Chinese medical texts describe the original acupuncture points as Antique Points (Jing-Well, Ying-Spring, Shu-Stream, Jing-River, He-Sea). As the names describe the way water moves from the mountaintop to the ocean, these points are named for the way energy moves in the body and the properties it has at these points. In a stream of water as well as in the body, if there is a blockage then the normal flow is impaired and problems begin to appear. Needling an acupuncture point is intended to break up that blockage, whether it is from muscular guarding or an over-excitation of the nervous system, the purpose is to restore balance and harmony, just as clearing out a dammed-up river will restore the normal flow of water out to the Sea.
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