腰俞 Yaoshu
“Waist Way-Station” · GV2
Governing Vessel · 2 of 28
Where. On the midline at the base of the back, in the hollow just above the tailbone, between two small bony knobs.
For. Low-back and sacral ache, haemorrhoids, irregular periods.
Press. Firm with a fingertip, about a minute.
在第二十一椎節下間按 · Press with me
Six slow breaths
About a minute. Press as you breathe out, ease as you breathe in.
鄰 · Neighbouring leaves
Where Yaoshu Sits at the Base of the Spine
On the sacrum, on the posterior midline, exactly over the sacral hiatus — the dataset’s location sentence packs the whole address into three clauses. Unpacked: the sacrum is the broad, triangular bone at the base of the spine, set into the back wall of the pelvis between the two hip bones; the posterior midline is the vertical seam running down the centre of the back; and the sacral hiatus is the small opening at the bone’s lower end, where the roof of the bony canal that once carried nerves simply stops short. Below the sacrum sits the coccyx, the small tailbone, and the hiatus lies just above that junction — tucked between two horn-like projections called the sacral cornua.
What the fingertip meets here is gentler country than most of the spine. Along the rest of the sacrum’s back surface the fingers travel over ridges of fused bone; at the hiatus the firmness suddenly yields to a shallow, soft-walled gap spanned by tough fibrous tissue and skin. The two cornua flank it like small gateposts, remnants of joint surfaces that once met the coccyx. Because so little tissue separates the surface from the opening, the site rewards the lightest possible attention: this is a place to rest fingertips, not to lean on them. Every suggestion on this page keeps contact superficial by design, letting the landmarks announce themselves to patient, unhurried touch rather than to pressure.
The point’s neighbors sketch the channel it serves. One step lower, past the coccyx tip, lies Changqiang (GV1), tucked between the tip of the tailbone and the anus; one long stride up the spine brings you to Yaoyangguan (GV3), level with the highest points of the iliac crests — the rims of the hip bones you can trace at your waistband. Between them, Yaoshu holds the lowest station on the spine proper. The Du vessel — the Governing Vessel — runs up the midline of the back and head, and classical teaching credits it with uniting all the yang meridians, the channels associated with warmth, activity, and the body’s outward defenses. At the foot of that great ascent, the vessel passes directly over the sacral hiatus, and there tradition planted this point.
A Self-Palpation Walkthrough
Finding the point by touch takes less anatomy than the description suggests — the coccyx does most of the navigating. Lie face down with a pillow under the ankles, or kneel and fold forward onto a table, so the muscles across the buttocks soften. Reach back and find the coccyx first: the small, slightly mobile knob of bone at the very bottom of the spine, easiest to identify at the lower end of the groove between the buttocks. From the tip, glide your fingertip upward onto the smooth triangle of the sacrum. Within about a thumb-width you will meet two small, symmetrical bumps standing close together astride the midline — the sacral cornua. Settle your fingertip in the soft hollow directly between them: that faintly tender gap is the sacral hiatus, and Yaoshu lies exactly there.
Two confirmations turn a good guess into a confident find. First, quality of touch: press feather-light and compare the spot with a finger-width away — over solid sacral bone there is only dull resistance, while over the hiatus most people register a faintly sore, yielding awareness right in the midline hollow. Second, orientation: the spot should sit on the central seam of the sacrum, below where a belt rides and above the top of the gluteal cleft, dead-centre between the two halves of the pelvis. If your finger rests on unbroken, uniformly hard bone, it has drifted off — usually a little too high onto the fused crests. Slide down again toward the coccyx until the two gateposts and the soft gap reappear.
