I love the Stomach Channel! In clinical practice, I use a lot of its acupuncture points. ST 6, ST 8, ST 25, ST 36 (of course!) and ST 40 are a very big part of my practice 😍

In this new series on acupuncture points locations & functions of each channel. My aim is to make each point easy to locate, as well as differentiating all acupuncture points functions. I also look at Channel pathways and how relevant they are in practice.

Let me know what you think and keep rocking it with acupuncture! 😍
Clara
TCM Geek

PS: If you want more, check out my “All about the TCM Stomach” post. And if you enjoy my graphics and haven’t invested in my AcuPoints Made Easy Book (PDF or Hard Copy) yet, get your copy here! 🙏

 

The Stomach Channel of Foot Yang Ming has 45 acupuncture points (bilaterally). It is used mostly for digestive disorders and mental disorders, and disorders along the channel pathway.

I divided it into 2 videos (since it’s such a long channel!):
– Part 1 (ST 1 to ST 30)
– Part 2 (ST 31 to ST 45).

Stomach Channel Points Location & Functions: Part 1

If you enjoy my graphics and haven’t invested in my AcuPoints Made Easy Book (PDF or Hard Copy) yet, get your copy here!

Stomach Channel Points location and functions: Part 2

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Stomach channel Part 1 video transcription

The stomach channel is the second largest channel in the body with 45 acupuncture points. So I wanted to make it easier to digest. And I created part one and part two. Part one obviously is here. Part two the link is located below this video in the description. So you can watch it right after. Let’s make this easy to grasp and fun to learn.

Welcome back to my channel. This is as you know, the Stomach Meridian. We’re going to look at the pathway of the Stomach Meridian. Then we will look at all the points, locations, and functions. That’s how we’re going to go about it.

The Stomach channel/Meridian Pathway

So let’s start right away. First of all, the Stomach meridian or channel, depending on how, which word you want to use, is the second longest Meridian in the body. It has 45 points!

It is a foot Meridian, and it is a foot yang ming Meridian. And like I said, it has 45 points bilaterally. So if it is a foot yang meridian, first of all, it is a yang Meridian and it is a foot Meridian because it’s finishes at the foot.

Every Meridian either starts or finishes at the hand or the foot, and they are either a hand or foot meridian.

Now I’ve already done the Large Intestine yang Ming hand, Ying Ming Meridian. This is the foot yang Ming meridian. The Large Intestine and the Stomach have a big relationships as a Meridian because they’re both yang Ming, which translates loosely by brighter Yang, because this was the Ming Dynasty, which was very bright, very beautiful, very posh at the time.

The yang Ming regions, there’s two Large Intestine and Stomach. These are really strong Meridians to utilize all the points on those two meridians are going to be powerful because both of those meridians carry the most Qi and the most blood.

So the stomach and the large intestine have the most Qi and the most blood up all Meridians. So they’re very powerful. Also it’s interesting to see that the Stomach is at the beginning of digestion and the Large Intestine is at the end of the digestion. They’re very much related, make sense? Okay. 

The Yang Ming foot Stomach Meridian

The yang ming foot stomach Meridian is most active from seven to nine AM. Those two hours in the morning, breakfast time after we fasted all night and we didn’t eat anything, it’s time to start opening up the Stomach.

So this is a really good way to start by your warm water with a little bit of lemon, squeeze lemon juice into it, to open up the digestive system. Then start having in nutritious, mindful, enjoyable breakfast–not a quick coffee on the run. That’s what we want to do. We want to be mindful to the beginning of the day and really nourish the body with the breakfast from 7 to 9:00 AM.

Okay. So then the past pathway itself. So if you had looked at my previous videos, when we look at the cyclical flow of Qi. We started let’s say the Lung and the Lung ends up at the Large Intestine. That’s the flow of Qi. The Large Intestine follows through the flow of Qi to the Stomach, and the Stomach ends up into the Spleen and this Spleen goes to the Heart, et cetera, et cetera.

At the end of the Large Intestine, the Large Intestine Meridian finishes at Large Intestine 20, right by the alae nasi. So the Stomach Meridian actually starts by the side of the nose. Not at Stomach 1. Interesting.

Okay. So. It starts at the side of the nose. And then it goes up to Stomach 1, which is behind infraorbital ridge, right? And then we’re going to go down the face, to the jaw, back up alongside of the ear and to the head. So this is 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. This is the main Meridian path.

The First Branch

Then we start with the first bunch, the first one starts around Stomach 5 and we’ll go down along the side of the neck, which 9, 10, and 11. We’ll have those three points on the neck. It will go into the supraclavicular fossa of behind your clavicle, enters the body and goes to connect with the Stomach organ and the Spleen organ. That is the first branch.

