A quietly remarkable point on the abdomen, Taiyi (ST-23) bridges the body and the mind in one location — calming agitation and restlessness while settling the digestive centre. When worry and stomach pain arrive together, this is a point worth knowing.
Name & story
The name 太乙 Taiyi carries deep philosophical weight in Chinese culture. Taiyi refers to the Great One — the primordial unity that existed before heaven and earth separated, before the pure rose upward and the turbid sank downward. It is the state of undivided wholeness at the very beginning of things. Placed on the abdomen near the region where the body is meant to sort the pure nourishment from the impure waste, this point takes its name from that cosmological moment of separation — or rather, from just before it happens. When that process goes wrong, when the gut cannot sort things out and the mind cannot settle either, Taiyi ST-23 is called upon to restore that original, quiet order.
Point family & character
Taiyi (ST-23) belongs to the Stomach Meridian (ST), sitting on the abdomen two Cun above the navel and two Cun lateral to the midline.
Five-element dynamics
The Stomach channel belongs to the Earth element, and the abdomen is its home territory — the great sorting house of the Middle Burner where food and drink are received, separated and transformed. Taiyi ST-23 sits close to that region of the abdomen responsible for the separation of pure and impure, the clean nourishment that rises and the waste that descends. When this process is disrupted — whether by Cold, Qi Stagnation or emotional turmoil — the point acts to restore that fundamental order. What makes it especially interesting is that in Chinese medicine, the Stomach and its neighbour the Spleen are not only digestive organs but are intimately tied to thought, worry and mental rumination. Earth, when out of balance, over-thinks. Taiyi ST-23 works on both levels at once.
Location
Find the navel, then measure two Cun directly upward. From that level, move two Cun out to the side (lateral to the midline). The point sits at the crossing of those two lines, level with Xiawan Ren-10.
Anatomy & fascia
The point lies on the anterior abdominal wall, over the rectus abdominis muscle.
Needling
The needle is inserted perpendicularly (straight in).
Moxa, cupping & Tui Na
Gentle massage or acupressure at this point can help calm anxiety and ease abdominal discomfort. Warmth — a warm compress or careful Moxa — may be appropriate when there is Cold in the abdomen accompanying the symptoms.
Functions
Calms the Shen and quiets agitation and restlessness. Benefits the Stomach and abdomen. Moves Qi in the Middle Burner. Addresses psycho-emotional disturbance alongside digestive disorder.
Indications
Abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and general digestive discomfort, especially when they occur alongside emotional agitation. Mania, manic-depressive states, and tongue thrusting — these are among the classical indications cited in texts such as the Systematic Classic and Thousand Ducat Formulas. Anxiety focused on the chest and abdomen, accompanied by palpitations, tightness of the chest, and disturbed digestion.
Mind & spirit (Shen)
Taiyi ST-23 has a special and rather touching story to tell about the mind. Chinese medicine has always understood that the gut and the emotions are inseparable — a truth that feels very modern but is thousands of years old. This point is particularly suited to the person whose anxiety lives in the belly: the tight stomach before an important event, the diarrhoea that comes with fear, the chest that feels knotted alongside the cramping gut. The Shen — the spirit that resides in the Heart — loses its calm when the Middle is in turmoil, and Taiyi ST-23 addresses both at the same time. Classically it was used in quite severe mental disturbance including mania and tongue thrusting, pointing to its real capacity to anchor and quiet a disordered mind.
Point combinations
With Huaroumen ST-24 — for mania-depression with tongue thrusting (Systematic Classic). With Feiyang BL-58 and Huaroumen ST-24 — for madness and mania disorder with tongue thrusting (Thousand Ducat Formulas). With Zhubin KID-9 — for tongue thrusting (Supplementing Life).
Clinical spotlight
What makes Taiyi ST-23 genuinely distinctive is its dual territory: it works on the abdomen and the mind simultaneously, and the sources are explicit that this combination is its special strength. Deadman notes that its dual action on psycho-emotional and abdominal disorders renders it especially suitable for conditions where both present together — anxiety with palpitations and chest tightness alongside abdominal pain and diarrhoea. This gut-mind connection, treated at a single point, is a beautiful expression of how Chinese medicine refuses to separate body from spirit. Its classical use in severe mania and tongue thrusting also places it among the points with real psychiatric reach, a fact that tends to surprise students who overlook this quiet abdominal point.
The golden tip
If you tend to feel worry or anxiety in your stomach — tightness, cramping or loose stools when stressed — Taiyi ST-23 is worth exploring. Find it two fingers above the navel and two fingers out to the side. Press gently with your fingertip, breathe slowly, and hold for one to two minutes. A warm hand or warm compress over the area can add comfort. It is a gentle, safe point for self-care.
For education only — not medical advice. Consult a qualified practitioner.