Mu or Mo points associated with the Zang-fu or visceral organs of the body, are surface points on the yin side, the front of the body. Commonly translated from Chinese, they are known as “Alarm” points since the character that describes them is that of troops being gathered for a coming attack. Many have seen these as that, and have used these points when to use in acute situations with the particular organ in trouble. As a sort of mustering troops to fight an impending illness. Others have translated them as “Gathering” or “Collecting” points, using the translation as to gather and collect troops so as to dispense them when in need. In an interesting article by Peter Eckman, in The Journal of Medical Acupuncture, He suggests that the Mu surface points are areas where the jing comes to the surface for that particular organ through the process of the Respiratory system, the Lungs. Using Daoist conceptualizations, he points out that in old practices it was believed that the jing circulates at birth in the first breath through the Mu points. When the child takes his first breath, a post-natal cycle emerges with the pre-natal. The air enters first through the Mu point of the Lu, then the Mu point of the LI, and so forth following the 5 element cycle. Metal-Water-Wood-Fire-Earth, through their Yin/Yang organ counterparts. In a preliminary preparation for Tendon and Bone marrow washing Qi Gong, Dr. Jwing-Ming Yang has a breathing technique, where one concentrates on the progression of Metal to Earth using the Mu points to collect qi for each of the organs. One can say that the Mu points are the closest areas on the surface of the body that the Jing may bubble up.

The Ancients of Mu, a fiction created by The KLF, have nothing to do with this article.

Categories: Acupuncture, Qi gong