved physician. This set of points was so important that he named them the 12 Heavenly Star Points which tells us the reverence that he had for these points. To honor Ma Danyang, I thought it would be great to work with the names of these points, as well as the numbers. Ma Danyang s 12 Heavenly Star Points: Point - Name, English Translation HT 5 - Tong Li, Penetrating the Interior LU 7 - Lie Que, Broken Sequence LI 4 - He Gu, Joining Valley LI 11 - Qu Chi, Pool at the Bend ST 36 - Zu San Li, Leg Three Miles ST 44 - Nei Ting, Inner Courtyard BL 40 - Wei Zhong, Middle of the Crook BL 57 - Cheng Shan, Support the Mountain BL 60 - Kun Lun, Kun Lun Mountains GB 30 - Huan Taio, Jumping Circle GB 34 - Yang Ling Quan, Outer Yang Mound LV 3 - Tai Chong, Great Rushing Class 1: Lesson 3 I encourage you to consider learning the names of this set of 12 points. It s a fun practice to really learn these names and it will also give you something to think about when you re standing in the grocery line like: Why did he name BL 60 Kun Lun? What does that have to do with the nature of BL 60? 11 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

13 Sometimes the name of a certain point will just grab your attention. I encourage you to roll with that and let it lead you somewhere. Let the point speak directly to you and teach you something. See where you go. For this particular section, we re going to cover the four points that are on our arms. HT 5 -Tong Li, Penetrating the Interior LU 7 - Lie Que, Broken Sequence LI 4 - He Gu, Joining Valley LI 11 - Qu Chi, Pool at the Bend 12 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

14 HT 5 - Tong Li, Penetrating the Interior Location: 1 cun proximal to the pinky side of the wrist crease. Proximal means closer to the trunk. In this case, we go closer to the elbow. Point location tip: Find the wrist crease. (Just bend your wrist. Fold your wrist and that little crease will stick right out.) Measure 1 cun (the width of the thumb) from the wrist crease, on the pinky side so that you are on the Heart meridian - that s HT 5. Using HT 5: All of the points have a use, indication, or function. What I ve done is I ve named that star power and that s in respect to the name of this category of points - the Heavenly Star Points. So, I m just labeling this particular category but typically it s called the indication. I just wanted something that sounds a little more poetic, so I went with star power. The Star Power for HT 5 is that it clears heat from the Heart Organ System. Just a reminder: when we re working from the perspective of Chinese medicine, we re always going to say something like the Heart Organ System or the Kidney Organ System to remind us that we re not just talking about the physical heart. We re talking about a big system that includes the spirit of the heart, the mind, the emotions, the meridians, the associated seasons, the element, and the tissue. There s so much that goes into the word Heart when it s spoken from a Chinese medicine perspective. HT 5 helps to clear heat from the Heart. What does this mean? It clears hot things like fire, fevers, or high temperatures. An important aspect of the Heart Organ System is that it stores the Spirit. So, when the Heart gets agitated or if it gets too hot, we may notice emotional or mental manifestations; things like a really, really, busy mind, hyperactivity, difficulty slowing the mind down, anxiety, or insomnia...things like that. All of the above are signs that the Heart Organ System is out of balance. Manifestations of being really revved up are the types of signs that give us a clue that it s about heat. Remember heat goes with the whole aspect of Yang; Yang is hot, active, and expanding. So, clearing heat from the Heart Organ System means that it s going to really help calm the mind, heart, and Spirit. All of those things are conducive to a good night s sleep. That s the background as to why HT 5 helps to relieve insomnia. 13 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

15 LU 7 - Lie Que, Broken Sequence Location: 1.5 cun proximal to the styloid process of the radius. Point location tip: Here we have this really neat thing about the name of the point. The name of the point Lie Que means broken sequence. We see the logic of that name. The Lung meridian comes straight down the forearm and then: Hey, look out! This point popped off the line! It s off the sequence of the meridian; off the sequence of points. So, the name broken sequence gives us a bit of a clue about where this point is. How are we going to find this point? There are a couple of things you need to know. There s a bump on the thumb side of your wrist - if you re an anatomist, you know that it is called the styloid process of your radius; very official. Now, LU 7 is 1.5 cun proximal meaning towards the trunk; toward the elbow from that little blob (styloid process). We find that little blob and we push very, very lightly when you re looking for points you always want to go a little light. If you go too deep, all you re going to feel is pressure on the pad of your finger and you ll be irritating either yourself or the person that you re working on because you re pushing too hard. You have to go light enough that you can feel the structures beneath the skin. There are going to be three points on the forearm and in order to locate these points it s very important that you have the forearm at this position - with the elbow bent, and the thumb pointing up toward the ceiling or the sky, versus placing your palm down on the table or placing your palm face up. The forearm is very mobile and because of that it can make point location a little crazy-making if you don t get really detailed about it. So first of all, let s make sure that you have your elbow bent and your thumb facing the ceiling. The Lung meridian is coming down the front of the forearm (the palm side of the forearm), heading toward the end of the thumb. Locate the styloid process (blob of bone on the thumb side of wrist). Then you begin to slide back toward the elbow for a distance of 1.5 cun. Feel around for a little dip. It feels like a couple of guitar strings but really that s a couple of tendons. You re feeling for a little dip between these tendons about 1.5 cun away from that styloid process and that s where LU 7 is. This is one of those points you really just kind of have to know where it is. It doesn t have a really loud feeling. People don t say: Ouch! That s the point. It s not so easy for a person to know just from pressure. You definitely feel it when you put an acupuncture needle in there but with pressure, I find it s not quite so dramatic. 14 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