The whole Stomach Meridian is about branches. When you think about it, the main Meridian is only on the face, the rest is all branches. Very interesting, right? 

The Second Branch

The second branch starts at the supraclavicular fossa where the first one enter the body and it’s going to go all along the trunk. It’s going to go down with Stomach 12, all the way to Stomach 18, now we’re going to go 19 all the way to 30.

So the whole trunk is going to have a bunch of points and then we’re going to go on the thigh with Stomach 31, 32, 33, 34, 35 at the knee 36, and we’re going to continue all along the lateral aspect of the leg and lower leg until we reach the ankle where we have Stomach 41 and then we’ll have some at 42 43, 44 and 45, which ends up at the second toe, the lateral side of the second toe.

The Third Branch

Third branch starts at Stomach 42 on top of the dorsum of the foot and finishes at the big toe at the medial side of the big toe where it links or connects to its Meridian opposite meridian, which is the Spleen. So Spleen 1 will start at the medial side of the big toe.

Right. And then (because it’s not over) in a lot of books, we also have a branch that starts from Stomach 36 and goes down all along to finish at the third toe. We have lots of branches on the Stomach meridian. So let me recap it really quickly. So you kind of get an idea, right? 

Where it all starts

We start alae nasi or the side of the nose. We go up to the eye along the side of the cheeks down to the jaw up along the side of the ear to the head. First branch starts at Stomach 5 goes down along the side of the neck and does the body of the supraclavicular fossa to connect with the Stomach and the Spleen the organ. The second branch starts at the supraclavicular fossa of course, it’s on the same side, right? I just changed side for the sake of the drawing, but everything is bilateral in those meridians.

So we’re going to go all the way down to the whole trunk with a lot of points. And then on the lateral aspect of the thigh to the knee to the lower leg, to the ankle all the way until we finish at the second toe lateral side. We have one branch starting at Stomach 42, which connects to Spleen 1 on the medial aspect of your big toe. We also have an extra branch that starts at Stomach 36 and finishes at the third toe. 

So this is a big Meridian with lots of branches and so many actions. You are going to love it. So let’s look at all the locations, how to locate all those points and how to look at their function in an easy way. In Part two we’ll have 31 to 45.

The 45 Acupuncture points of the Stomach Channel (Functions & Locations)

So this is we’re going to look at Stomach 1 to Stomach 30, and then you can look and watch part two, which will be below in the description below this video. And then you can watch Stomach 31 to Stomach 45, which there’s a lot to say about those. Cause there’s a lot of special points on part two.

Stomach 1 to 10 Functions

Let’s start with the location of Stomach 1, which is considered a dangerous point because it’s located between the eyeball and the infraorbital Ridge. So behind the ridge at the center of the pupil, I’ve never needed all the stomach one, I haven’t pretty much have needled all the points, but this is one of them. I’ve never needled that one and Ren 1, I’ve never done that. Every other points I have needled, just, you know, just say in passing.

Stomach 2 is located in the infraorbital foramen directly below the center of the pupil. This is a point a lot of people are really scared because there is a bundle of nerves that enters the foramen, but it is really, really safe and it works really well.

Stomach 3 is going to be located at the level of alar nasi and the center of the pupil. Pretty simple. Pretty easy. Let me show you on this picture. Here we go. You could see the center and an as 3and then 4 is 0.5 cun from the corner of the lips. 

Those four stomach points have similar functions: for Bell’s palsy and facial paralysis.

Also ST 1 & ST 2 can be used for red eyes or eye twitching.

Stomach 5 is located at the anterior border of the masseter, which is our chewing muscle, at the level of the mandible. So it’s an easy one to locate.

Stomach 6 is actually going to be located at the bulge, the highest prominence of the masseter when we clench the masseter it gets activated and there is a bulge to it. It’s also one finger of breath from the mandible. 

Stomach 7 is interior to the ear, and when we open the mouth, the condyloid process is going to push against our finger. And it has been no, the zygomatic arch, right where the condyloid process is pushed against our finger. When we open our mouth and of course, anterior to the ear.

Stomach 8 a is four and a half cun to lateral, to the midline, half a cun interior to the hairline. Cause this is 9 member from both angles. So that’s for those points, let’s look at their functions. 

Stomach 5 to 11 Functions

Stomach 5 is used for jaw pain, local pain or lower jaw toothache and it’s part of a protocol for facial paralysis or Bell’s palsy.

I love Stomach 6. Why? Because it is a ghost point. As a ghost point, it is the best acupuncture point for PTSD (or post traumatic stress disorders). People that have post-traumatic stress disorders have tendency to clench to a jaw.