The classic mistakes cluster at both ends of the search. Too low, and the finger lands on the coccyx itself, which is mobile, tender, and unmistakably not the sacrum — if the knob wiggles, retreat upward. Too high, and the search stalls on the median crest, the ridge of fused bony processes running up the sacrum’s back, where everything feels uniformly rigid and horn-less. Losing the midline happens most often when lying twisted to one side, so square the hips against the floor before searching. And because every sacrum differs in width and curve, resist comparing yourself to diagrams: return to the coccyx tip each session and measure the short distance up anew. Thirty seconds of unhurried search beats minutes of hopeful pressing.
Reading the Name: the Waist’s Way-Station
The name divides cleanly in two. Yao 腰 is the waist — the lower back, the girdle region of the trunk, the same word that anchors everyday terms for the lumbar area. Shu 俞 belongs to the vocabulary of point-craft itself: written across the tradition alongside the character shu 輸, to convey, and the character shu 腧, the generic word for acupoints, it names a place where the qi and blood of a channel gather, pool, and pass onward — a way-station rather than a bare milepost. Paired together, Yaoshu reads as the waist’s way-station: the spot on the Governing Vessel where, in the traditional image, the traffic of the lower spine pauses at the sacral door before continuing its ascent.
The image fits the geography. Classical channel theory draws the Du vessel rising from the region below the coccyx, over the sacrum, then up along the vertebrae of the spine to the crown of the head — a single midline river charged, in the traditional account, with marshalling all the yang meridians. A point planted at the vessel’s lowest named station on the spine proper naturally attracted the language of gates and relays: below it the channel slips beneath the tailbone, above it begins the long public climb. Whether or not one adopts the classical physiology, the naming logic is easy to appreciate — the ancients marked their maps the way travelers mark mountain passes, at the places where the road narrows and everything funnels through.
Pinyin renders the name Yāoshū under the annotation convention used by standard acupuncture textbooks: yao carries the high, level first tone, and shu likewise takes the first tone in point-name romanizations. Readers who consult general-purpose dictionaries will notice a wrinkle — the character 俞, when glossed in its acupoint sense, is sometimes annotated with a falling fourth tone instead, and both readings circulate in print. The hanzi themselves are pleasantly economical: two characters, waist and way-station, sketched in a handful of strokes. Like the gates, valleys, and courtyards scattered through point nomenclature, the metaphor earns its keep — it says the tradition treated this spot as a collecting-place, somewhere the channel slows enough to be greeted and looked after.
Traditional Indications, Explained
The recorded indications read: pain of the lower back and sacrum; atrophy and paralysis of the lower limbs; rectal prolapse; haemorrhoids; irregular menstruation; and epilepsy. Framed as heritage rather than promise, classical practice traditionally reached for Yaoshu first among these for complaints of the lumbosacral region — the deep ache across the base of the spine after strain, cold, or long sitting. The second entry belongs to a distinct classical category, wei, a family of patterns in which the limbs grow weak, withered, or unresponsive. Ancient physicians discussed such weakness as a disorder of channel nourishment, and points along the spine’s lower reaches recur throughout those discussions. None of this vocabulary maps one-to-one onto modern diagnoses; it is a different cartography of the body.
The middle entries share a neighborhood logic. Rectal prolapse and haemorrhoids concern the anal region, and Yaoshu overlooks the pelvic floor from directly behind — close enough, in the traditional geometry, that disorders of that region were grouped with the low sacral points of the Governing Vessel. Irregular menstruation appears beside them because the classical frame tied the womb and the lower back into one conversational circuit; lumbosacral points across the tradition carry gynecological indications for that reason. Epilepsy rounds out the list: the Du vessel was described ascending the spine into the head, and classical texts accordingly threaded disorders of the mind and senses through many of its points. These are traditional explanations of association, offered for understanding — not statements that pressure at this point addresses any of them.
It bears repeating plainly: these are the traditional uses recorded in a licensed dataset and handed down through classical literature, presented for cultural and historical understanding. They are not claims that pressing this point treats disease, and nothing on this page replaces assessment by a qualified clinician. Where modern research has touched self-applied acupressure at all, published reviews suggest effects are modest and heavily context-dependent, and evidence gathered at any single point remains thin. Hold the tradition the way one holds an old map — with interest, and with a clear eye about its age — while holding the safety rules of the next sections firmly.