16 Using LU 7: The star power for LU 7 is that it releases the exterior and expels wind. What in the world does that mean? Well, here s the thing with the lung. A lot of times you catch a cold, right? And you re coughing and hacking and you have a headache. We know that colds and things like that affect the respiratory or the lung system. So, we have a similarity here with Chinese medicine in that, we see the same thing; colds often affect the lungs. Basically, that stuff comes in and creates a cold or flu. From this perspective, it is actually the wind or the temperature of cold. So, let s say it s cold out but you go outside without putting a coat on and you catch a cold. What happened? From this perspective, we would say that the cold (temperature) got into the meridian system. Those different external factors like the cold, wind, or heat can enter into the meridian system and then they block it. Whenever there is a block in the meridian system we re going to have an issue. The Qi is supposed to be flowing and not stuck. The point of all of the work that we re doing is to have abundant and free flowing Qi. When Qi is plentiful and flowing easily through the whole network of meridians, everything is cool and groovy; and we are happy, healthy, and wise. When there s something blocking a meridian or blocking that flow, then we re going to have a symptom. One of the symptoms that we can have from wind getting into the meridians is that it blocks the flow of Qi; we might start feeling like we have a headache or we re starting to catch a cold. The solution is to get rid of the wind. One of the ways to get rid of wind is to use LU 7. The term release the exterior is the idea that we re trying to take this external pathogen (in this case the wind) and throw it back outside. One way to picture this is to imagine you are in your house and you had your door closed because you were keeping the wind out. But somebody left the door open and the wind got in. That s similar to the wind getting into your meridian system. Now, to get it out you re going to open the door and just kick the wind back out again. That is what the term expel wind means. We use this point to open up that meridian which means to open the door and throw the wind back out. When we get rid of that wind, then we get rid of that pathogenic factor. Then the cold and flu symptoms go away. Does that make sense? 15 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

17 The other thing that we use this point for is to clear out phlegm. Let s say you ve got a big, bad cold or flu. It s started to settle in your lungs which causes you to cough, hack, and produce a lot of phlegm. This is one of the points that we would use to sooth that and resolve the phlegm by kicking it out of your lungs. Point location cautions: Now is a good time to pause and caution about locating points. You might feel like: I don t know where it is, so I m not doing anything. However, as you re poking around, you are going to start activating those points. So, try not to go too wild on finding the same points over and over again in a short amount of time because the Qi will start to get activated. Sometimes, when too much Qi gets activated during point location, you (or the person you are practicing on) might start feeling kind of like: Ick, I don t feel good. You have to respect the Qi. I always say: Respect the Qi, respect these points. Even though we might not previously have been aware of them, as soon as we put our awareness on the meridians and points it all starts to wake up. That really seems to be all that Qi asks of us; that we become conscious of it and pay attention. You might think: I ve been massaging my forearms forever and I never felt any Qi. Yet my experience and that of my students, is the same thing; they start to put their attention on it, then the Qi starts to activate and things start to flow. Of course, that s what we want to happen but we want it a little bit at a time. Therefore, if you keep jamming on a point it might get sore, which means you over did it. So go slow, doing a little bit at a time and you ll learn the right amount of contact for any of these points. 16 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

18 LI 11 - Qu Chi, Pool at the Bend Now, I m pretty sure the bend they use here means elbow. Fortunately, this is an extremely easy point to find. You don t have to use cun or any of that. All you have to do is bend your elbow, and make sure you re on the outside end of your elbow. You have an inside and outside of your elbow. If you re not sure which it is, then bend your elbows right now; bend them. Bend your elbows. I can see you. Bend both of your elbows and just bring them into your ribcage. Notice that area where your elbows are touching your ribcage and that s the inside of your elbow crease. Guess where the outside is; it s on the other side. Okay? So, you have to make sure that you re on that outside edge of the elbow crease. That s all you do. You find that crease, make sure you re on the outside and the end of it is where LI 11 is located. Don t forget, that point is located on both elbows. Here it is over on the right arm. Okay? It s really a a pretty simple point to find and it s usually not very tender. So again, it s just one that you have to know that you re on it. What are you going to use this one for? The star power for LI 11 is that it clears heat and moves Qi. We see another point here that s clearing heat. Remember? Oops! We didn t have another point that cleared heat. Sorry that s coming up. No wait, actually we did; HT 5 cleared heat within the Heart Organ System. In this context, clearing heat is a little bit more general because our whole body can have too much heat let s say you have a fever. You have a flu and you have a high temperature. What you want to do is clear out that heat. It s the same thing if you have a pot on the stove; a pot with hot water that has the top on, and it starts boiling, rattling, and banging around. You need to clear the heat. There are two options here. You can turn the heat down, which is easier on a stove than it is on a person. Or you can take the top off which will also clear the heat. That s how I think about these points that move heat or that clear heat. It s like taking the top off of a boiling pot of water. When you open this up it s (like Whoosh) making space for the heat to actually leave the system. In doing so, the temperature will go down, right? The other thing that this point is really great at is moving Qi. Now remember, we really want to have Qi moving and flowing throughout the entire system because that s part of our overall intention and part of the promise of Chinese medicine. When we have plenty of Qi and it s flowing smoothly; what we experience is happiness, ease, and flexibility. Our body feels good and we have vitality. Basically, we re healthy in body, mind, and Spirit. If there s anything less than that, then there s something that s imbalanced and we need to use these points to help harmonize the system. Many times we need to move Qi. So, we can imagine why Ma Danyang picked this point as one of his 12 Heavenly Star Points. Supporting the movement of Qi within the system is a really great thing and that s exactly what this point does. 17 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

19 In everyday practical use we ll use that point to help relieve a fever, which is the clearing heat thing. We ll also use it to help relieve heat from the stomach and intestines. If somebody has acid reflux, they have a tendency toward ulcers, they re recovering from an ulcer, or anything like that where you know there s excess heat (since stomach acid is the same thing as heat); then you want to help soothe and reduce it. We would definitely be using LI 11 for that. It s also perfectly located right here on the elbow to help reduce elbow pain. Many times, things like tennis elbow or overuse injuries are hot and inflamed. It all starts to flow together when we see these acute injuries that are hot and inflamed right at the elbow. Therefore, this is an excellent point to help soothe things like tennis elbow or any kind of elbow strain. Here is your location information. The lateral (which just means outside) end of the elbow crease. Don t let me catch you, on the inside of your elbow crease thinking that you re on LI 11 because you won t be. Make sure you re on the outside, outside, outside, outside. Okie-dokie? Now, we have one more point to do and it s also a Large Intestine point. It s the one down here on the web of your hand between the thumb and the index finger. I know this picture is a little busy, but what I m showing you is that we have three of Ma Danyang s Heavenly Star Points on the forearm. Now, the Lung and Large Intestine are a Yin-Yang pair. So, I was pretty excited to put them both on the same picture. We have the Large Intestine here, and the meridian actually starts on the index finger. It works its way along the forearm and goes up the arm all the way to the head. For our purposes right now, we re looking for LI 4. It s beautiful named He Gu, which means joining valley. If you just look at your thumb and finger; you can move your thumb all around and I really think it s got something to do with the name joining valley. In that, I have my thumb out versus when I put it in. Then I m joining these two things, but that s just me in my mind. I invite you to contemplate that point as well. How are we going to find this point? Well, do you see this little crease here? When you bring your thumb over to your index finger it makes a crease. You want to be at the proximal end of that crease and a little bit toward the index finger. If you look closely, you ll see that there s a mound of tissue that s formed when you move your thumb over. You want to come to the proximal end of that crease. Then move to the top of that mound and try pinching this area after you open your thumb and finger up. Just don t pinch too hard because this point can be very tender. When you pinch around a little bit in there, you ll feel a little spot that feels like: Ow! That s the point. This point is actually famous for being extremely tender. So, don t go grabbing onto someone s LI 4 unless you re trying to take them down. Experiment with the center of the web between your thumb and index finger. Now, this point also clears heat a lot like LI 11. It also moves Qi but it s very directional. This point moves the Qi down; meaning that it just really sends the Qi down toward the feet. 18 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