So that’s why it’s also obviously really well located for that local pain. If you want to know more about the ghost points, check out this video here. I have all about the ghost points. They’re fantastic to use in clinical practice. So click the link.

In the meantime, let’s continue to talk about Stomach 6, which I love. It can be used just like some like ST 5 as toothache pain for the lower jaw.

Obviously we still have to go and check out why there’s pain. But in the meantime, specifically combined with Li 4, I liked throwing in ST 6 when there’s lower jaw toothache. It is really useful to bring down the inflammation and the pain. It also is a great point to have as part of a protocol like the first five, one on the stomach channel that we looked at for facial paralysis or Bell’s palsy.

In my practice, I have treated Bell’s palsy many, many times very successfully.

Specifically, if we can start acupuncture treatment ASAP, because there is nothing much conventional medicine can do for Bell’s palsy. And it is quite common. So to restore the facial strength and having the face back to its normal shape, that is what we want to do and Acupuncture is the best. 

And another amazing point Stomach 7 does the same thing that we just talked about with Stomach 6 and 5 is jaw pain, clenching jaw, toothache, Bell’s palsy or being part of a protocol for Bell’s palsy with all the other points.

I love about Stomach 7 is its the best point for trigeminal neuralgia because of where it’s located.

So it really is very useful.

We can use it for ear pain as well, or tinnitus. But that is probably not the best point, but remember that some Stomach 7 trigeminal neuralgia works awesome. Of course always do a TCM diagnosis to make sure you get the right root cause addressed as well. 

Stomach 8 is, I think in my opinion, under utilized. It is one of the best points to combine with Lung 7 for migraines specifically while they’re happening. I use this a lot in pregnancy because we can’t use Li 4 during pregnancy, which is one of the best ones for headaches and pain, but Stomach 8 combined with distal point Lung 7 and San Jiao 5 works really well to bring that migraine down. Of course it can also be used for dizziness, for eye pain and being part of again of a protocol for Bell’s palsy and facial paralysis.

To locate Stomach 9, 10, and 11: we have to be aware of the location and top palpating where the SCM is. The SCM is the sternocleidomastoid muscle on the neck. So Stomach 9 is going to be interior the SCM at the level of the laryngeal prominence (also called Adam’s apple).

Stomach 11 is going to be between the sternal and clavicle heads of the SCM when they insert in clavicle and in the sternum. That’s where it’s going to be located. And Stomach 10 is halfway between Stomach 9 and Stomach 11. 

Stomach 9, 10, 11 or on the neck are going to be great for cough, sore throat, but also for thyroid growth to try to reduce or stop the growth. This is really useful.

Also, Stomach 9 is great for high blood pressure. Again those points are going to be a little bit more… you have to watch for the carotid artery specifically if Stomach 9. So a lot of people are very nervous, but you know Stomach 11, if that makes you feel better. It works really well again, when there is thyroid growth. 

Chest Stomach Meridian Points

So locating the points on the chest for the Stomach Meridian is going to be very easy. We’re going to use the length of the clavicle from the acromion to the midline. This is eight cun and so we are going to put those points at four cun lateral to the midline, which means halfway on this distance.

The nipple is a landmark that’s often used because it is four cun lateral to the midline for men–specifically thin men–but for women specifically when women are laying down and they have heavy breasts or bigger breasts, gravity is going to pull to the side and it is not going to be accurate. So we can’t really use the nipple really using the distance from the acromion to the midline is your best bet to figure out where that four cun lateral to the midline is which is going to be for all the points we’re going to talk right now. 

So Stomach 12 itself is going to be located in the supraclavicular fossa. Stomach 13 is directly below the clavicle. 14 is on the first intercostal space. 15 is on the second. 16 is on the third. 17 is on the fourth intercostal space and 18 is on the fifth intercostal space. So that’s where they’re all going to be located. And they are all 4 cun lateral to the midline. 

We don’t need all, ST 17 and for the rest of them, most of them are going to be oblique, not perpendicular. Please do not do perpendicular as the lungs are located below the intercostal space. So let’s look at those functions. 

Stomach 12 to 18 Functions

Stomach 12 is not used a lot and it is counter indicated during pregnancy because a lot of meridians will go through Stomach 12 to enter the body at the supraclavicular fossa, but it can be used for tonsillitis, cough, and asthma. Probably not the best point. There are better points than this, so, you know, you can bypass it. It’s all good.

I love when points have similar function. It’s easy to remember and it’s easy to put them in the same basket. So Stomach, 13, 14, 15, and 16, all going to be local for cough, for upper rib pain, upper chest. And asthma. Mostly, you’re going to use them locally. That’s the easiest way to use those for.

