Just my point: REN 17

Some points are striking in their strategic location. DU 20 bai hui 百 會 One Hundred Meetings at the top of the head and KID 1 yong quan 勇 泉Bubbling Spring on the sole of the foot spring instantly to mind. REN 17 dan zhong 膻 中 Central Temple is also one of these, centred on the midline between the two breasts and central to the chest itself. A passage-place of great power, leaving the physicality of the lower and middle heaters behind, it gathers the refined qi of the upper heater, unifying the functioning of the heart and lungs.

It is no surprise then that this area is considered of central importance in the internal alchemy tradition, there referred to as the middle cinnabar field, zhong dan tian 中 丹 田and of equal importance to the other two cinnabar fields in the abdomen and the head. In the acupuncture landscape, so filled with images of rivers, streams, pools and springs, the powerful title of qi hai 氣 海 Sea of Qi, that is given to both REN 17 (the upper sea) and REN 6 (the lower sea), indicates the depth and breadth of qi that can be accessed through needling the point or through conscious attention on the area.

This Sea of Qi is graphically illustrated in the Daoist Inner Landscape Map Neijingtu 內 景 圖. A boy who holds the stars in his hands stands firm in a spiralling ring of seeds on Penglai Island, the land of the Immortals, surrounded by the tumultuous waves of the uncrossable Circular Sea. The stars in question are the seven stars of the Northern Ladle, bei dou 北 斗, which indicate the location of the immovable North Star, the taiji 太 極, symbolising centred stillness in the midst of the unruly ups and downs of life that try the serenity of the heart and upset the regular, rhythmic breathing of the lungs.

My own experience of this point is that it calms and stabilises the heart, nourishing and regulating both the stomach and the lungs, leading to a clearer mind, steadier breathing and easier digestion. As such it is very helpful in long-term stress without respite and often the calmness felt in treatment can act as a model and reminder of the possibility of a return to more healthy norms. Shallow breathing can be deepened, over-reactive emotions can be quietened, a driving pulse can be slowed or an empty pulse filled. Now the potent image of the boy connected to the starry heavens seems not just a poetic flight of fancy, but an entirely appropriate portrayal of centred and grounded aspiration. Perhaps he is the Original Child, yuan er 元 兒, given as an alternate name for REN 17, the child connected to the origin, who has not lost his way but retains his authenticity and his health in freshness and vitality.

Certainly this is a restorative point, the hui 會meeting point for the qi and for the zong qi 宗 氣 (literally ancestral qi, also known as gathering qi or chest qi) in particular. The zong qi are responsible for the regular rhythm of the heartbeat as well as the strength of the voice, a synthesis of the good functioning of both heart and lungs, supported by the stomach qi arriving via xuli 虛 里, the special luo of the stomach.

Interestingly, REN 17 dan zhong 膻 中 (also pronounced tan zhong or shan zhong), is given its own role as an organ in Neijing Suwen chapter 8, an important chapter where the organs are presented as 12 state officials governing the body. Its role is to be in charge both of the ministers at court and the ambassadors who go out from the court. Here we can perhaps make an analogy with the zong qi 宗 氣, ancestral qi, created in the chest and the ying 營 and wei 微 qi, the nutritive and defensive qi, that are distributed and circulated throughout the body.

Dan zhong’s responsibility is for xi le 喜 樂, elation and joy, xi喜being excitement and stimulation, and le樂a profound, innate joy, independent of external circumstances. It is a quality intrinsic to a balanced and heathy system, more commonly associated with the heart. It indicates that when the qi and blood flow without obstruction in this area of REN 17, the area of the middle cinnabar field, life’s intrinsic joie de vivre is naturally restored. The heart and lungs are no longer compromised, no more palpitations or chest pains, no more shortness of breath or congestion by phlegm, no more regurgitation or difficulty in digestion, no more sadness and fear, equanimity and joy return.

Some have equated dan zhong with the pericardium and the designation of REN 17 as the collecting mu 募 point of the pericardium is certainly a way to indicate its strong heart-protecting function in this archetypal area of the lungs. Some commentators have noted the similarity between the character dan 膻 with the flesh radical 肉 on the left (indicating a part of the body) in dan zhong 膻 中 and tan 壇 with the earth radical 土 on the left in tian tan 天 壇 , the Temple of Heaven, a temple site in Beijing where the emperor would perform ceremonies on the winter solstice and pray for good harvests. These commentators then propose that REN 17 is the site of a sacred temple or altar area on the body.

Last, but certainly not least, REN 17 is also important in the production of body fluids, regenerating the jin and reinforcing the ye, sheng jin zeng ye 生 津 增 液 . This makes it not only a great point for the qi and the yang but also for the yin, and a key point for women in helping in milk production in nursing mothers. It is an important point to remember in both insufficient lactation and mastitis, often used in conjunction with distal point SI 1 shaoze 少 澤 Lesser Marsh, which makes sense since the small intestine governs the ye 液 fluids and the SI meridian connects to REN 17 in its pathway. ST 18 ru gen 乳 根 Breast Root is also a helpful local point as well as GB 21 jian jing 肩 井 Shoulder Well, a point often overlooked in hypogalactia.

It is interesting to note that in some internal alchemy schools women are considered to have a natural affinity with the middle cinnabar field, with its proximity to the heart and therefore the blood and with their greater development in the area of the breasts. As such, women begin the circling of the small heavenly circuit xiao zhou tian 小 周 天 at the middle cinnabar field, while men start with the lower cinnabar field below the navel. This area of REN 17 has then a natural resonance with women.

REN 17 dan zhong 膻 中 Central Temple is definitely a point to remember, a wonderful restorative point and certainly one to add to the list of Covid and post-Covid treatments to bring the patient back to physical and mental health, protected and reconnected.