20 Why would we want to do that? Well, let s say you have a big headache, which a lot of times just means you have too much Qi stuck up in your head. It s not balanced between your head and the rest of your body. So, you want to draw it down and even everything out. Once there s less of it up there in your head, then the headache goes away. That s LI 4, which is an important point that s often used for relieving headaches. There s a little more to the energy going up. For instance, if you have a cough, just try coughing and you ll notice that the energy is going up. A cough is the air going up when it should actually be moving down. Burping or even vomiting are other examples of the Qi moving up, which is in the wrong direction. It s not the way it should be going, so you want to bring it down, down, down. The other reason you may want to bring the energy down is if you re trying to deliver a baby. We use LI 4 during labor and delivery because it moves the Qi down very strongly. On the reverse side of that, this means that you re not going to use it when a woman is trying to remain pregnant; that s why it s contraindicated during pregnancy because it brings the Qi down so strongly. Sometimes people are like: Oh, it s just energy. You know what, respect the Qi. It brings it down very strongly and we don t want to mess around with that. This is an ancient wisdom being passed down to us. As far as I m concerned, I respect it. I have a lot of respect for Qi. So, I do not use points that are said to be contraindicated in pregnancy. I don t play around with it. There s really no reason for it. I would, however, use it during labor and delivery. Due to the clearing heat function, we can use it to relieve a fever. Since this point is on the Large Intestine meridian, it goes all the way up to the face. It can also really help to relieve a toothache; a hot inflamed tooth. It can also help with something like an abscess or bleeding gums. Things like that are from heat. We can use LI 4 to help soothe all of that. Of course, you re going to go to a dentist or get the kind of help that you need. However, in the meantime, if you re stuck out in the boondocks, I would work on LI 4 to help relieve that kind of an issue. 19 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

21 ST 36 ST 44 LV 3 BL 40 Class 1: Lesson 4 We have four points to do in this little segment. We re going to do two points on the Stomach meridian, a point on the Liver meridian, and our first Bladder meridian point. Stomach 36 Let s get started right away with ST 36. The name of this point is Zu San Li, which means leg three miles. Here s what leg three miles actually means. Let s say that you are extremely exhausted from running 25 miles and you can t get up to run anymore. If you massaged Zu San Li really well, it would give you enough energy to get up and walk another three miles. This is a really important point! It is a good point to know and there is hardly ever a time when we don t want to boost some Qi by contacting ST 36. Location: 3 cun inferior (down) from the lower tip of the patella (knee cap) on the Stomach meridian. Location tip: How do we find ST 36? This may sound a little confusing at first. Stay with me and remember that we have the extra videos where I show you how to locate it on a person. Fortunately, most of the points are not this complicated! To locate ST 36 there are a couple of things you have to do: First - you need to find your knee cap, which is a little bone on top of your knee. Second - you find the lower tip of it by feeling around the area. You have probably felt this a bazillion times. Third - Measure 3 cun below the lower tip of the patella. Fourth - Measure 1 cun away from the shin bone (tibia), toward the lateral side of the leg (outside of the leg). How far on the outside of the leg is ST 36? 1 cun. Remember that 1 cun is one thumb width. 20 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

22 I have a few more slides coming up to help you find this but the GPS coordinates for ST 36 are: 3 cun down from the lower edge of the knee cap and 1 cun over from the tibia (your shin bone). You can see over here on this person s knee (refers to image in webinar), there is the outline of the patella. This is where the lower end of the knee cap is. So, 3 cun down, 1 cun over from the tibia, and there is ST 36. Let s remember that we have a handy 3 cun measurement. Put all of your fingers together and place them right below the patella. Where your pinky finger lands is going to be your 3 cun mark for the point. Now you have the 3 cun down measurement. Next, use your thumb and place it right on the edge of the tibia. Make sure that you are on the outside of the leg. I know I keep emphasizing these things but it s because I have taught many people and have watched them go to the inside. There are a lot of little details to get straight to locate ST 36 correctly. With ST 36, always make sure that you are headed toward the outside of the leg. One way to easily differentiate between outside and inside (lateral and medial) is to stand with your feet touching and all the places on your legs that are touching each other are the inside. The outside is where your hands easily touch the outside of your leg. The dividing mark between inside and outside is the tibia (shin bone). So, make sure you are on the outside! Got it? Great. :) Here is a handy little picture of me finding ST 36. I have my finger right underneath my kneecap and I go down those four fingers. There is my 3 cun mark and I m 1 cun out on ST 36. You can do this too. I do have a short cut. I always like to save the shortcuts for the end. Do you see this little blob here? This is a little bump up on the tibia. There is a big ligament that connects there from your quadriceps muscles. This is a pretty prominent bump, especially on this person s knee, which is really helpful. In general, that bump is even with the 3 cun mark. Explore on your friends, family, neighbors, children, and yourself to find this bump (tibial tuberosity). From that reference, you go 1 cun lateral (or 1 cun outside), and there is ST 36. Also notice that it s in the meat of this part of the leg. This is the muscle (tibialis anterior) coming down. There is a shadow of the muscle and the point is right up there in that part; but don t go too far outside because then you ll be on a different meridian. You must stay on the Stomach meridian. The star power for ST 36 - It boosts Qi and Blood. Qi is our vitality. Qi is the thing that we re working with in the meridians and points. Qi is our energy and it gives us life. So, it is very important and very wise to pay attention when you see a point that boosts Qi. In addition, ST 36 also boosts Blood. 21 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