Great Points for women’s wellness

Stomach 17 is actually in landmark only point, we don’t needle it. But what I love about it is that for women specifically, this is where breast milk is issued, right? And stomach 17 is a point that is crossing on the Chong, which is the Chong vessel, which has the sea of blood vessel and breast milk is considered life blood.

So it comes from not having a period for women, when women are not having a period, they are creating the breast milk to be able to feed the baby. So this is really interesting to me because eventually women will start having their period and, then they’ll say my milk supply is starting to lower, unless they are very, very healthy and they don’t have any blood deficiency, which is pretty rare with women because most women have a little bit of blood deficiency.

Stomach 18 is a great point to obviously local for cough and for rib pain and chest feeling full. But it’s a great point for lack of breast milk to stimulate the breast milk specifically combined with Small Intestine 1 and Spleen 18. Those three points together with Ren 17, Ren 17 also opens the chest and allow for better flow. So those four points SI 1, ST 18, SP 18 and Ren 17, great to increase the flow of the breastmilk. 

Lesson Break

Are you enjoying my graphics so far? Well, you can found them all in my Acupoints Made Easy an illustrated guide to all acupuncture points and so much more. The PDF version has a lot of video links. You can download it on your phone, your tablet, your computer, and have it at your fingertips. At any time. It has a great table of contents. The hardcopy ships all over the world. If you’re someone that loves to hold the book and really enjoy the colorful part of my graphics, you’ll find them all. Exactly the same as the PDF in the hard copy book. The feedback has been amazing. As you can see here, so many people have just loved the book or the PDF or both.

So what are you waiting for? Click the link and get your copy today.

Let’s get back to what we’re talking about. 

So the next bunch of stomach points all going to be located on the abdominal region and they all going to be two cun, lateral to the midline easiest way to do this is to look at the belly button and start with Stomach 25, even though it’s the last point on the way down at the belly button, right? But you start with Stomach 25 and it’s two cun lateral to the belly button.

Now, another thing to remember is that there is a distance between the sternal angle and the belly button, which is eight cun, right? From the sternal angle to the belly button is eight cun. So Stomach 19 starts two cun below that.

Right. And all of them are going to be one cun from each other, going down until we reached the belly button, which is Stomach 25. So those are six cun that we’re going to come down to with seven points. So Stomach 25 is two cun to lateral to the midline, of course, that’s the sternal angle to the belly button, which is eight cun.

ST 19 is six cun to the above Stomach 25. ST 20 is five cun above 25. Stomach 21 is four cun above Stomach 25, Stomach 22 is three cun above Stomach 25. Stomach 23 is two cun above 25 and Stomach 24 is one cun above 25. And of course, 25 is at the level of the belly button. Pretty simple. Those are easy to locate perpendicular insertion, done. That let’s look at their functions. 

Stomach 19 to 25 Functions

Stomach 19 and 20 are all going to be mostly upper digestive track issues like bloating, indigestion, stomach pain, vomiting, nausea, acid reflux. Pretty simple, pretty easy, but I think stomach 21 is the best point of the three. Because Stomach 21 is at the level of Ren 12, I think that Red 12 and ST 21 have really strong purpose when it comes to the Stomach.

So it is the better point in my opinion, for bloating and indigestion, nausea, vomiting, anything happening in the digestive tract, specifically the upper digestive track (stomach, small intestine, duodenum). That would be the better point. Although Ren 12 is the front-Mu point of the Stomach so that would be the best one. 

Stomach 22, 23 and 24 are all again, going to address all digestive issues, a little bit more upper digestive issues like nausea, vomiting, stomach pain, indigestion, feeling irritable specifically due to indigestion and maybe also diarrhea. Mostly for acute diarrhea, not necessarily chronic. Let’s talk about the next point, which is one of my favorites.

Stomach 25 is the front-Mu point of the large intestine. So it makes it really powerful when it comes to lower digestive tract disorders, such as bloating, constipation, diarrhea, IBS, indigestion. Anything happening in the bowel this is best point, hands down. Having said that we need to combine it.

The Digestive Diamonds

Now, this is what you want to do. Right? Stomach 25 is great, but combined with REN 9 and REN 6, it forms the digestive diamonds, which is so useful for any bowel issue in clinical practice if you still can’t do a diagnosis or you’re not sure of your diagnosis.

This protocol works like a charm! It works for acute or chronic issues and the results are amazing. I’ve seen it over and over and over. What I love about it is that you want to go clockwise for constipation and counterclockwise for diarrhea. So clockwise means you’re going with the flow of the colon. Meaning you go ascending colon, transverse colon and descending. That’s your clockwise. Make sense? That’s how you needle starting with REN 9 and then go all the way down.

