The doorway of the Corporeal Soul. Pohu (BL-42) is a deep back point that tends the lungs, steadies the breath, and anchors the Po — the instinctive, body-bound spirit that lives in the lungs and keeps us rooted in physical life.
Name & story
魄户 Pohu means "Door of the Po" or "Gate of the Corporeal Soul." The Po (魄) is one of the five spirits of Chinese medicine — the one tied most closely to the body, the breath, and the physical senses. Unlike the Shen, which soars with thought and consciousness, the Po is earthy and instinctive: it arrives with the body at birth and departs with the body at death. A 户 (hù) is a household door, a threshold. So this point is literally the doorway through which the Corporeal Soul enters and dwells — a portal in the back, right beside the lung, where breath begins. There is something quietly poetic in that image: every breath you draw passes through this gate.
Point family & character
Pohu (BL-42) belongs to the Bladder Meridian (BL) and sits on the outer Bladder line of the back — 3 Cun lateral to the midline, level with the Lung Back-Shu point Feishu (BL-13). It is one of the special "spirit points" of the outer Bladder line, a group that includes Shentang (BL-44, "Hall of the Shen"), Hunmen (BL-47, "Gate of the Hun"), Yishe (BL-49, "Dwelling of the Yi"), and Zhishi (BL-52, "Room of the Zhi") — each one corresponding to one of the five spirits housed in the five Yin organs.
Five-element dynamics
The Lung belongs to the Metal element, and the Po is the spirit of Metal — dense, descending, and intimately bound to physical form. Metal gives structure and boundary; it is what makes the body a body. The Po carries that quality: it governs our animal vitality, the automatic rhythms of breath and sensation, the felt sense of being alive in a body. When the Lung is weak or the Po loses its anchor — through grief, shock, chronic illness, or emotional numbness — this point reaches right to that root and helps restore it. Pohu (BL-42) does not simply treat lung symptoms; it tends the spirit behind the lung.
Location
Find the lower edge of the spinous process of the third thoracic vertebra (T3) — that is the same level as Feishu (BL-13) — and move 3 Cun outward from the midline. That wider outer line is where Pohu (BL-42) sits, about a full hand's width from the spine.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies in the region of the trapezius and rhomboid muscles, over the posterior chest wall at the level of the third thoracic vertebra.
The golden tip
Pohu (BL-42) sits on the upper back and is not easy to reach alone, but a partner can apply firm, steady pressure with both thumbs along the outer Bladder line, level with the shoulder blades, for a minute or two on each side. This is a lovely practice for anyone carrying grief, tension, or tightness in the chest. Deep, slow breathing while the pressure is held helps the Lung Qi descend and the Po settle. Gentle warmth — a warm compress or heat pack over the upper back — can have a similar calming effect.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.