23 Like Western medicine, Chinese medicine recognizes the nutritive power of Blood. We transfer all kinds of nutrition in our blood, but in Chinese medicine, we say that we transport Qi as well. Qi flows through meridians. It also flows through the blood vessels. It flows within the blood to deliver little bits of Qi to every single cell. Therefore, this is a really big deal point (as I like to say) because of its ability to boost Qi and Blood. Now, how are we going to apply this information? How are we going to use it? First of all, ST 36 is a Stomach meridian point. So, it can be used for actual stomach issues and digestion. Use this point to support your digestion. One of the ways that we gain Qi is through our food and the liquids that we drink. It s great to support your digestion, so you are accumulating and absorbing all the nutrition that you need - including Qi. Use ST 36 to keep your digestion working well. You can use this point to help soothe any issues like cramping, stuffiness, or any abdominal/digestive complaints. Always go to ST 36 and include it to help ease those issues. The second and big reason that we are going to use ST 36 is to increase vitality and stamina. There are times when we just get exhausted. We might be exhausted from a traumatic situation, a crisis, or stress. It might be a long term illness, accident, or surgery that we are trying to recover from. When we need to regain our vitality, ST 36 is the point to use. Always include ST 36 if you are trying to bounce back. Or, it could be that a person is in the midst of a big western medical treatment that requires a lot of medication. That can really take toll, so I always use ST 36 to support the well-being of the person going through some of those bigger healing processes. Stomach 44 Let s move on to ST 44 because thankfully it is so much easier to find! ST 44 is called Nei Ting, which means Inner Courtyard. Location: 0.5 cun from the web between the 2nd and 3rd toes. Here is a picture of the right foot. Look at that. ST 44 couldn t be easier to find! Location tip: The Stomach meridian ends on the second toe. So, you just go right to the little web between the second and third toe, and move.5 cun proximally. That s just half of the width of your thumb. All you have to do is slide back a tiny bit from the web and you are on ST 44. It s a really easy point to find and has a fabulous star power! 22 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

24 The Star Power for ST 44 - It clears heat from the Stomach meridian. We are back to clearing heat again. You will use this point if the person has a fever or if they have a temperature. Also, since it s the Stomach meridian, we can clear heat within the digestive organs. Think about stomach acid from the western point of view. Acid reflux, acidic stomach, and heat in the stomach all create a burning feeling in the stomach. It can even create an ulcer. We would definitely add this point to help sooth those conditions. I m not saying that if you have an ulcer, just work on Stomach 44 and all will be well, because that s not the case. These points and this work are really great at easing some of these issues, and at preventing certain ailments by supporting our well-being. However, it s not necessarily going to treat and cure your ulcer. Go get the help you need. The same thing goes for a tooth abscess. This point can really help to ease the symptoms but you also need to go to the dentist. Although, you know this work is thousands and thousands of years old. It was around long before we even had dentists. To clear heat, the best thing to do is to work ST 44. We would probably also add in LI 11 and LI 4 since they clear heat too. I ll talk to you more in the last Lesson about combining these points. I just wanted to throw the idea out to you now, so you understand that we combine points for the best results. We are learning all of the layers of these points to get a deep understanding of them. Then, this becomes your alphabet. As you start to put the pieces together, you are putting the different letters and words together to create sentences. The first thing we need to do is what we are doing right now - getting a sense of each of these points and learning how to locate them. So, give yourself lots of practice on locating them and keep reviewing. Get a sense of what they are for and notice any patterns. I ll also keep pointing that out to you. ST 44 is a great point to use when there is tooth pain, an abscess, bleeding gums, inflamed gums, or other issues like that. This is because the Stomach meridian starts up on the eye, then it goes down the face, and crosses over the teeth. Remember, you can also throw in LI 4. Now, you are getting that synergistic communication and synergistic healing potential from a couple of points that work on one issue. That is how we build up a session to get results. Thank you ST 44 for the easy location! Liver 3 The next point on the leg that we are going to do is LV 3. So, we are switching off to the Liver meridian. LV 3 is called Tai Chong, which means Great Rushing. Location: In the dip, on the web between the big toe and first toe (on the top of the foot). 23 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

25 Location tip: The Liver meridian starts here, on the inside of the big toe, and then it travels up the inner side of the leg. Right here we have this very important point, LV 3. To find LV 3 we have a couple of things to pay attention to: We are between the big toe and the second toe. Find the ball of the foot. You want to be behind that or proximal, which means closer to the ankle than the ball of the foot. If you stop here you are not on LV 3. Using very light pressure, slide back from the web and feel for the big dip. I usually put my first finger here and just slide back until I feel a large dip (LV 3 feels like a big dip). That s where you are going to apply your pressure. Of course, it s on both feet. The Star Power for LV 3 - It soothes the Liver and it moves Qi. One of the Liver s big jobs is to keep the meridians open so that the Qi is flowing smoothly. Flowing Qi is the underlying intention with this work. It is to support the flowing, easy movement of Qi throughout the meridians. Chinese medicine tells us that when we have plenty of Qi and it s all flowing smoothly; then we have a healthy body, mind, and Spirit. It s really that simple. That is the ongoing intention - to open the flow of Qi, and have it moving smoothly and continuously throughout the meridian network. The Liver has a big role in that as it s trying to keep the meridians open so that the Qi can continue to flow. Now, we start to understand the nature of LV 3. The reason I say it moves Qi is because it soothes the Liver. LV 3 is supporting and nourishing the Liver. It s saying: Hey Liver! How s it going? I want to help you out with your job and keep things flowing. Moving Qi is a really important function! We are always trying to support the flow of Qi. Remember that LI 11 also moves the Qi. We can work with these points together in order to really support the overall flow of Qi within the body. So, that s LV 3, which is a very important point to ease stress that s affecting the Liver. Here s a little side note: In western society, there is just so much stress! Everybody is working too much, freaking out, and constantly worrying - stress, stress, stress, stress! That stress really takes a toll on the Liver. When the Liver gets grumpy, the Chinese medical point of view notices a tendency toward blocks in the meridians. These blocks create stagnation. Therefore, use Liver 3 to support the Liver. This will help keep that meridian flow open and keep the Qi moving. Consider all of the above and why we would use LV 3. It starts to make sense to relieve headaches and grumpiness, from stress and being over worked. This system fully integrates the body, mind, emotions, and Spirit. Therefore, if the Qi is not flowing within the meridians; there will be symptoms in the body, mind, emotions, and Spirit. 24 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