Now, if you’re doing diarrhea, you do the opposite. You start with Ren 6, and then you go towards the descending colon with ST 25 and then up to REN 9 and down to ST 25, which is along the ascending colon. Does that make sense?

So counterclockwise for diarrhea, clockwise for constipation in the flow of the colon.

This is a fantastic protocol. 

So when it comes to the lower abdominal region, all points again are going to be two cun lateral to the midline, which you can use a clavicle to take a quarter of that distance. And then we’re going to go one cun at a time below the belly button. Now the distance between the belly button and the upper border of the pubic synthesis bone is five cun. So that’s how we’re going to divide it.

What’s interesting is some of us are very short area and so our Cun are very small, and some of us are very long in that area and our cun are much bigger. So you’re going to have to gauge and play with it until you figure out how to do this. Cause it’s not that easy I have to say. But having said that all pointed to two cun lateral to the midline, the distance between the belly button and at the border of the pubic synthesis is five. 

Stomach 26 is two cun two lateral, as we know one cun below the belly button. 27, is two cun below the belly button. ST 28 is three cun below the belly button. Stomach 29 is four cun bellow the belly button. Stomach 30 is two cun to lateral at the level of the upper border of the pubic synthesis bones. So those are the point that we needle perpendicular and it’s look at their function. 

Stomach 26 to 30 Functions

ST 26 also addresses issues of the lower digestive tract, but it’s a great point to moxa when there is excess cold effecting the uterus creating cramping during menstruation. So dysmenorrhea due to excess cold. This is a great point.

Lesson Break

Taking a little pause here, a little breather. Just to remind you that on my website resource page, I have dozens of more case studies, treatment protocols, foundations, diagnosis, courses. So much more for you to enjoy, to support you. Don’t forget acuproacademy.com. Tons of more resources. Make sure to subscribe like this video and comment. So I know you enjoy my content and I keep getting more feedback. So I know I can create more for you to enjoy. Let’s get back to the Stomach Channel.

With acupuncture, a lot of points address women’s reproductive disorder issues because the woman has to go through a lot of menstruation, pregnancy, menopause, et cetera. We don’t have a lot of points that address men issues, Stomach 27 is one of them specifically.

So I love that and you can combine them with Kidney 10, which is another point that’s really good for the male reproductive system. So Stomach 27 is great for seminal emission for premature ejaculation and scanty urination. Like having difficulty in urinating, specifically in men. 

Stomach 28, harmonizes the digestive system, but it’s not the best point. It does though benefit the bladder for you and retention and UTIs. So that’s a great point to use for that purpose and it can be used for hernia as well in inguinal hernia. 

Stomach 29 is very different because it actually warms the uterus so we can use moxa or needling, and it is right where the ovaries are. So it can be used for fertility, dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, irregular, menstruation, and ovulation. It really stimulates the ovaries. So it’s a really good point. I talk about it in my fertility course, and if you’ve never seen it.

Fertility Course

Check out my fertility course up here. Its one of my popular online courses, so check it out link.

Stomach 29 to stimulate the ovaries specifically when it’s combined with other points. Of course not just by itself. It can also be used for uterus prolapse with Spleen six, combined with DU 20, and REN 6 great combo to get that uterus sucked right back in, specifically, if it’s only stage two, if it’s stage four, that’s a different story. 

Stomach 30, the last point on the truck from the Stomach Meridian. It is a point that’s grateful local in inguinal hernia pain. Very good to relieve that yes, it can be used for constipation diarrhea, but it’s not the best point, the digestive diamond would do that much better. It can also be used for genitalia pain or external genitalia pain and swelling for men or women. Great point to finish the trunk with.

Review of Stomach 1 to 30 Meridian Points

Let’s do it from Stomach 1 to Stomach 30 for the part one. ST 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 all can be used as part of a protocol for Bell’s palsy or facial paralysis, Stomach 1 and 2 can also be used for eye twitch and red eyes. Stomach 5 can be used for jaw pain.

ST 6 as well on top of its Stomach six is a ghost point for PTSD post traumatic stress disorder. ST 7, best point for trigeminal neuralgia and Stomach 8 really good for migraines specifically combined with Lung 7 and LI 4, SJ 5 would be really good point for that too, to add in that protocol, of course, making a diagnosis is always important. Stomach 9, 10, and 11, are all on the neck, so can address the issue of the coughing, sore throat and growth on the thyroid Stomach nine also addresses issue of high blood pressure.