Self-Care Acupressure at Home
With the point found, settle in: kneeling, lying face down, or seated on a firm chair leaning forward over a cushion — whichever lets your low back release first. Curl your index and middle fingers together and rest the pads, never the tips or knuckles, in the hollow between the cornua. Begin with contact alone for a few slow breaths, then add small, slow circles, letting the skin glide rather than grinding against bone. Sensation should register as a spreading dullness, mild ache, or pleasant warmth; anything sharp means ease off at once. A common home rhythm is one to three minutes, once or twice daily, timed to unhurried exhales. Unlike paired points on the limbs, this is a single midline station — there is no other side to swap to, only a return visit another day.
Quality matters more than duration. Warm your hands first if they run cold, because chilled muscle guards and dulled fingers miss the subtle yield of the hiatus. Keep fingernails short and the motion small; the sacral tissue answers patience, not persistence of force. Many people like to follow the minute of pressing with a minute of gentle movement — standing, hands resting on the low back, easing into a slow arch and round of the spine — so the warmed area gets to move before the day resumes. Anchoring the practice to an existing habit, such as after a morning shower or before bed, suits it well; self-care traditions ask for regularity far more than intensity.
Treat the exercise as a small ceremony of attention. Across weeks you may notice the area feels less guarded, that sitting eases after a session, or perhaps nothing shifts except that ninety seconds of the day now belong to your own base of support. Every one of those outcomes sits honestly within what self-acupressure offers. What sits outside it is escalation — pressing harder, longer, or deeper to compel a result. When curiosity pulls that direction, return to the light touch that already works, or simply stop for the day; the point will be waiting tomorrow.
Cautions and Safe Practice
The licensed record for this point carries no specific caution lines, and honesty requires reporting that fact exactly rather than manufacturing drama around it. An absence of recorded cautions, though, is not an invitation to force. The sacral hiatus is a thin-tissue crossing on every body, the surrounding skin absorbs everyday pressures from sitting, and the general discipline that governs all home acupressure applies here with full strength: light, superficial, brief, and attentive. Points without warnings in the old books still belong to bodies with limits, and the safest practitioners are the ones who behave identically at both kinds of site.
The practical rules are short. Use finger pads only — no elbows, knuckles, massage tools, or devices. Skip the point entirely over broken, irritated, or infected skin, and pause the practice during any acutely painful or bleeding flare of haemorrhoids, seeking care promptly if bleeding is new, heavy, or persistent. Stop at once on sharp, electric, or radiating sensation and do not retry that day. Pregnant readers, and anyone with osteoporosis, a history of spinal fracture or surgery, or a diagnosed spinal condition, should consult a qualified practitioner before adding any pressure practice over the sacrum. Discomfort that worsens rather than settles, or numbness and tingling that follows a session, belongs with a professional, not with another attempt.
And the wider rule stands over everything: this page is educational only, and acupressure is self-care, not diagnosis or therapy. Seek prompt medical assessment — not a longer pressing session — for low back pain accompanied by fever or unexplained weight loss, for numbness, weakness, or tingling traveling down a leg, and especially for any change in bladder or bowel control, which is always urgent. Persistent back pain deserves a licensed practitioner, Western or East Asian medical as suits the complaint. The way-station imagery is charming, but the most valuable thing Yaoshu offers most visitors is simply a better acquaintance with the base of their own spine, treated kindly.
Yaoshu, the Waist Transport, marks the quiet start of the Governing Vessel’s climb along the spine, resting on the sacrum exactly over the sacral hiatus between two small bony horns. Classical practice reached for it when the lower back and sacrum ached. This guide walks through finding it by touch and pressing it gently.
Self-care limits
Frequently asked
- How do I find Yaoshu without learning any anatomy?