26 So, that s what I mean by grumpiness. It is a feeling of being angry, frustrated, or just generally crabby. Those things would have their root somewhere within the meridian system. Usually at some basic level, there is stagnation or something stuck somewhere. It s like you are this happy river flowing. Then a little beaver walks in there and puts up a dam. Now, you have a block in the flow of that river. That block creates imbalance; then there s water backing up behind the dam and not enough water flowing in front of it. When that happens within the meridian system, it can affect so many things. One thing it can affect is our emotions. Okay. I think you get it! We are also going to use this point to sooth the Liver and keep those meridians open. Menstrual cramps are another sign of stagnant or blocked up Qi. We now have another way to work with this common ailment by using acupoints. LV 3 is a really great point to relieve menstrual cramps. It s also a good point to use continuously throughout a person s cycle if they have a tendency toward cramps. LV 3 will help to support the smooth flow of Qi; and hopefully, over time, it will prevent those cramps from continuing. To review: To find LV 3, put a finger here (between the big toe and second toe) and then slide back. Make sure that you are behind the ball of the foot. Bladder 40 The last point that we are doing in this segment is BL 40. It s called Wei Zhong which means middle of the crook. This is another really fun and easy point to find! I appreciate Ma Danyang for throwing in some easy points to find. Location: In the center on the back of the knee. It s right in the middle of the back of the knee. Location tip: On the back of the knee, look from side to side and find the little crease here - right in the center of the back of the knee. Since we are on the back of the knee, we are never ever going to use a lot of pressure here. This is a vulnerable area and you can do damage if you use too much pressure on this point. Use gentle, light pressure here with a lot of attention; be thoughtful. This doesn t mean don t use it. It just means be aware of it. Especially when you re trying to locate this point on other people, don t go jamming in there. It s not a point that you have that sensation of: Oh, I feel it, like on LV 3. LV 3 is a point that people often say: Wow, I feel it. LV 3 often feels a little tender due to our tendency toward stagnation in this culture. 25 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

27 BL 40 is not a point that you have that: Oh geez, I feel that point! Rely on your knowledge of where the point is to locate it. Then feel and sense what s going on in that area. The Star Power for Bladder 40 - It opens up the whole Bladder meridian. The Bladder meridian starts up at the eyes, goes over the head, down the back, through the sacrum, over the buttocks, down through the hamstrings, over the knees and ankles, and all the way to the little toe. It covers a whole lot of area! Many people complain of headaches, eye strain, neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, pain between the shoulder blades, pain in the lower back, pain at the pelvis, pain at the sacroiliac joint, pain in the buttocks, or pain in the legs. This is a really wonderful point to help relieve all of those ailments. Of course, we are going to combine it with some massage and other points on the back. However, we are always going to turn to BL 40 when there is any kind of back pain. Ma Danyang knew that, so I m sure that s why he included BL 40 in his group of points. The location couldn t be easier. Find the back of the knee, look side to side, go right to the center, and there you have it. Now, you have four more points to go explore and play around with. I want to caution you to take it easy with your point exploration. Just do a little bit at a time and respect the Qi. Even though it seems like: I m just trying to find the point, you may be contacting it; and you can definitely overdo your contact. A point can get sore or the person may start to feel bad. It s because you are activating the Qi on the points as you put your awareness and your mind on them. Do a little bit at a time. Try to explore on as many different people as you can. Enjoy your adventures. 26 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

28 Bladder 57 Bladder 60 Gallbladder 30 Gallbladder 34 Class 1: Lesson 5 We have four more points to go and then we have completed our first category - Ma Danyang s Heavenly Star Points. So let s keep going. Bladder 57 We re going to move down the back of the leg and find BL 57, which is named Cheng Shan. My pronunciations are not perfect at all, so take those with a grain of salt. Support the mountains is the translation for BL 57. I just love this point because it s such a really powerful point. I use it all the time. I use it a lot for back pain. I also use it for issues in the calf because it s right there; if somebody strains their calf, or maybe they re a runner and they re just overworking their calves. Also, if someone stands constantly at work, then this is a really great point to add in. Location: In the center of the lower calf muscle (gastrocnemius muscle), where the Achilles tendon meets the muscle. Location tip: First, notice that the diagram shows the right leg and the picture is the left leg. Don t get confused by this. It s just to remind us that the points are on both limbs and it gives you a chance to see what things look like on either side. The way to locate BL 57 is to follow the Bladder meridian as it comes down the center of the back of the leg. The point is located on this big muscle called the gastrocnemius. That is the muscular portion. Feel it back there on your calf right now; just squeeze around and notice the squishy muscular part. Below the muscle belly is the Achilles tendon. You can feel that; it s really hard and tough. It s a pretty big tendon. What we re looking for is the junction where the Achilles tendon meets the muscle belly right in the center. That s where BL 57 is located. This point can be really painful and zingy; nothing at all like BL 40. So, when you re applying your pressure and exploring, go gently. Otherwise, you ll have somebody jumping off the table! Be careful there. 27 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

29 Now, let s take a look at a really great picture of BL 57. Here we have Mr. Muscle Man running up the stairs. You can easily see the big muscular part of that gastrocnemius, and here is the Achilles tendon. The tendon is all flat; it fans out and merges with this big calf muscle here. We want to be right in the center where the sections of the muscle meet the Achilles tendon. BL 57 is right in the center. There are other points on the calf muscle. So, you could be palpating up here and think: Oh the person said it s a point. And it is a point, however, it s not BL 57. If we want to get the action of BL 57 then we have to make sure that we re on BL 57. Ma Danyang put BL 57 into his group, which tells us that this is a really important point. So, be sure that you re down here, at the juncture where the Achilles meets the muscle belly. The Star Power for BL 57 - Is that it opens the Bladder meridian. We see that it s similar to BL 40. The Bladder meridian crosses such an expansive area. As we discussed earlier, it covers area on the eyes, the head, the neck, the upper shoulder, and the back. It is actually a big deal to be able to help open the flow of Qi along the Bladder meridian. Remember that symptoms along a meridian, like aches and pains, are due to some kind of stagnation in that area. Since the Bladder meridian covers so much area, when we re able to open the flow of Qi throughout the entire meridian, it can relieve a lot of aches and pains. On the other hand, keeping the Bladder meridian flowing is also really going to ensure the health of the back. Another issue that this point is indicated for is relieving hemorrhoids. Personally, I don t have any experience using this point for that; but it is an indication from Ma Danyang, so I wanted to include it. You could use it if a person is having other issues in those areas and also to support the health of the bowels. Again, whenever we see things like relieves pain or relieves hemorrhoids, it does help with those issues but let s also use these points to maintain wellness and prevent these issues. Keep that in mind and give it a try. There are a lot of different ways to come at various ailments. I, for one, am all for trying all kinds of different approaches especially if I was dealing with hemorrhoids. It s really not a fun situation. It would be really nice to get some relief using these points. So, go ahead and give those a try. One last time, the location is right where the Achilles tendon meets the muscle of the calf, which is called the gastrocnemius. When you re applying pressure, please go lightly. Or don t listen to me and just push on BL 57 really hard to see what happens! Actually, don t do that. I m just kidding. 28 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