Stomach 12, because of its location it’s not used and it is a counter indicated point during pregnancy. So it’s not very common is on top of the lung apex. So it could be a little bit tricky, needling should be shallow, very local cough, asthma, et cetera. 13, 14, 15, 16, all for ripping local chest pain and coughing asthma as well. ST 17 is a location landmark point only. Stomach 18 is great for lack of breastmilk specifically combined with Small Intestine 1, REN 17 and Spleen 18.

Stomach 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24

Whoa. We can group them all together for digestive issues, such as vomiting, indigestion, nausea, stomach pain, diarrhea, all this. I think Stomach 21 is one of the best point because it is parallel or in line with Ren 12 being the front more point of the Stomach,. Stomach 25 is awesome because it is the Front-Mu point of the large intestine. The Front-Mu point of the large intestine so anything happening in the colon, diarrhea, constipation, et cetera, this is the best point.

Having said that the digestive diamond, which combines Stomach 25 with REN 9 and REN 6 is awesome for any kind of lower digestive track issues from IBS to constipation, to diarrhea, to anything happening on the lower part. ST 26 is great when there is excess cold effecting the uterus. So it breaks the cold specifically, if you do moxa, if there is dysmenorrhea due to excess cold.

Stomach 27 is one of the rare point that is more of a male reproductive system point and is great for, um, seminal emission, premature ejaculation. And also for urine retention.

Stomach 28 also is good when there is bladder issues such as UTI and urine retention. Stomach 29 is located right where the ovaries are so it’s great to stimulate the ovaries and it warms the uterus. So Moxa on Stomach 29 is great for fertility issue and ovulation, menstruation pain, irregular menstruation. Great point to add to the protocol. And Stomach 30 at the bottom of the trunk, the last stomach point on the trunk is really good to use for inguinal hernia. 

 

Stomach Channel Part 2 video transcription

I’m so excited. This is part two of the stomach channels point locations and functions. If you have missed part one, it’s right there. Please watch it. It’s from Stomach 1 to Stomach 30. This video is all about Stomach 31 to Stomach 45. So much to say about those points specifically below the knee, because there’s so many functions, so let’s go.

Hi, I’m Clara from Acupro Academy and I create acupuncture and Chinese medicine content for practitioners and students making it easy to grasp and fun to learn. If you found this of value, please give me a like, or even subscribe. So you don’t miss out on any future videos. And now let’s rock it. 

Stomach 31 to 35

Stomach 31 is at the lateral side of the sartorius muscle on the line, connecting the ASIS (anterior superior iliac spine) to the upper border, a lateral border of the patella. It’s not an easy point to find. You’ve got to find the Sartorius, but it’s not too bad, it’s at the level of pubic symphysis bone as well. Stomach 31 is easy, it’s all local musculoskeletal issues, specifically hip flexors issues, or IT band being tight, combined with Gallbladder 34. It’s fantastic. 

The next three points are going to be located on the line, connecting the ASIS (or the anterior superior iliac spine) where her two fingers are on her shorts there. And then the superior lateral border of the patella. Makes sense? So you could see it from her two fingers the ASIS to the superior border of the patella. 

Stomach 32 is going to be located six cun above the superior angle of the patella. Stomach 33 is three cun above and Stomach 34 is two cun above. So 6 cun, 2 cun, 3 cun, 2 cun, 1 cun and directly above the superior border of the patella.

Stomach 32 and Stomach 33. Same thing as Stomach 31 it’s very local musculoskeletal related, so super simple. When there’s pain or issue in the leg, those are the great points. That’s it!

Stomach 34 is a fantastic point for acute stomach pain

because it is the Xi-Cleft point of the stomach, which is a great point to use distal to the stomach. However, I would also add Ren 12, ST 36  and LI 4, if there was a lot of acute stomach pain. If there was vomiting nausea, then PC 6 would be a great add-on as an acute issue. Obviously you want to do a diagnosis after for chronic issue, but for acute, this is the best point so make sure to use it.

Stomach 35 is going to be in the eye of the knee on the lateral side, because Xiyan will be on the medial side and it is located Stomach 35 on the lateral side of the patellar ligament on the knee. Does that make sense? 

Stomach 36 to 39

Stomach 36 is three cun, directly below Stomach 35 and often in clinical practice, as you can see. My finger, we slide up until we can go further, that’s usually also a helper in locating Stomach 36 and it’s one finger breath from the Tibia crest. 

Stomach 37 is three cun below 36, still one finger breath from the Tibia crest.

