The deep, calming point of the Heart channel. Shaohai (HT-3) clears Heat from the Heart, settles the mind and eases tension along the inner arm — a point that reaches both the physical and the emotional, wherever the Heart's Fire has burned too hot or too long.
Contraindications
Shaohai (HT-3) is a safe point for general use. No special contraindications are noted in the sources; simply observe standard needling depth and clean technique.
Name & story
The name 少海 Shaohai means "Lesser Sea" — shào (少) referring to the Heart (the Shaoyin channel) and hǎi (海) meaning sea. In Chinese medicine, a "sea" is a place where things gather and collect, deep and still. As the He-Sea point of the Heart channel, Shaohai is precisely that: the place where the channel's Qi pours inward and deepens, like a river finally reaching the ocean. There is something quietly poetic about giving the Heart's own gathering-point the image of a calm, vast sea — as if to say that beneath all the Heart's fire and restlessness, stillness is always waiting.
Point family & character
Shaohai (HT-3) belongs to the Heart Meridian (HT), the Shaoyin channel of the hand. In character it is the He-Sea point and the Water point of the channel — the fifth and final point along the pathway from fingertip to elbow, where the channel energy reaches its deepest expression.
Five-element dynamics
The Heart belongs to the Fire element, and Shaohai is its Water point — Water within Fire. This is a beautiful and important relationship: Water cools and controls Fire. When the Heart's Fire flares — bringing anxiety, restlessness, insomnia or heat sensations — Shaohai offers Water's calming, cooling, descending nature to bring things back into balance. It is the channel's built-in way of restraining its own excess.
Location
Find the inner (medial) end of the elbow crease when the arm is bent. Shaohai sits in the depression between the medial epicondyle of the humerus and the ulnar end of the elbow crease. Flex the elbow to bring the crease into view, and the point is there in the hollow at its medial end.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies at the medial end of the elbow crease, in the region of the medial epicondyle of the humerus, where the cubital fossa meets the inner elbow.
Needling
The needle is inserted perpendicularly, directed toward the point in the depression at the medial end of the elbow crease.
Safe depth
Safe depth — 0.5–1 Cun.
Moxa, cupping & Tui Na
The point responds well to acupressure and gentle massage along the inner elbow. Because its primary action is clearing Heat and calming, Moxa is used more selectively here — it is better suited to cases where Cold or deficiency is prominent. Gentle self-massage or pressing the point with a fingertip is a safe and useful home approach for tension and restlessness.
Functions
Clears Heat from the Heart; Calms the Shen and settles the mind. Transforms Phlegm and dissipates nodules. Benefits the sinews and joints of the elbow and arm. Regulates the Heart Qi and Blood (Xue).
Indications
Anxiety, restlessness and mental agitation from Heart Heat or Phlegm-Heat disturbing the Shen. Heart palpitations. Headache and dizziness. Pain, stiffness and limited movement of the elbow and inner arm; trembling of the hands. Scrofula and swellings in the axilla or along the channel. Toothache. Forgetfulness and poor memory.
Mind & spirit (Shen)
Shaohai's deepest gift is to the mind and spirit. The Heart is the home of the Shen — consciousness, thought, and the felt sense of who we are. When Heart Fire rises unchecked, or when Phlegm-Heat clouds the Heart's clarity, the Shen loses its anchor: sleep becomes broken, thoughts race, anxiety sits heavy in the chest. Shaohai, as the Water point of the Fire channel, quietly pours coolness into that fire. It does not suppress the Heart — it brings it back to stillness, the way a sea calms after a storm has passed.
Point combinations
With HT-7 (Shenmen) — for insomnia, anxiety and Heart palpitations, addressing both the Yuan Source and the He-Sea of the channel. With PC-3 (Quze) — for Heat patterns affecting the Heart and Pericardium. With local elbow points — for pain and restricted movement of the elbow joint.
Clinical spotlight
What makes Shaohai (HT-3) distinctive among Heart points is its dual role: it is both a mental-emotional point — cooling the Heart's Fire and quieting the Shen — and a local musculoskeletal point, widely used for elbow pain and stiffness along the inner arm. Its classification as the Water point of the Fire channel gives it a particular aptitude for Heat conditions: when the Heart's fire is genuinely excessive rather than simply deficient, Shaohai is often the right choice over the more tonifying HT-7. Its action on Phlegm and nodules also gives it a place in treating swellings and lumps along the channel pathway.
The golden tip
To find Shaohai, bend your elbow and look for the crease on the inner side — the point sits in the little hollow at the very end of that crease, close to the bony inner bump of the elbow. Pressing here firmly but gently for a minute or two can help ease tension, restlessness or a tight, achy inner elbow. It is safe to press daily. For anxiety or a racing mind, try holding the point with steady, calm pressure and breathing slowly — letting the "lesser sea" do its work.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.