Conception Vessel 22, Ren-22 Heavenly Rushing

Location of Tiantu, Heavenly Rushing

On the anterior mid-line, in the depression at the middle of the suprasternal fossa. Some texts put it 0.5 cun above the suprasternal notch, or 1.6 cun above Conception Vessel 21, but in most people it’s pretty obvious where it goes.

In someone with very swollen thyroid glands, you might need to measure the distance, though I’ve never done this because I needle where I think it should be and if I don’t gain Deqi I know I’m in the wrong position.

The difficulty is aiming it right. It needs to be in right behind the manubrium (the top bit) of the sternum.

You don’t want to insert it vertically to the skin too far because of the underlying oesophagus.

Needle sensation

It can feel like a needle, or fishbone, in the throat! However, deqi can go either downwards or upwards.

Moxa

Moxibustion: up to 7 cones.

ACTION of Conception Vessel 22

Ren 22:

• Promotes the dispersing and descending function of the Lung
• Resolves phlegm
• Cools and benefits the throat and voice

• In the lungs, it’s useful for bronchitis and cough, wheezing, hoarseness
• It descends mucus
• Hiccoughs
• Pharyngitis
• As it tends to descend Qi, it can be used for fullness in the Heart, to clear fullness or stagnation in the Heart, especially where there is also back pain.

Comment on Heavenly Rushing, Ren 22

Window of the Sky

Heavenly Rushing, Conception Vessel 22, Ren 22, is one of the Windows of the Sky points, used to descend disturbed Qi from the Head, whether it be pain, as of headache, or inner turmoil, or twitching or severe thirst or epilepsy; all examples of energy pushing upwards and not descending.

Yin Linking Vessel

Conception Vessel 22 is one of the points through which the Yin Wei (Yin Linking) vessel flows. The Yin Wei Vessel is another of the so-called ‘Extra-Ordinary’ vessels. Unlike the Conception and Governor vessels, it has no points of its own, using points from other channels, as here with this point, Heavenly Rushing, Ren-22.

The Yin Wei vessel mainly benefits the Blood and the Heart so has many applications in acupuncture. Notably it helps steady the Heart making it really useful for many problems where there is a sense of loss with a feeling of rising anxiety.

This point is one of only two points on both the Conception and the Yin Wei vessels, and it helps descend energy.

That it also helps clear phlegm means that it can be used not just for the real phlegm that you can cough up and spit out but for the phlegm that ‘mists’ the Heart: confusion of thinking against a background of emotional turmoil such as grief, for instance.

In such conditions, energy falls away and we lose our voice, or our voice doesn’t work properly because of a lack of Yin-moistening fluids, making it dry and awkward. This point helps clears the phlegm in our mind, descend our anxieties, and moisten and strengthen our speaking apparatus. You can see why, together with other Yin Wei points, it may be used in case of grief – for example.

However, this point, Tiantu, Heavenly Rushing, lies on the Conception Vessel, which does have a strong effect on the Lungs. So this point may be said, of all the Yin Wei points, to have most effect on both Lungs and Heart. Actually, there’s another point –  Conception Vessel 23 – which also lies on both Extra-Ordinary Vessels, but for various reasons isn’t used so much for emotional applications unless they affect the voice. (End of slightly recondite bit of information)

One more thing about Tiantu

Qi can get blocked in many places, where it stagnates, causing problems. Ren 22’s name, Tiantu or ‘Heavenly Rushing’  is a good one and it  is sometimes really useful at descending Qi when ‘stuck’ in the head or chest.

Not many people think of it for Qi stagnation, (see my book below) but it can be very useful, especially where there are symptoms of grief, for example.

To access other points on the Conception Vessel, click below:

Click to return from Conception Vessel 22 to Acupuncture Point Location.