Stomach 38 and 40 are at the same level. If you remember, between the lateral patellar crease or the lateral side of the knee and the lateral malleolus, that is 16 cun. So stomach 38 and stomach 40 are both going to be halfway or 8 cun up or 8 cun down. Halfway of the leg distance from the knee crease to the  lateral malleolus. Stomach 38 is going to be one finger breadth from the crest and Stomach 40 is going to be two finger breadth from the crest. So a little bit more lateral. Make sense?

You could see that Stomach 39 is one cun, directly below ST 38, and you see my Boomer going into play because of course, he’s very curious and he has to know what’s going on. 

And Stomach 41 is on the ankle crease as you could see with the Boomer in the picture, which I think is fantastic. 

Stomach 35, especially combined with extra point Nei Xi Yan, which is on the medial side is fantastic for any knee pain. Those two points together work really well. So make sure to combine.

The massive rockstar of the stomach meridian, Stomach 36

Wow. Okay.  So this is the big kahuna. I mean, all of us in practice use it all the time. Right? Stomach 36 is commander point of the immune system.

So it’s great to boost the immune system specifically combined with Lung 7. It also expelled pathogen, so it helps to get rid of the pathogen as well. It is also the commander point of the digestive system, which makes it always, always the best point to use when any kind of digestive system issues combined at other points, of course it is the He-Sea point and the lower He-Sea point of the stomach, which those do makes it very powerful.

As you can see, it’s a special point 10 times over. It can be used for maintaining health. It’s a preventative point to use to maintain our health. So I want to do it every day on everybody. If you’re facing up, of course, if you’re facing down, that’s a different story, right? It also is the only point in the body that tonifies both Qi and blood. So what are you waiting for? Stomach 36.

Poke, poke, poke. 

Stomach 37 is the lower He-Sea point of the large intestine. Lower He-Sea points in general are going to be used for yang meridians and they are going to be useful excess patterns, mostly. Stomach 37 because it’s the lower  He-Sea point of the large intestine is the best distal point to use when there is constipation diarrhea, anything happening to the large intestine. It’s great to combine it with Stomach 25, Large Intestine 4, for better movement.

If this constipation, for example, Or to help with diarrhea and Stomach 36, because Stomach 36 is recommended point of the digestive system. I used Stomach 37 all the time doing pregnancy because I can’t use LI 4 for so stomach 37 is a very good point in conjunction with stomach 36 during pregnancy, because I can’t use Stomach 25 as well because it’s on the belly. Right? So this is a great point to use. Love it! 

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Let’s get back to what we’re talking about.

Stomach 38, is a distal point as well and this one is for shoulder issues. So when there is shoulder issues, We have a lot of protocol we can use locally, but we also need distal point and Stomach 38 eight to use specifically on the opposite side of the shoulder that’s affected is fantastic. Love that point for distal shoulder issues.

As I said earlier, lower He-Sea points are great to address excess patterns in the yang organ system or Meridian. So Stomach 39 is the low He-Sea point of the small intestine. And the small intestine we know is in charge of separating the clear from the turbid. So it’s more related to a lot of fluids. ST 39 is a great distal point when there is urinary issues that are due to excess, like a urinary tract infection, for example, which would be excess damp heat. Does that make sense? 

Okay. I know that Stomach 36 is the rock rockstar of all the points on the stomach, Meridian, however, Stomach 40. I’m so excited. This is my favorite point of all points of all meridians of any points. When I teach my students, they always laugh. Cause I get so excited about Stomach 40. I see how it works so well for my patients. It’s incredible.

Stomach 40 to 45

So Stomach 40 is the best point for phlegm. Any kind of phlegm in the body. And this is TCM phlegm is visible phlegm would be cystic acne, cysts, anywhere in the body, coughing phlegm, of course, having a lot of phlegm in the body, but also for invisible phlegm, such as anything that’s going to affect our mind, not just foggy head, but anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, any kind of Mental disorders is going to have some form of invisible phlegm. So Stomach 40 works so well. Specifically, I see it in, in clinical practice for anxiety. It is such a great point. I use it all the time.

Also it’s the LUO connecting point of the stomach to the spleen. And if you haven’t watched my LUO connecting point video, check it out up there. It is going to be blowing your mind so you can understand the LUO connecting point better, because I know it was a big request and it will be really enjoyed. And the feedback’s been amazing. So check it out.

So as a LUO connecting point, Stomach 40 connects the stomach to the spleen. And so it is a really good point to use for digestive issues specifically to balance blood sugar. So if there is blood sugar imbalances, specifically diabetes type two, you have to put Stomach 40 as part of your protocol. Amazing Point. 

