There are a total of 20 meridians in the human body, which are divided into two groups:
One group is called Shí’èr Zhèngjīng (Twelve Regular Meridians), which connects to the organs; 6 belong to the zang (solid organs) and 6 belong to the fu (hollow organs), where the qi flowing is known as the postnatal qi;
The other group is called Qí Jīng Bā Mài (Eight Extraordinary Meridians), consisting of 8 meridians, where the qi flowing is the congenital yuan qi transformed from kidney essence, originating from the dantian and then reaching the body surface.
Among the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, these four are the most important for women:Rèn Mài (Ren Meridian), Dù Mài (Du Meridian),Chōng Mài (Chong Meridian),Dài Mài (Dai Meridian), which must be unblocked!
Rèn Mài: Represents the Earth, governs reproduction
The Rèn Mài runs through the center of the abdomen, which is yin; therefore, it has a comprehensive role over all yin meridians, often referred to as the “General Overseer of Yin” and the “Sea of Yin Meridians“.The Rèn Mài is long within the womb and connects with the five zang organs, circulating throughout the body. If the Rèn Mài is blocked, it can lead to decreased function of the five zang organs.The character “任” (Rèn) implies responsibility and nurturing, indicating its role in governing the womb. If the qi of the Rèn Mài is imbalanced, it can affect fertility and lead to various conditions such as leukorrhea, menstrual irregularities, urinary difficulties, and pain in the genital area.
Dù Mài: Represents Heaven, governs yang qi
The Dù Mài runs along the center of the back, which is yang; thus, it has a commanding role over all yang meridians, often referred to as the “General Overseer of Yang” and the “Sea of Yang Meridians“.The Dù Mài is long within the womb and connects with the six fu organs, circulating throughout the body. If the Dù Mài is blocked, it can lead to decreased function of the six fu organs.The character “督” (Dù) implies supervision and command, indicating its role in governing yang qi. The Dù Mài runs along the back and connects to the brain; if the qi of the Dù Mài is imbalanced, symptoms such as “stiffness in the spine when full, and heaviness in the head when deficient” may occur, indicating obstruction of the Dù Mài qi and inability of the clear yang qi to ascend.Additionally, since the branch of the Dù Mài ascends from the lower abdomen, if the qi is imbalanced, it can lead to conditions such as qi rushing up to the heart, urinary retention, hemorrhoids, enuresis, and female infertility.Chōng Mài: Represents the Narrow, governs qi and blood
The character “冲” (Chōng) implies a crucial pathway. The Chōng Mài ascends to the head and descends to the feet, traversing the entire body, serving as the main conduit for the qi and blood of the twelve meridians.Thus, the Chōng Mài can regulate the qi and blood of the twelve meridians, nourishing the five zang and six fu organs, often referred to as the “Sea of Twelve Meridians”, “Sea of Five Zang and Six Fu”, and “Sea of Blood”.For women, blood is fundamental; therefore, the Chōng Mài is extremely important. When the qi and blood of the Chōng Mài are sufficient, women can lead a happy life.The Chōng Mài and the Rèn and Dù meridians share a common source but diverge in flow; the Chōng Mài originates from the womb, and if the qi is imbalanced, it can lead to menstrual irregularities, infertility, miscarriage, and other symptoms. Additionally, the Chōng Mài runs from the abdomen to the chest, which can also cause symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest and abdominal pain, and qi rushing up to the heart.Dài Mài: Represents the Binding, governs balance
The character “带” (Dài) implies a belt. The Dài Mài encircles the waist like a wide belt, binding all the straight meridians, hence its name.The main function of the Dài Mài is to “constrain the various meridians”. The yin and yang meridians of the feet are all constrained by the Dài Mài. Additionally, since the Dài Mài runs through the waist and abdomen, where the qi of the Chōng, Rèn, and Dù meridians originates (all starting from the womb), the Dài Mài is closely related to the Chōng, Rèn, and Dù meridians.The Sù Wèn (Plain Questions) states: “If the Dài Mài is unbalanced, it can lead to abdominal fullness and a sensation of sitting in water.” This means that if the Dài Mài is not harmonious, symptoms such as menstrual irregularities and leukorrhea can occur.One meridian, one acupoint, and gynecological issues will never return!Gynecological diseases, no matter how they change, cannot escape the four words: “Cold, Damp, Deficiency, Stasis”.