- Let the tailbone navigate. Find the small knob of bone at the very bottom of the spine, glide upward onto the smooth sacral triangle, and stop at the first pair of symmetrical little bumps astride the midline — the sacral cornua. The soft hollow directly between them is the sacral hiatus, and that completes the address. The sequence takes seconds once familiar and needs no ruler, no cun tables, and no diagrams.
- Is pressing Yaoshu myself actually safe?
- Gentle fingertip contact held on the surface is generally reasonable self-care for healthy adults, and the licensed dataset records no specific caution for this point. The practical risks come from force, tools, and broken skin rather than from the location itself, so keep pressure light, stay superficial, and honour the stop signals — sharp pain, radiating sensation, or worsening discomfort all mean finish immediately. Anyone pregnant, or living with osteoporosis or a spinal condition, should ask a qualified practitioner first.
- What did classical practice use Yaoshu for?
- The traditional record lists pain of the lower back and sacrum, weakness of the lower limbs, rectal prolapse, haemorrhoids, irregular menstruation, and epilepsy, each understood through classical frameworks rather than modern diagnoses. The point’s position at the base of the spine explains the lumbosacral emphasis, and the Governing Vessel’s ascent toward the head explains why conditions of mind and senses thread through its historic portfolio. These are documented traditional associations for cultural context — not evidence-backed treatment claims.
- Why does a low-back point belong to the Governing Vessel?
- Classical theory draws the Du vessel rising along the midline of the back and head, uniting all the yang meridians, and the sacral midline is part of that route. Yaoshu sits on the vessel’s lowest stretch along the spine proper, with Changqiang (GV1) below the tailbone and Yaoyangguan (GV3) farther up at the waist. Assigning this spot to the Governing Vessel simply follows the map: wherever the midline channel travels, its stations travel with it.
- Can acupressure at Yaoshu replace seeing a doctor about my back pain?
- No. Self-acupressure is a comfort practice, not a diagnostic tool. Pain with fever or unexplained weight loss, numbness or weakness running down a leg, or any change in bladder or bowel control calls for prompt professional assessment, and persistent pain deserves a practitioner regardless of how the daily routine feels. Think of the two as different floors of one building: daily self-care lives downstairs, and the consulting room upstairs opens whenever symptoms persist or escalate.
Sources
- 01WHO Standard Acupuncture Point Locations in the Western Pacific Region (2008), World Health Organization — nomenclature conventions.
- 02A Manual of Acupuncture, Peter Deadman, Mazin Al-Khafaji and Kevin Baker — point-name tradition and sacral-location context.
- 03aijiu-mpvue (MIT License) licensed dataset, entry for GV2 Yaoshu — location, actions, and point-class record.
Last reviewed
牌記This leaf, for machines
Old books ended with a colophon saying who printed them. Every leaf here carries the same facts as structured data for agents and search, with no layout in the way.
- GET /en/points/gv2/leaf.json
- GET /zh-hant/points/gv2/leaf.json
- GET /zh-cn/points/gv2/leaf.json
- /llms.txt — the index of every leaf
- JSON-LD in the page: MedicalWebPage, MedicalEntity and FAQPage
{
"id": "GV2",
"name": {
"en": "Yaoshu",
"gloss": "Waist Way-Station",
"zh-Hant": "腰俞",
"zh-Hans": "腰俞"
},
"channel": {
"id": "GV",
"order": 2,
"of": 28
},
"location": {
"text": "On the midline at the base of the back, in the hollow just above the tailbone, between two small bony knobs."
},
"for": [
"low-back and sacral ache",
"haemorrhoids",
"irregular periods"
],
"press": {
"text": "Firm with a fingertip, about a minute.",
"seconds": 60
},
"cautions": [],
"source": "Zhenjiu Jiayi Jing, book 3",
"url": "https://acupoints.com/en/points/gv2",
"lastReviewed": "2026-08-24"
}