Triple Energizer Channel
Celestial Cleft
天髎Tiān LiáoAnatomical location
At the superior angle of the scapula, in the depression superior to the medial border of the supraspinous fossa, at the midpoint between GV14 (Dazhui) and the acromion.
Main function
Expels Wind, benefits the shoulder and back, relieves pain.
Therapeutic indications
- Shoulder pain
- neck stiffness
- back pain
- headache
- arm pain
- shoulder and neck pain
- cervical stiffness
- fever without sweating
- scapular pain
Name and classical tradition
Tianliao, 天髎, is the “hollow of heaven.” 天 marks the upper part of the body; 髎 is the bony hollow. The point lies in a depression on the upper part of the scapula, and the positional reading is the simplest. Another modern gloss describes it as the place where the channel's Qi, at its most superficial level, disperses its Heat.
The first work to record it is the Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion), and the sources agree that it is a crossing point of the hand Shaoyang with the Yang Wei Mai. It is near SI11, Tianzong, on the scapula, and it shares the 天 with the channel's other two points, TE10 and TE16, which are in different regions.