30 Bladder 60 We have another point on the Bladder meridian. It s interesting to note that 3 out of the 12 points from Ma Danyang s set are on the Bladder meridian. That makes sense because it s such a huge meridian. Now, we re moving down the outside of the ankles. Notice that the meridian takes a turn and goes outside because it s a Yang meridian. It s going to move toward the outside of the leg, come down right along the Achilles tendon, and then it will shoot forward to the pinky toe. The point we re looking for is BL 60, also called Kun Lun, which means Kun Lun Mountains. That is a mountain range somewhere in China. I haven t been to China, so I couldn t tell you much about those mountains. I imagine that they are a beautiful mountain range and it would be fun to go there someday. Maybe we ll take a class trip to the Kun Lun Mountains. Does that sound good? Locate BL 60: Notice that this is the right leg on this diagram and the picture is the left leg. Finding BL 60 is pretty simple. All you do is make sure you are on the outside ankle (lateral malleolus). I know that because the pinky toe is looking at me. It s always important to get yourself oriented to the picture you re looking at. Otherwise, you may experience a situation where you think you ve got it and then realize that you re on the wrong foot! So, take your time. Make sure that you know that this is the right leg and right foot. Find that outer ankle bone. Locate the high point of the ankle bone and the tip (the edge) of the Achilles tendon. Right in between is where BL 60 is located. There are a lot of reasons to like this point and the ease of locating it is one of them. The Star Power for BL 60 - is that it really brings the Qi down strongly. That should ring a bell - ding, ding, ding - LI 4. These two points really pull the Qi down. That is why both points are contraindicated during pregnancy. During pregnancy, we want to keep the pregnancy. During delivery, we want everything going down. So, only use those points that are contraindicated in pregnancy during labor and delivery and not before. There are many reasons that we would like to bring the Qi down. Relieving headaches is one reason that might sound familiar. One way to think about headaches is that there s just too much energy stuffed up in the head when it should be moving throughout your entire body. Let s say you re like me and you re about five foot eight inches. You have your whole body that should be holding all of your energy but for some reason too much is stuck up in your head. 29 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

31 Now, 80% of your possible energy is stuffed up in 5% of your body mass. Why not spread that out and bring it back down, down, down; down to relieve all the pressure that s up in the head. Another sign of too much energy stuck in the head is having a really busy, distracted, boing-boing mind. The person cannot keep their mind focused on just one thing. I m kind of an expert on that, so I really do appreciate this point. Use BL 60 to relieve pain anywhere along the Bladder meridian. The reason this works is because we re moving Qi and we re opening up the gates of the meridian. We re getting rid of all those little beaver dams in the meridian so that the Qi can flow freely and smoothly. And when the Qi is flowing smoothly all is well. When the Qi is not flowing or it s stuck, we have cranky/crabby symptoms here and there. When using the points on the meridians, the intention is always to balance the Qi. This means make sure there s a balance between the head and the feet, and make sure it is flowing smoothly. The simplicity of this medicine is profound. It s those simple things like: Oh yeah. You just need plenty of Qi that s flowing and it s all good. But getting there and maintaining it, can feel like walking up a mountain sometimes. Again, with a little bit at a time, we can get there. We can certainly support ourselves, family, friends, and clients with these points or meridians. Okay, enough on that. Let s get back to the point. Make sure you re on the outside of the ankle, halfway between the high point of the ankle bone and the Achilles tendon, and you re on BL 60. This point is contraindicated on pregnant women. Now we re going to go over our last two points. They are both on the Gallbladder meridian. The Gallbladder meridian runs down the side of the body. It begins on the outside of the eye. Then it comes right down the outer center of the leg and goes all the way to fourth toe. Let s get ourselves oriented. This is the right leg in the diagram and the gymnast has it on the left leg. Just take a moment to get some clarity there. Gallbladder 30 Locating GB 30 is a little bit tricky. You made it through ST 36, so you can make it through GB 30. I promise! Location: On the buttocks, near the hip joint. Technical details: One third the distance from the greater trochanter of the femur to the edge of the sacrum. 30 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

32 Location tip: GB 30 is on the hip. It s on the side of the hip because the Gallbladder meridian is on the side. First, we have to locate the hip. To do this, you have to know where your hip joint is and you have to figure out where your sacrum is. In this picture, we have a pelvis. Just put your hands on your hips like I m doing right now with your thumbs toward the back and your fingertips toward the front. Keep sliding your thumbs all the way to the back - to that center bone that s low down and that s your sacrum. The sacrum makes up the back of your pelvis. This is a lot of anatomy for a point! You may be thinking: I thought this was a point class not an anatomy class. The thing is, it is a great point for relieving hip pain and sciatic pain. So, I m taking the time to do this little bit of anatomy. Let me give you a better idea here. Let s look right through (reference webinar slides page 55 for skeleton image). Here s the pelvis, and this bone right here in the center is the sacrum. The official location of GB 30 is that it s one third the distance from this blob on the femur (which is called the greater trochanter) to the edge of the sacrum. Usually, when you look at pictures of the pelvis, the view is from behind. However, GB 30 is from the side. Let me just go back and show you this. I looked long and hard to find a picture where I could show you the side angle of the hip clearly. As I mentioned, most pictures of the pelvis are from the back. Let me give you a little more detail. So, here s that greater trochanter. Let s do this together. Put your left leg out straight and you can have your heel on the floor but the left leg is straight. Now, you re just going to bring your hand over to this area (hip area). With your left leg straight, just start wiggling your foot keeping your heel on the floor. Make sure your knee is straight and now rock your foot side to side. You are feeling around in this area with your hand until you feel a little something rolling around. That little something is this blob (greater trochanter). That is one of your landmarks for finding GB 30. Next, you re going to have to feel to the back of the pelvis to find the sacrum. It s a lot easier to find this on somebody else than it is on yourself. It s important to know that there is a roundness of the gluteus (buttocks) muscles. You want to come in diagonally versus being all the way in the back and just going forward. Once you find that point, the person will tell you because it s usually very sore! The way you find that blob (greater trochanter) on another person is to have them rock their foot (with the knee straight) around until you feel it. Once you locate the greater trochanter, start moving back toward the sacrum with gentle pressure. You might have to go a little deep because these gluteus muscles can be kind of thick. After a few tries, you ll be a champ at finding GB 30! It s such a great point because there can be a lot of stagnation here. Think about all the time that we spend sitting these days. A lot of us spend way too much time just sitting at the computer or sitting in the car, and stagnation can really build up in that GB 30 area. Whenever we can keep the Qi moving in that area, we help prevent things like hip pain, decreased range of motion, or even sciatic pain. 31 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

