The Yuan Source point of the Bladder channel. Jinggu (BL-64) is the great clearing and balancing point of the Bladder Meridian (BL) — it draws excess from the head downward, quiets interior Wind, and addresses the long sweep of the channel from the foot all the way up to the brain and Heart.
Contraindications
Jinggu BL-64 is a safe and accessible point on the outer foot. Use standard clean needling technique and keep to the recommended shallow depth.
Name & story
The name 京骨 Jinggu means "Capital Bone" — the large, prominent bone on the outer edge of the foot where the point sits. In ancient China, the capital was the most important, most powerful place in the land. The bone that carries this name is the most prominent landmark on the outer foot, and the point upon it is the most important — the Yuan Source — of its entire channel. There is something fitting about that: a point of deep authority, sitting at a bony landmark as recognisable as a capital city on a map.
Point family & character
Jinggu BL-64 belongs to the Bladder Meridian (BL). Its special character: it is the Yuan Source point of the Bladder channel — the point where the original Yuan Qi of the organ surfaces and can be directly accessed. Yuan Source points are where the deepest Qi of the organ gathers, making this one of the most direct ways to influence the Bladder and its paired organ, the Kidney.
Five-element dynamics
The Bladder Meridian (BL) belongs to the Water element, the element of the Kidneys and the deepest reserves of life. As the Yuan Source point, Jinggu BL-64 connects directly to that Water root. The Bladder channel is the longest in the body — it rises from the foot all the way to the inner corner of the eye, ascends over the skull, enters the brain, and its divergent branch reaches the Heart. This extraordinary pathway explains why a point on the outer foot can clear a splitting headache, settle palpitations, or calm the mind: the channel carries the needle's message the full length of the body.
Location
Find the large bony bump on the outer edge of the foot (the base of the fifth metatarsal). Jinggu BL-64 sits just forward and below that bump, in a natural hollow. It is distal to BL-63 and proximal to BL-65 along the outer foot.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies on the lateral (outer) side of the foot, in the depression just below and in front of the large tuberosity of the fifth metatarsal bone — the prominent bump you can feel on the outer edge of the foot.
Needling
The needle is inserted perpendicularly, straight into the depression on the lateral foot.
The golden tip
If you suffer from tension headaches that feel full and heavy, or notice your head is hot while your feet stay cold, try pressing Jinggu BL-64 yourself. Find the large bony bump on the outer edge of your foot and move just forward and below it into the hollow. Press firmly with your thumb for one to two minutes. It works well alongside gentle foot massage along the entire outer edge of the foot — following the Bladder channel's path downward and helping Qi descend from the head.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.