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Let’s get back to the stomach channel

Stomach 41 is a Jing-river point, which makes it great to clear heat, specifically heat in the face like red eyes, canker sores in the mouth, constant hunger, bad breath. But what I love to use it for or to see and use for is Stomach 41 is great for drop foot syndrome. So this is a local point for that. And of course you have to do other points, but this point you absolutely have to be part of a drop foot syndrome protocol. 

Backwards just for fun!

Stomach 45 is 0.1 cun lateral to the second toe, on just a corner of the nail. You could see that. Stomach 44 is half a cun above the web margin between the second and third toe. Then we have Stomach 43, which is going to be distal from the junction of the second and third metatarsal bone.

And then we have Stomach 42, which is on the highest part of the foot, the dorsum of the foot. We have to watch for the dorsal pedis artery in there, because you can feel the pulse underneath. So be very mindful when you needle Stomach 42 and it is going to be between the two tendons the digitorum longus and the hallucis longus, which basically flex your, your toes and your big toe. And those are the location of all the points on the stomach.

Stomach 42 is the yuan source point of the stomach, which makes it a great point to clear stomach heat, like heartburn, acid reflux, bad breath, but also to toothache, right? What I think is great too, is it’s great to be part as a distal point for facial paralysis, for example, Bell’s palsy or post-stroke, and it can be used for edema. So lots of things for that, right? Oh my God Stomach meridian.

Stomach 43 is a Shu-Stream point. Shu Stream points have tendency to help when there is swelling or excess dampness in the body. So that’s what Stomach 43 does, it’s great for bloating, facial swelling edema, basically excess dampness that is going to gather as excess water and create swelling. This is a fantastic point for it. 

Stomach 44 is a Ying-Spring point and it is the best point to clear fire

Any excess fire, stomach, fire, any fire in the body. This is a fantastic point. So acid reflux, heartburn, bad breath, high fever, infection, mania, feeling like, you know, you’re just restless and you can’t sleep because there’s all this excess fire. Bleeding like bleeding in the stools. Any excess fire in the body, with your diagnosis is excess fire, you’ve got to use ST 44 best point for that. 

Last but not least Stomach 45 is the Jing-Well point of the stomach. As a Jing-Well point, like other Jing-Well points it is great to use for fainting, coma, high fevers, sore throat and manic behavior. But what makes it different from all the other Jing-Well point, is Stomach 45 is great to use when there’s dream disturbed sleep due to overeating.

So people that have a lot of big meals over eat, and then they dream all night and it wakes them up and then they fall back asleep and dream again. It’s not a nightmare per se, but they don’t sleep well because, they have a lot of dreams due to overheating. So that makes it super, super interesting point.  

Quick Review Stomach 31 to 45 Functions

Let’s go!

ST 31, 32 and 33 local musculoskeletal issues. ST 34 is the Xi-Cleft point, so best point for any acute stomach pain, Stomach 35 is at the knee and combined with Nei Xi Yan it is great for local knee pain.

Stomach 36, the big TCM rockstar of the stomach Meridian: great to tonify Qi and blood, it is the commander point of the immune system and it also expels pathogens. It is also the commander point of the digestive system for any digestive issue and because it’s also a He-Sea point and lower He-Sea point, this kahuna makes it fantastic for maintaining health and preventative health. So use it all the time!

Stomach 37 lower He-Sea point of the large intestine, great for any excess in the large intestine. ST 38 best distal point for shoulder issues, Stomach 39 lower He-Sea point of the small intestine, so great for excess damp heat in the bladder in general or urinary tract infection, kind of things.

Stomach 40, my favorite point

IT is the LUO connecting point from the spleen to the stomach. Perfect to use as a protocol for diabetes type two, but it is the best point for phlegm, invisible phlegm, which means mental, uh, issues like anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, et cetera, but also physical phlegm, like excess phlegm, excess fatty tissue, cholesterol, cysts, all that. It’s a fantastic point!

Stomach 41 best point to use for drop foot syndrome, that’s a really good point to use, it is also a Jing-river point as well. Stomach 42 it is going to be used as a Yuan source point of the stomach. So grateful acid reflux you know, heartburn, stomach pain, canker sores in the mouth. Stomach 43 is the shu-string point of the stomach, so it’s fantastic for any swelling in the body, bloating, swelling of the face, edema, excess dampness, specifically when there’s heat.

Stomach 44 is awesome. It’s a ying spring point and it’s the best point to clear excess fire anywhere in the body. And stomach 45 last but not least Jing-Well point it is going to be used as a Jing-Well point of course for fainting and coma for manic behavior, but mostly it is used for dream disturbed, sleep for people that overeat and stay up all night with lots of dreams. And that’s how we review the stomach points in less than two minutes.