The Heart Meridian

The Heart meridian (Shou Shao Yin Xin Jing) is one of the twelve principal channels of Chinese medicine, the network along which qi is held to circulate through the body. It is a Yin channel, paired with the Heart, and belongs to the phase of Fire in the five-phase (wu xing) scheme.

Function in the tradition

In the theory of the channels this meridian is concerned with the housing of the mind or spirit (shen) and the governing of the blood; in this tradition the Heart is called the sovereign. The twelve principal channels are arranged in yin-yang pairs and in a daily cycle through which qi is said to pass from one to the next, and the points along them are those used in acupuncture and related therapies.

The meridian is described here as a concept of traditional Chinese medicine, a system of ideas and practice with a long documented history, rather than as an anatomical structure of Western physiology.