Cold“In women’s diseases, cold is the major factor”; many women suffer from gynecological diseases due to frequently wearing crop tops, low-waisted pants, etc., leading to invasion of wind, cold, and dampness from the abdomen, causing menstrual irregularities, dysmenorrhea, and uterine fibroids.Damp“Leukorrhea is all dampness”; dampness obstructs the qi mechanism, and when yang qi is obstructed, it can lead to dampness transforming into heat, resulting in inflammatory symptoms such as “heat, itching, and pain”. DeficiencyIn TCM, conditions such asbleeding and intermenstrual bleeding are classified as deficiency syndromes, commonly seen in spleen qi deficiency orkidney qi deficiency: if spleen qi is deficient, it cannot control the blood, leading to blood not returning to the meridians; if kidney qi is insufficient, yang cannot contain yin, leading to failure in storage. Both can lead to instability of the Chōng and Rèn meridians. StasisBlood stasis is a major cause of gynecological diseases; wherever there is stasis, there are fibroids, cysts, and other gynecological masses. Therefore, in treating gynecological diseases, activating blood and resolving stasis is key.Among the four meridians: Rèn, Dù, Chōng, and Dài, each has one acupoint that is extremely important. By moxibusting these four acupoints, the four meridians will be largely unblocked, making it less likely for gynecological diseases to occur!01Rèn Mài: Guān Yuán (Guanyuan) PointAs mentioned above, the Rèn, Dù, and Chōng meridians all originate from the womb and diverge from the perineum.Thus, the location of the womb in the abdomen is a vital point for life and the source of normal qi and blood circulation in the body. The Guān Yuán point is directly opposite the womb, highlighting its critical role.In TCM, it is said, “Needle must be at Sān Lǐ (Sanli), moxibustion must be at Guān Yuán”; especially for those women suffering from cold and dampness, moxibusting the Guān Yuán point is essential to warm the uterus and improve the internal environment. It is recommended to expand the range of moxibustion, ideally moxibusting the entire area of the womb (lower abdomen).02Dù Mài: Mìng Mén (Mingmen) PointThe Mìng Mén point is where kidney yang resides, hence kidney yang is also referred to as the “Fire of Life”.If the fire is insufficient, it cannot promote the upward movement of kidney water, leading to retention of kidney water in the body, resulting in symptoms such as lower back and knee weakness, swelling, male impotence, and female infertility. This is commonly known as kidney yang deficiency, which requires warming the kidneys and tonifying yang.For the Mìng Mén point, the most effective method is moxibustion, especially using ginger moxibustion—slicing ginger into 2-3 mm thin pieces, pricking small holes in the center, placing it on the acupoint, and moxibusting with moxa sticks, 20 sticks each time, 1-2 times a week.03Chōng Mài: Qì Chōng (Qichong) PointWhy do modern women suffer from gynecological diseases? It is related to prolonged sitting—there is a saying in TCM that “prolonged sitting harms the spleen”; prolonged sitting can impair the spleen and stomach’s ability to transform phlegm and dampness.Phlegm and dampness belong to yin evils, “forming shapes”; they conspire with blood stasis and accumulate in the womb, leading to fibroids and cysts. Yin evils trapped in the pelvic cavity cannot flow out, which can also lead to inflammation and abscesses.The groin is the area where modern women experience the most stasis, and the Chōng Mài has an important acupoint here—Qì Chōng. It is located on the inner side of the thigh, and persistent moxibustion can treat menstrual irregularities, infertility, dysmenorrhea, and cold feet.04Dài Mài: Dài Mài (Daimai) PointBlockage of the Dài Mài is most likely to induce three issues: excess fat, inflammation, and infertility.It is recommended to moxibust the Dài Mài point, which is the intersection of the foot shaoyang gallbladder meridian and the Dài Mài. To locate it, draw a horizontal line from the navel and a vertical line from the armpit; the intersection of these two lines is the Dài Mài point.Moxibusting the Dài Mài point can strengthen the spleen, resolve dampness, regulate menstruation, and benefit the kidneys and strengthen the waist, showing remarkable effects for women with menstrual irregularities, amenorrhea, leukorrhea, uterine prolapse, abdominal pain, hernias, flank pain, and abdominal distension.
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