Taiyi

What is ST23?

ST23 (Taiyi) is a Stomach channel point on the upper abdomen, about two thumb-widths above the navel and two thumb-widths out to the side.

Its Chinese name, Taiyi, is usually translated as "Supreme Unity". It sits in a run of Stomach channel points that march down the front of the belly, between ST22 above it and ST24 below it.

In classical Chinese medicine, ST23 was grouped with the abdominal points used for digestive complaints: stomach pain, fullness after eating, rumbling and loose stools. Older texts also list it for agitation, restlessness and what they called "mania" — a mental-unrest use that modern practitioners rarely lean on. It is taught in most point curricula, but it is a secondary point rather than a headline one like ST36 or ST25.

Here is the honest verdict on the evidence. There is no controlled human research testing finger pressure on ST23 for anything. What exists is tradition, practitioner habit and a wider body of small, mostly unblinded acupuncture studies that use other abdominal points. That is a long way from proof.

Two things are worth saying once, clearly, because the rest of this page does not repeat them. First, the fact that a point has been used for a thousand years is not evidence that it works; long use tells you about custom, not effect. Second, long use is not evidence that it is safe either — the abdomen is a soft region with organs and large blood vessels under it, and some people genuinely should keep their hands off this spot.

Used sensibly, self-applied pressure on ST23 is a low-cost comfort measure. It is not a treatment for a diagnosed condition, and it should never delay a proper look at abdominal pain that is new, severe or getting worse.

Where is ST23 and how do you find it?

ST23 sits on the upper abdomen, two cun above the centre of the navel and two cun out to the side of the midline — roughly two thumb-widths up and two across.

• Start at your navel. Put a fingertip in the centre of your belly button. Every measurement for ST23 is taken from this point, so get it right before moving on.
• Measure upward. Travel straight up the midline about two cun. One cun is roughly the width of your own thumb at the knuckle, so this is about two thumb-widths, or 4-5 cm on most adults. You are now level with the point called CV10.
• Measure sideways. From that midline spot, move out to the left or right about two cun again — two more thumb-widths. ST23 exists on both sides of the body.
• Check the muscle. You should land over the belly of the rectus abdominis, the vertical "six-pack" muscle. If you tense your stomach gently, you can feel the firm band under your fingers. ST23 sits over it, not out past its outer edge.
• Feel for the response. Many people notice a slightly fuller, duller or more tender feeling here than on the skin either side. That soft ache is the usual sign you are in the right area.

Use your own hand to measure, not someone else's. Hand size tracks body size well enough that your thumb is the right ruler for your torso.

Two neighbours cause confusion. ST25 is level with the navel, not above it. ST21 is a full three cun above the navel, one thumb-width higher than ST23. If you have drifted up or down, you have found a different point.

If your abdomen is soft and you feel a deep, steady pulse under your fingers near the midline, that is a large blood vessel. Move away from it and do not press there.

How do you apply pressure to ST23?

1. Pick your moment. Wait at least an hour after a large meal. Pressing a full stomach is uncomfortable and can make reflux worse.
2. Lie down and bend your knees. Lie on your back with your feet flat and knees up. This lets the abdominal wall go soft, so you are pressing into muscle rather than a braced board.
3. Locate the point. Measure two thumb-widths above the navel and two to the side, as described above. Treat one side at a time, or both together if that is comfortable.
4. Use flat finger pads. Place the pads of your index and middle finger on ST23. Never use a knuckle, a thumbnail, a pen cap or a massage tool here.
5. Sink in slowly on an out-breath. Breathe out and let your fingers settle in gradually over a few seconds. The abdomen gives way more than a limb does, so slow is safer than firm.
6. Judge the pressure. Aim for a dull, bearable ache — somewhere around three or four out of ten. Sharp, stabbing or spreading pain means ease off straight away.
7. Hold or circle gently. Hold steady for 30 to 60 seconds, or make small, slow circles that move the skin with your fingers rather than rubbing across it.
8. Release slowly. Lift your fingers over a couple of seconds. Rest for half a minute, then repeat up to three times per side if it still feels comfortable.

Two or three short sessions a day is plenty. A session need not last more than five minutes in total.

Stop immediately and do not continue if you feel a deep pulsing under your fingers, a lump or bulge, sharp pain, rising nausea, faintness, or pain that spreads to your back or shoulder. Let any soreness settle for a full day before trying again, and keep the pressure lighter next time.

What is ST23 traditionally used for?

• Stomach pain and epigastric fullness. This is the main classical use of ST23 — discomfort, pressure or a blocked feeling in the upper belly. No trial has tested finger pressure on ST23 for this. Broader studies of acupuncture for functional dyspepsia (indigestion with no structural cause) are small, often unblinded, and generally use other points.
• Bloating and rumbling. Tradition pairs ST23 with a gurgling, distended abdomen. Evidence here is indirect at best: some small trials of general abdominal self-massage report modest comfort benefits, but they do not isolate this point, and the effect may simply be the warmth and slow breathing involved.
• Loose stools and irregular digestion. Classical texts list diarrhoea among its indications. There is no human research on ST23 for bowel habit. If your bowel pattern has changed and stayed changed, that needs a diagnosis, not a pressure point.
• Nausea and poor appetite. Sometimes used as a secondary point when the stomach feels unsettled. The point with genuinely good human evidence for nausea is PC6 at the wrist, where multiple controlled trials support wristband and finger pressure. ST23 has nothing like that behind it, so do not substitute one for the other.
• Restlessness and agitation. Old texts link Taiyi to mental unrest and "mania". This reflects a classical theory about the Stomach channel and the spirit, not any modern finding. There is no evidence that pressing ST23 affects mood or any mental health condition, and it is not a substitute for care.