33 The Star Power for GB 30 - is that it clears out dampness and wind from the Gallbladder meridian. GB 30 is called Huan Tiao which means jumping circle. In the same way that we discussed clearing heat, there are other things that can get in and gum up the meridians; dampness is one of them. We also talked about wind earlier. When you have those pathogens rolling around in your meridians (damp or wind), it hurts. These pathogens create little blockages which can create areas of pain from local stagnation. The pathogen can sit there for a couple of weeks or a couple of months and then Oh, it s 20 years later and my hip still hurts! If we don t get that stagnant Qi moving, it can really build up becoming chronic and more serious over time. So, we re really happy to have a point here to help clear out dampness and wind from the whole Gallbladder meridian. That meridian starts at the side of the eye and also covers the whole side of the head. Therefore, one-sided headaches, eye-aches, and ear pain can all be assisted by opening up the Gallbladder meridian. It can also relieve shoulder pain, rib pain, or anything like that along the sides of the body. Use this important point at a critical juncture on the Gallbladder meridian, GB 30, to really help open that flow and connect everything. Also, what shows up here is sciatic pain. A lot of people say: I have sciatica. Then they point to where it hurts. Usually, they re pointing right at GB 30. That s a really fun way to locate GB 30 without becoming an anatomy expert! Since the stagnation can really set in here, from a Chinese medical point of view, we would just say it s (sciatic pain) stagnation. Once we get the Qi flowing through the whole meridian, the pain will subside. Western medicine calls it sciatica and Chinese medicine calls it stagnation. We re all looking at the same thing; we just have different maps for the body - that s all. So, we can activate GB 30 to open up that entire meridian to help relieve sciatic pain, right? Right! Gallbladder 34 Location: 1 cun down and 1 cun forward of the head of the fibula. Location tip: I ll tell you right now, this is another tricky one to find. It s just part of the nature of the Gallbladder meridian that it has to be a little tricky. 32 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

34 We are finishing up here with Gallbladder points. GB 34 is another really great point for opening up the flow of the whole meridian. You can see the connection here, right? If I was going to help someone relieve sciatic pain, I would always work on GB 34 as well. The name of GB 34 is Yang Ling Quan, which means outer yang mound. Once again, the diagram is the right leg and the picture is the left leg. Notice that the Gallbladder meridian is on the outside of the leg. It s right in the center on the outside of the leg. The Stomach meridian is more medial. The Gallbladder is right down the center of the side of the leg. Now let s find GB 34. (reference image of GB 34) See this blob down here on the ankle bone - the outer ankle bone? That s the bottom of the fibula. The top of the fibula is all the way up here and I have it in a little white circle. That is called the head of the fibula. That s the name of this bone which makes up part of the lower leg. The easy way to find the head of the fibula is to just come down here (to the outer ankle bone). See? There s the lower part of it. The fibula bone is straight. Go all the way up (from the outer ankle bone) and start feeling around here on the outside just below your knee. See how the knee is bent? The head of the fibula is below the crease on the knee. Once you find that, then you re golden. You just come down 1 cun and go forward 1cun from the head of the fibula. You have one thumb width down (inferior) and one thumb width forward (medial), and you re on GB 34. Another helpful thing about this point, similar to GB 30, is that it s usually pretty tender. That tenderness is a great sign that you re on the point. Again, go gently with your contact but don t go so lightly that you can t feel anything. Slightly increase your pressure just a little bit at a time and always stay in verbal contact with the other person. If it s another person you re working on, have them communicate with you: Yeah, it feels like you re getting close. I think you re getting on the point. Yup that s it. Whoah, stop! Or, if you re working on yourself, pay attention in that way as well. Star Power for GB 34 - is that it moves Qi within the whole meridian. Now we have another point that s moving Qi. In this situation, it s directed more toward the Gallbladder meridian. Considering that the Gallbladder meridian covers so much area, especially on the sides of the body, it s really wonderful to be able to use this point to clear up so many aches and pains. Remember that it travels over the side of the head, side of the neck, shoulders, ribs, liver, hips, and legs. Runners and athletes can get pretty tight on the sides of their legs. Also, the Qi can become stagnant on people who are sitting all day. Or, if you have a job in food service where you re standing all day, your legs can get really achy. 33 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

35 We can really support people with those kinds of aches and pains. It s important to keep the Qi flowing to maintain their health even while they re over extending themselves. Do you remember that picture of the spider web that I showed you at the beginning? Of course, GB 34 is used for opening up the meridian and moving Qi within the Gallbladder meridian. However, the Gallbladder meridian is also connected to every other meridian, which creates a web. To keep the Qi moving within the meridians, just pick one point! That point is going to support the whole system. The Gallbladder meridian, for whatever reason, tends to become stagnant and get gummed up. It is wonderful to put a little extra focus on those Gallbladder points and meridian. That will not only help the Qi flow, but it will also support the well-being of the systemic flow within the entire meridian system. We use GB 34 to relieve pain in the head, neck, hip, knees, and ankles. GB 34 also has an indication for supporting the health of the tendons and ligaments. The Gallbladder meridian is part of the Wood element. The Wood element is part of its categorization. The tissues that are associated with the Wood element are the tendons and ligaments. GB 34, in particular, really supports the health of tendons and ligaments. If there s a ligament or tendon injury anywhere in the body, like a rotator cuff tear or whiplash, you would use this point to help direct the energy to those injured tendons. Location Review: You have to make sure that you re on the Gallbladder meridian. Notice where it is. This is the outside of the leg and it s the center line on the outside of the leg. Find the head of the fibula by remembering that the outer ankle bone is the lower part of the fibula. Go straight up from there and feel around to locate the head of the fibula. Then, move down 1 cun and forward 1cun, and you ve got it. You ve located Outer Yang Mound. You did it. You made it all the way through Ma Danyang s 12 Heavenly Star Points! This is your reference page that has the point number, the point name, and the point translation. (Reference webinar slide deck page 67.) I encourage you to get to know the names of these points. Try to play around with saying the names of the points a little bit more than the numbers. It s a wonderful practice and it s a way to get to know these points in another way. So, play around with that if it appeals to you. I encourage you to do that. Especially if you re planning to move on to study acupuncture, then you should learn these point names. If you ve been rolling through these videos, doing one after the other because you re really into it; now is a great time for a break! We ve just finished our first set of points! It s been a boat load of information and you have lots to practice. 34 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

