EXT-1 - Four Alert Spirits
四神聪 - Sì shén cōng
Point Region: Head
Location & How to Find
Anatomical Location: Four points forming a cross around GV-20, each 1 cun away in the cardinal directions.
Distances are in cun, a unit that scales with each person's body. As a guide, the width of your thumb at its joint is 1 cun, and your four fingers held together, measured across the middle joints, are 3 cun.
Extra points have no international location standard, and Chinese texts number and place some of them differently. This location follows common teaching.
How to Locate:
- Locate the crown of your head (top center)
- Find GV-20 at the highest point where lines from ear to ear and nose to neck cross
- Measure one thumb-width (1 cun) forward, backward, left, and right from GV-20
- These four points form the Four Alert Spirits
How to Apply Pressure
These four points sit around the crown, each a thumb-width from GV-20. Press each one gently with a fingertip, one at a time. Skip them after a head injury or head surgery, over broken skin, or during a sudden severe headache of unknown cause, which needs medical care.
Traditional Indications
In TCM, this point is traditionally used for:
- Insomnia
- Dizziness
- Poor memory
- Tinnitus
- Blurred vision
- Headache
- Mental restlessness
- Anxiety
- Depression
Related Health Concerns
Related Acupoints
Select a point to see its location, how to find it, and its traditional uses.
Important Precautions
Avoid this point with:
- Severe head trauma
- Recent head surgery
- Open wounds on scalp
Take care:
- Apply gentle pressure only
- Avoid if experiencing severe headache of unknown origin