A fair summary: ST23 is a traditional digestive-comfort point with no direct human evidence of its own. Some people find slow abdominal pressure soothing after a heavy meal, and that is a reasonable reason to use it. It is not a reason to expect a particular outcome.

Are there tips for using ST23 effectively?

• Let the belly go soft first. Lie down with knees bent and take three slow breaths before you touch the point. A braced abdomen resists pressure and the session just feels like prodding.
• Follow the breath. Sink in as you breathe out and hold lightly as you breathe in. This keeps the pressure from fighting the movement of your diaphragm.
• Warm your hands. Cold fingers on the belly make most people tense up. Rub your palms together, or rest a warm hand flat over the area for half a minute before starting.
• Work both sides. ST23 is a paired point. Treating only one side is not harmful, but doing both tends to feel more balanced and takes barely longer.
• Keep it short and regular. Two or three short sessions beat one long grinding one. Long, heavy pressure on the abdomen leaves it sore for a day.
• Use it after meals, not during. Leave an hour after eating. Pressing a loaded stomach can push acid upward and worsen reflux.
• Pair it with something boring that works. Slower eating, smaller portions, less alcohol and a short walk after dinner have far better support for indigestion than any point does. Treat ST23 as an add-on.
• Keep a simple log. Note the date, what you felt beforehand, and what changed an hour later. Most people overestimate benefit from memory alone, and a log shows you whether it is actually doing anything for you.
• Set a stopping rule in advance. Decide you will give it two weeks. If nothing has shifted, stop and look elsewhere rather than pressing harder.
• Mind the skin. Trim your nails and skip any area with a rash, scar, stretch-marked tender skin or a fresh bruise.

What do people get wrong with ST23?

• Expecting a cure. This is the big one. ST23 does not fix an ulcer, gallstones, reflux disease or irritable bowel. At best it is a comfort measure, and treating it as a remedy delays a real diagnosis.
• Confusing it with ST25. ST25 sits level with the navel; ST23 is two thumb-widths higher. Plenty of videos mislabel the two, and the landmarks are genuinely different.
• Drifting up to ST21. ST21 is three cun above the navel — one thumb-width above ST23. Measuring from the ribs instead of the navel is how people end up there by accident.
• Digging in hard. The abdomen has no bone behind it to stop you. Deep, forceful pressure here risks bruising and achy muscle, and more force does not mean more effect.
• Pressing on a pulse. If you feel a strong deep throb, you are near a major vessel. People sometimes assume the pulsing means they have found the point. It does not — move off and stop.
• Using a tool. Massage sticks, pens and hard balls concentrate force into a small area of soft tissue. Finger pads only on the abdomen.
• Pressing straight after a big meal. This commonly makes fullness and reflux feel worse, which then gets blamed on the point.
• Ignoring new or severe pain. Sudden, severe, one-sided or worsening abdominal pain is not something to massage. It needs urgent assessment.
• Pressing over a bulge or a fresh scar. A soft lump that appears when you strain may be a hernia, and a recent surgical scar needs to be left alone. Neither should be pushed on.
• Dropping proven treatment. Some people quietly stop prescribed medication once they start a point routine. Never swap a prescription for finger pressure without talking to the prescriber.

What does the research on ST23 actually say?

There is essentially nothing. A search of the human research literature turns up no controlled trial of acupressure or acupuncture at ST23 (Taiyi) as the point under test, for digestion or for anything else. No study has isolated it, so there is no result to report, good or bad.

What does exist sits one step removed. Trials of acupuncture for functional dyspepsia (indigestion with no structural cause) and for constipation do exist, and some are reasonably sized. Those studies needle combinations of points — most often ST36 on the lower leg, ST25 beside the navel, PC6 at the wrist and CV12 on the midline. ST23 is not usually among them. Reporting what those trials did is not the same as recommending it: everything on this page is self-applied finger pressure, and nothing here describes needling.

Even in that wider literature, the quality is mixed. Many trials are small, carried out at a single centre, and hard to blind, since patients usually know whether someone is pressing or needling them. Sham controls for abdominal points are notoriously leaky. Short follow-up is the norm, so durability is unknown. Reviews of acupuncture for functional gut symptoms tend to land on the same conclusion: possible modest short-term benefit, low certainty, more and better trials needed.

There is a separate small body of work on general abdominal massage for constipation and post-operative gut recovery, some of it in nursing journals. That research is about broad stroking of the whole abdomen, not about any single point, and it cannot be used to support ST23 specifically.

What this means for you is simple. If pressing ST23 makes you feel more comfortable after a meal, that is a reasonable personal reason to keep doing it. It is not evidence that the point does anything particular, and it should not be weighed against treatments that have actually been tested.