TEFILLIN: AN ANCIENT ACUPUNCTURE POINT PRESCRIPTION FOR MENTAL CLARITY

5 JOURNAL OF CHINESE MEDICINE NUMBER 70 OCTOBER 2002 TEFILLIN: AN ANCIENT ACUPUNCTURE POINT PRESCRIPTION FOR MENTAL CLARITY by Steven Schram Baihui DU-20 Shangxing DU-23 Shenting DU-24 Fengfu DU-16 Introduction Tefillin is an ancient Jewish prayer ritual that uses two small leather boxes, each attached to a long, 9mm wide, leather strap. One box is placed on the biceps of the weaker arm while the second is placed on the head. The biceps strap is tightly wound along the arm

in a carefully prescribed manner. The back of the head strap is tied in a knot and carefully placed at the base of the skull. The acknowledged purpose of the tefillin is to raise spiritual consciousness of the men who wear it. If we examine where the knots and wrappings are placed from a TCM point of view, it appears that the tefillin and wraps form a potent acupuncture point formula focused on the Governing vessel (Du Mai) and aimed at elevating the spirit and clearing the mind. The head tefillin The head tefillin is the simplest to examine as its positioning is very explicitly defined. The box is always placed midway between the eyes with the base of the tefillin placed on the forehead so the bottom edge remains just inside the hair- line. The diagram below shows this location as Shenting DU-24. The weight of the box (several ounces) is a little further back at Shangxing DU-23; the exact placement of weight will vary slightly depending on the size of the box. The knot in the back (where the strap is tied together) is placed just under the external occipital protuberance. This corre- sponds to Fengfu DU-16. Once...

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