REN-4 Guanyuan - First Gate
More Spirit Names: Gate to the Original Qi, Origin Pass, Gateway to the Origin, Hinge at the Source, Fortified Gate, Cinnabar Field, Great Central Pole, Source Pass, Infant's Palace, Blood Chamber, Life Gate, Delivery Gate
| English: | Gate of Origin |
| Also Known As: | First Gate Gate Origin Gate of Life Elixir of Long Life Hinge at the Source Dantian Cinnabar Field |
Location
- 3 cun inferior to the umbilicus, on the anterior midline.
- On the midline of the lower abdomen, 3 cun inferior to the umbilicus and 2 cun superior to the pubic symphysis.
Needling
- Slanted insertion, pointed downward, 1.5 to 2 cun. Sensation: local distention and soreness, sometimes extending to the genitals.
- Puncture perpendicularly, 0.8 to 1.2 cun.
- Moxibustion is applicable.
- Perpendicular insertion 0.5 to 1 cun, or oblique insertion directed inferiorly 1 to 1.5 cun.
Caution: deep insertion may penetrate a full Bladder which should therefore be emptied before treatment.
Command Functions
- Front Mu Point of the Small Intestine
- Intersecting point of the Liver, Spleen and Kidney channels on the REN channel
Actions
- Tonifies and nourishes the Kidneys
- Tonifies Yuan Qi
- Benefits Jing
- Regulates the Lower Jiao
- Benefits the Bladder
- Warms and fortifies the Spleen
- Regulates menstruation
- Tonifies Qi and Blood
- Nourishes Blood and Yin
- Warms Cold
- Enriches Yin
- Drains pathogenic influences from the Heart
- Stabilizes Kidney Qi
- Warms the Yang
- Raises Middle Qi
- Regulates the water pathways
- Regulates the Small Intestines
- Resolves Dampness and Damp-Heat (especially of the Lower Jiao)
- Dries Dampness
- Dries Cold-Dampness
- Restores Collapsed Yang or Yin
- Regulates the uterus
- Assists conception
- Calms the mind
- Roots the Ethereal Soul
- Stimulates the testes
- Stimulates sex hormones
- Roots the Mind
Indications
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Combinations
Functional uterine bleeding | Spermatorrhea Impotence | Urinary tract infection |
LIV-1 | KI-1 | |
Moxa for unilateral distention of a testicle Moxa for abdominal fullness that radiates to the back | Acute pain with inability to urinate | Moxa for Collapse of Yang |
DU-11 | ||
Wind dizziness and headache | Heat in the body with headache that comes and goes | Distention of the lateral costal region |
REN-3 | ||
Heat sensation and pain in the hypogastrium | Running piglet Qi in women | Red and hesitant urinary flow |
REN-6 | UB-25 | |
Inability to urinate | Dark urine | Fecal incontinence |
KI-4 | KI-3 | |
Difficulty defecating | Ceaseless diarrhea and dysenteric disorder |
Contraindications
Notes
- This point is a gateway to Source (Yuan) Qi.
- This is an extremely important point.
- It is one of the most powerful points to tonify Qi and Blood and strengthen the body and mind.
- This is a major point for reinforcing both Kidney Yin and Yang.
- REN-4 vs DU-4: REN-4 tonifies both Yin and Yang (with moxa), as in Liu Wei Di Huang Wan and Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan, while DU-4 tonifies Yang only (Jin Gui Shen Qi Wan).
- REN-3 vs REN-4: REN-3 is used to sedate Excess, REN-4 to tonify Deficiency.
Five Elements Spirit Perspective
| Spirit of the Point | First Gate leads into the lower Dan Tian, the lower Cinnabar Field, a very powerful source of energy for strengthening the whole system. Energy passes through it first of all the gates, so it has to be kept open and well oiled, able to open and close as body, mind and spirit need. It is a place of essence: if someone's not in their life, it revitalizes their energy and warms up. Mentally it brings peace of mind, calm and order, and it roots the Hun when it is troubled at night. It is the meeting place of Shen and Jing, where the two mix, and it can relight the pilot light in anyone. It creates movement where there is stuckness, warms the lower burner, and encourages arousal, sexual energy and desire in life. It is a gate everything passes through on its way from REN-1. |
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| Worsley |
Location: On the front midline, 3 ACI below the umbilicus. |
| When to Consider |
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| Combinations |
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| Notes |
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From Class
- ST-40 Fenglong with SP-3: ST-40 transforms phlegm, clears worry-heat and calms Shen but drains a weak Spleen; pair with SP-3 Taibai or Ren-4/Ren-6/Ren-12. (Yuen)
- SP-6 / Ren-6 / Ren-4: Moxa on these to build spleen blood for low hematocrit. (Yuen)
- PC-3 Quze (water point) for fluid phlegm/edema: For fluid phlegm with edema, use PC-3 (water point) with Spleen points (SP-6, ST-40, SP-3, Ren-4) plus Ren-17 and digestive Pericardium points (PC-7, PC-6). (Yuen)
- Ren-3 and Ren-4 to consolidate Jing: 'Gu' (consolidate Jing — ancient inside a box): use Ren points the divergent trajectory passes through, e.g., Ren-3 and Ren-4. (Yuen)
- Ren-4 Guanyuan: From the center below the navel you feel the web of life stretching back through generations — the confluent point where ancestral streams meet. (Lewis)
- Ren-4, BL-22, BL-23, BL-52 (needle + moxa): To root kidney yang, support the adrenals and reduce stress in perimenopause; modify with yin tonics, clear liver heat, resolve damp, calm shen. (Lewis)
- Du-20, Ren-4, KI-7: Boost Kidney qi (very quiet Kidney pulses). (Fuggman)
- Diaphragm stasis: Ren-14 + Ren-4 dispersed, LI-6 bled; or SP-17 + KI-4 bled: For CHF/exertional breathlessness (lung qi failing to move blood); LI is yang of the lungs controlling the diaphragm; broken vessels at KI-4 mean jing-level stasis. (Gioioso)
- Interrupted pregnancy — low back pain: Low back pain = Kidney essence or Liver yin deficiency; gently warm the low back: BL-23, BL-52, moxa over Ren-4. (Lewis)
- Kidney qi: KI-12 to KI-14, KI-19, KI-27, Ren-4, Ren-6, Du points: Tonify kidney qi in cancer via Chong/Ren points KI-13, KI-14, KI-19, KI-27, Ren-4, Ren-6; enzyme protocols (Gerson, Kelley) fail when kidneys are weak. (Yuen)
- Cumin: Oil that resonates with Ren-4 Guanyuan; apply a drop on the point. (Yuen)
- Epilepsy: release stuck vertebrae; 'Du points of the Ren' to anchor yang: Palpate for stuck vertebrae; anchor yang with Ren-24, Ren-15, Ren-12, Ren-7, Ren-4; open Du with SI-3 plus BL-62, BL-63, BL-64. (Gioioso)
- Postnatal depression — Heart-Blood deficiency points: HT-5, HT-7, Ren-14, Ren-15, BL-15, LV-8, Du-20, Ren-4, ST-36, SP-6, Du-19, PC-6; reinforcing (Du-19 even); moxa applicable. (Maciocia)