The importance of healing pressure points in the practice of tai chi, dao yin and chi kung

In this section you'll learn about the following tai chi healing pressure points:

1. Bai Hui Governor Vessel 20 (see below).
2. How a healing pressure point on the crown of the head called Bai Hui Governor Vessel 20 builds health.
3. How to breathe through the Dan Tian correctly. The Dan Tian is a group of vital pressure points consisting of points number 4,5,and 6 on the Conception Vessel (meridian).
4. To learn another side of pressure points, read How acupuncture cured my migraines.



5. You can learn more with the book Two Dragons Of Dim Mak: pressure point techniques for healing and martial arts

Let's begin with this most important fact.

Despite the obvious differences in the various styles of tai chi and chi kung, all of these arts share one same essential requirement in practice.

The particular technique that is shared by all is in the way our posture has to be maintained throughout the practice of forms, breathing or meditation exercises. That posture requires the head to be naturally raised, without swaying or leaning to one side. The eyes are kept level, the mouth lightly closed, with the tongue touching the upper palate.

When you study the theory of Tai Chi, you’ll learn that the first principle teaches us to keep our head and neck erect, as if it is being pulled up by an invisible cord. A straight spine allows the Chi energy to move through various key pressure points on the spine, ending on top of the head. So this is where the healing pressure point called Bai Hui or point Governor Vessel 20 comes in.

So first of all, let’s learn the exact location of Bai Hui Governor Vessel 20.

Location of Healing Pressure Point Bai Hui
Governor Vessel 20

Governor Vessel 20 Bai Hui is located at the apex of the head. The accurate location of this point is described as 7 Cun superior to the posterior hairline and 5 Cun posterior to the anterior hairline on the midline of the head and halfway on a line connecting the apex of both ears. A Cun is a unit of measurement in acupuncture. It is about one inch. To find this point quickly:

1. Draw a straight line on the midline of the head, from the nose backwards over the head.

2. Draw a second line horizontally to meet the highest tip of both ears.

3. Where both lines intersect is the point Bai Hui.

Another way of locating this point is to take the halfway distance between the frontal hairline and the vertex of the external occipital protuberance.

The interesting thing about this healing pressure point Bai Hui is that it is not just one single major point. It has another four points, called the Si Shen Cong points, that help Bai Hui perform its functions.

You can easily see the importance of these four Si Shen Cong points through a translation of the name of the points. Si Shen Cong means “Four Alert Spirit points”.

These Four Alert Spirit points - the Si Shen Congs - are also located at the vertex of the scalp, each point located at exactly one Cun from GV 20. They surround Bai Hui GV 20 to form a right angle cross. Each one of the four alert spirit points take one direction of the compass--north, south, east and west.

During tai chi practice, when you focus your Chi energy on this cluster of five points, it is very important for you to take GV 20 as the centrepoint. In this cluster of points, GV 20 is the pivot point, an axle that will allow you to connect with the other four Si Shen Cong points.

Bai Hui means one hundred meetings or unity. The ‘unity’ refers to the unification of Heaven and Earth, unification is implemented in part through the medium of Bai Hui. The naming of the point originated from its ability to treat the ‘100 diseases.’ At the crown of the head it meets with other meridians and allows Chi to penetrate deeply through the bones of the skull to nourish the brain.

Having regard to the fact that Bai Hui GV 20 is the highest point on the body therefore the most Yang point, it contrasts with point Kidney 1 Yong Quan on the soles of the feet which is the lowest point on the body and hence the most Yin point.

In tai chi, dao yin and chi kung, both Bai Hui and Yong Quan play an important part in regulating the body’s Yin and Yang energies. These two points also allow us to unify and harmonise with the energies of Heaven and Earth.

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