Do-In / Tao-Yin Self-Massage Circuit
Do-In / Tao-Yin Self-Massage Circuit is a Chinese / Taoist — Do-In Tao-Yin circuit body system as transmitted through the lineage Daoyin (導引) is an early Chinese tradition of guiding and stretching the body with breath, while Japanese Do-In is a modern self-massage and meridian-oriented practice that inherits and reworks East Asian bodywork ideas. The Mawangdui Daoyin tu supplies an early visual witness to exercise figures; the ordered eleven-point circuit here is a modern self-care synthesis rather than a sequence prescribed by that manuscript.. This page lists every point in the system with sourced placements and links to cross-tradition correspondences curated for The Body Spiritual.
Open in interactive explorerPrimary sources
- Mawangdui Daoyin tu (導引圖), Tomb 3 silk manuscript (Excavated at Mawangdui, Changsha; early Han period, 2nd century BCE) — The Daoyin tu preserves illustrated movement and exercise figures in an early Han manuscript witness; it does not prescribe this modern eleven-point self-massage circuit.
- Huangdi Neijing · Suwen (transl. Unschuld, University of California Press 2011) — Suwen ch. 1 discusses seasonal self-cultivation, movement, and preserving harmony; it supports the historical body-cultivation frame but not this exact point order.
- Modern Do-In teaching manuals (20th–21st-century Japanese and East Asian self-massage syntheses) — Secondary practical sources used for contemporary Do-In terminology, self-massage sequencing, and accessible point selection.
Known lineage variants
- Daoyin, Tao-Yin, and Japanese Do-In overlap in movement and breath language but are not one unchanged historical system. The point sequence and central circulation channel are explicitly modern synthesis choices informed by the early Daoyin witness and later East Asian bodywork.
- The Daoyin tu depicts exercise figures rather than a standardized point atlas. All point positions below are editorial front-view projections, with widened uncertainty radii where a traditional practice locus is broad or internal.
- The central circuit is shown on the front view for legibility. It is an iconic practice route, not a claim that a physical tube or vascular structure follows the plotted line.
- Anatomical right is x < 0.5 and anatomical left is x > 0.5. Bilateral self-massage areas are represented by midpoint markers when the circuit is not teaching laterality.
Cross-tradition overlaps
- Tiāntū — throat release point ↔ Microcosmic orbit — throat centre (tiāntū) (distance 0.010)
- Tiāntū — throat release point ↔ Microcosmic orbit — throat centre (tiāntū) (distance 0.010)
- Shānzhōng — chest-breath point ↔ Microcosmic orbit — chest midline (shànzhōng) (distance 0.015)
- Shānzhōng — chest-breath point ↔ Microcosmic orbit — chest midline (shànzhōng) (distance 0.015)
Related systems
No other systems share this tradition label.
Points
- Bǎihuì — crown attention point — Opening touch
- Yìntáng — brow attention point — Breath and gaze settling
- Tiāntū — throat release point — Neck and breath transition
- Shānzhōng — chest-breath point — Chest opening
- Zhōngwǎn — upper-abdomen point — Digestive centre
- Qìhǎi — navel-below reservoir point — Breath and centre
- Guānyuán — lower-centre point — Pelvic grounding
- Mìngmén — lumbar gate reference — Back-body checkpoint projected front
- Láogōng — palm self-massage point — Hand emission focus
- Yǒngquán — sole grounding point — Foot contact
- Huìyīn — pelvic-floor reference — Circuit seal
Frequently asked
What is Bǎihuì — crown attention point?
Bǎihuì is used as the opening crown attention point in this self-massage circuit. Its central vertex coordinate is a front-view teaching marker and not a claim that the Daoyin manuscript labels one exact modern acupoint.
What is Yìntáng — brow attention point?
Yìntáng is placed between the brows as a settling touch before the body sequence. The modern point name and the self-massage order belong to later teaching practice, not directly to the Mawangdui figure captions.
What is Tiāntū — throat release point?
Tiāntū marks the throat transition where gentle touch and breath awareness are often paired in modern self-care instruction. The front projection is deliberately broad because the traditional bodywork locus is sensitive and context-dependent.
What is Shānzhōng — chest-breath point?
Shānzhōng is included as a chest-breath attention point in the modern circuit. Its location is a front-view projection for gentle self-contact and does not claim a unique physiological mechanism.
What is Zhōngwǎn — upper-abdomen point?
Zhōngwǎn marks the upper-abdomen centre in the self-massage sequence. The digestive association belongs to the East Asian bodywork vocabulary and is not a biomedical diagnosis statement.
What is Qìhǎi — navel-below reservoir point?
Qìhǎi is placed below the navel as a centre-of-breath teaching marker. Its deep label reflects traditional energetic language, while the coordinate remains an uncertain visual approximation.
What is Guānyuán — lower-centre point?
Guānyuán is included as a lower-centre grounding touch in modern Do-In-style sequences. The marker is not a prescription for pressure at a pelvic or reproductive site and should be read as a lineage diagram only.
What is Mìngmén — lumbar gate reference?
Mìngmén is a posterior lumbar reference projected just beside the front-view midline so it remains visible. The offset and large uncertainty radius explicitly mark the loss of back-surface information.
What is Láogōng — palm self-massage point?
Láogōng is shown on the anatomical-right hand as a self-massage and contact focus. Because the hand is small in the body silhouette, the marker is enlarged for visibility and is not a scale drawing.
What is Yǒngquán — sole grounding point?
Yǒngquán closes the circuit at the sole as a grounding contact point. A front-view midpoint stands for bilateral feet and is a visual teaching convention rather than a literal midline sole anatomy claim.
What is Huìyīn — pelvic-floor reference?
Huìyīn is a pelvic-floor reference used to close the conceptual circulation in this modern circuit. It is projected onto the front silhouette with a large uncertainty radius because the anatomical surface is not visible from this view.