36 Class 1: Lesson 6 Command Points These points direct the energy of the overall session to the area that they command. We also use them to clear up complaints anywhere in that area. For instance, there is a Command Point of the abdomen. So, somebody comes in and says: My belly hurts over here. Then you know right away that you are going to use the Command Point for that abdomen. As you re going to see, there are many different ways to categorize points and many points will overlap into different categories. That s what I meant at the very beginning of this lesson when I spoke about the nature of a point. We start to see: Oh, this point is categorized as a Command Point and it s also a Ma Danyang s Star Point. You will see that certain points are included in a few different categories, which amps up their potential uses and broadens the depth of them. We ll be building categories throughout the course. Now, you can see that I have the Command Points listed out for you below. Point ST 36 BL 40 LU 7 LI 4 SJ 6 P 6 GB 34 SP 6 Area Abdomen Low back Neck and head Face Below the ribs hypochondriac Chest, heart Shoulder Lower abdomen, uterus You are already saying to yourself: Oh, I know ST 36, BL 40, LU 7, LI 4, and GB 34. We have already covered five of these points. All you need to do is to notice that in addition to ST 36 being a Ma Danyang s Heavenly Star Point, it s also the Command Point for the abdomen. By layering those two things, you will start to understand why: Every time I look up what to do for a belly ache, ST 36 shows up. 35 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

37 There are many reasons that ST 36 is always mentioned for digestive disorders: It s the Command Point of the abdomen It is on the Stomach meridian It is one of Ma Danyang s Heavenly Star Points That s how this goes. Now, the good news about this little segment is that we only have to figure out how to find three of all eight of these Command Points. So let s jump in. Pericardium 6 The first one that we need to know is P 6. The first thing to notice in the diagram is that it s the right hand and the picture down here is the left hand. Now, remember all those directions in the beginning about cun measurements and how to measure? The forearm is 12 cun from the wrist crease to the elbow crease and then you can cut it in half to find your 6 cun mark. Then you can divide that to find your 3 cun mark, which will also help you find your 2 cun place. You remember all of that, right? Or you could simply go thumb one, thumb two, thumb three, all over them, right? Two thumbs equal 2 cun and then you ll find P 6. That meridian comes down from the chest and right down the center of the palm side of the forearm. Make sure that you re in the center of the forearm. Take a look at the hand picture below. I m on the center line because that s where the Pericardium meridian is. I find the middle of the wrist crease and go back 2 cun proximal (meaning closer to the elbow.) You can see it right here, right? Here s the middle of the wrist crease, then one thumb, two thumb, and now you re on P 6. This point usually doesn t have a lot of zing to it like all those Gallbladder points do. So, you rely on your knowledge of where the point is located. This is the Command Point for the chest and heart. In practice, we use this if there s any kind of pain in the chest like angina. Of course, if it s a big pain you re going to do the right thing and go see a doctor or something. Please don t think: Oh I think I m having a heart attack, I ll just work on P 6. That s definitely not the intention here. However, if a person has been diagnosed with intermittent angina, then you might try P 6. Maybe someone s extremely anxious, upset, and they re heart s racing. All the Qi is gathering in their chest and they feel very anxious. We use this point to help relieve things like that. You can also use it for things like heart palpitations when you re just trying to ease those symptoms. Again, you re always going to seek medical attention as needed. These points come from a tradition that s somewhere between five and eight thousand years old, prior to modern day science and medicine. These ailments were still happening back then and this was the medicine that was used. 36 Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com

38 So, that s why you see some of these big indications for these points. However, let s put it in the context of our current situation using all of the options that we have available. Use these points as part of the bigger picture in a holistic approach to health and happiness. San Jiao 6 SJ 6 is on the back side of the forearm. The Pericardium is on the palm side. So, you ve got to flip your hand over and make sure you re looking at the back of your hand! Notice your knuckles to make sure you re on this back side of your forearm. The San Jiao meridian comes down the center of the back of the forearm. Actually, it starts here on the fourth finger and makes its way up toward the face. Either way, you need to be in the center of the back of the arm. And Hey look - it s 3 cun. You know where three cun is. You could either measure with your thumb, your fingers, or you could use your fancy-shmancy knowledge that from the wrist to the elbow is 12 cun. Then find your halfway point, which would be 6 cun. Then divide that in half, which would be 3 cun, right? That s how I m figuring out where 3 cun is here for SJ 6. That s where SJ 6 is located on the back of your wrist. Please make sure that you re on the back of the wrist. Spleen 6* *Note that Spleen 6 is contraindicated in pregnancy. Do not use SP 6 on pregnant women. Let s have a look and figure out where SP 6 is. This one can be a little bit tricky and maybe a little annoying. So, just take your time. The first thing to notice is that the picture is of a right leg. Here is the right foot. I know that because the big toe is looking at me. I m on the inside of the right foot here. You need to be on the inside (medial aspect) of the leg to make sure that you re on the Spleen meridian. Next, you have to find the high point of that ankle bone. This is the inside ankle bone also called the medial malleolus. We re going to measure 3 cun up from that. Remember that you ve got your handy measurement for 3 cun. I take my pinky put it right there on the high point of the inner ankle bone and to me that s a 3 cun measurement. You want to be in the center (from the front of the leg to the back of the leg) and 3 cun up to locate SP Guide to 60 Transformational Acupoints bigtreehealing.com