Balance Method

The Balance Method is Dr. Tan's system of distal needling: you treat pain by needling away from the painful area, on a balancing meridian chosen through logic rather than guesswork.

Dr. Richard Teh-Fu Tan

The acupuncturist who developed the Balance Method, distilling distal needling into six logical, repeatable systems.

Distal needling

Distal needling means needling at a distance from the complaint instead of into it. The painful area is left untouched, which is why patients can move and retest immediately.

Three-Step Strategy

The Three-Step Strategy is Dr. Tan's core framework, taught in Acupuncture 1, 2, 3: (1) diagnose the sick meridian, (2) determine the balancing meridian, (3) select the points. Every treatment on this site follows these three steps.

Meridian Theory

Meridian Theory is the framework the whole method rests on: treatment follows the channels and their pathways, not organ patterns. It's what makes the Balance Method logical and reproducible.

Zang-Fu

The organ-based diagnostic model of classical Chinese medicine. The Balance Method works from Meridian Theory instead, which is what sets it apart from a Zang-Fu approach.

Clinical evidence (Research)

The peer-reviewed base behind the method: randomized controlled trials on frozen shoulder (Hamburg, 2017) and chronic pelvic pain (Edinburgh, 2018), clinical case reports, and papers formalising the six systems. Small but real, and honestly summarised.

I Ching & Ba Gua

The classical text and its eight trigrams. The twelve meridians (plus Du Mai and Ren Mai) map onto the trigrams, and the way they relate produces Systems 1, 2 and 3.

Chinese Clock

The 24-hour cycle of qi flow through the twelve meridians. Systems 4 and 5 use its spatial arrangement — opposite and neighbouring positions — not the timing.

Qi

Qi is the vital energy that flows through the meridians, following the order of the Chinese clock.

“Share everything, keep nothing, help everyone”

Dr. Tan's core teaching philosophy, and the principle behind making this knowledge base freely available.

Meridian (channel)

An energy pathway running along the body. The Balance Method works with the twelve regular meridians. (On this site we say meridian rather than channel.)

The twelve regular meridians

Lung (LU), Large Intestine (LI), Stomach (ST), Spleen (SP), Heart (HT), Small Intestine (SI), Urinary Bladder (UB), Kidney (KID), Pericardium (PC), San Jiao (SJ), Gallbladder (GB) and Liver (LIV).

Chinese meridian names

Tai Yang, Shao Yang, Yang Ming, Tai Yin, Shao Yin and Jue Yin. Each name appears twice — once on a Hand meridian, once on a Foot meridian — which is the basis of System 1.

Sun exposure logic

The reasoning behind the Chinese names: the most sun-exposed positions are the strongest Yang (Tai Yang), the protected front is the most Yin part of Yang (Yang Ming), and the side sits between (Shao Yang) — mirrored on the Yin side. It lets you read a meridian straight from where the pain sits.

Hand meridian / Foot meridian

Whether a meridian runs along the arm or the leg. Several systems pair a Hand meridian with its Foot counterpart.

Yin / Yang polarity

The quality of each meridian. Some systems pair like with like (Yin-Yin, Yang-Yang); others pair opposites. The polarity rule helps confirm the correct balancing meridian.

Du Mai & Ren Mai

The Governing Vessel (Du Mai) and Conception Vessel (Ren Mai), the two midline extra vessels used for spinal and central-line complaints.

Sick meridian

The sick meridian is the specific channel where the pain or problem sits. Identifying it is Step 1 — get this wrong and no system will save the treatment.

Meridian diagnosis

Pinpointing the affected channel pathway, not the Western label or the organ pattern. Everything else follows from this.

One-Finger Rule

Asking the patient to point to the pain with a single finger, so you land on one meridian rather than a vague region.

Meridian geography

Knowing exactly where each meridian runs on the arm and leg, so you can read the pain location straight off the body.

In-between meridian problem

Pain that falls between two channels, requiring you to weigh which meridian to treat first.

Multi-meridian problem

More than one channel involved in the same complaint. You map each meridian separately, then balance each one, often across different systems in one treatment.

Coverage principle (point, line, area)

Treat what the pain covers: a single point needs one ashi point; a line along the meridian needs a proportional line; a broad area needs several needles. Point for point, line for line, area for area.

System 1 — Same Chinese Name

Pairs the Hand and Foot meridians that share a Chinese name (e.g. San Jiao and Gallbladder, both Shao Yang). Same polarity, Hand-to-Foot, needle the opposite side.

System 2 — Branching Meridians (Bie-Jing)

Pairs meridians that are Yin-Yang opposites within the Shui Huo Ji Ji hexagram (Water above Fire). Also called the branching meridians (Bie-Jing). Opposite polarity, Hand-to-Foot, and you can needle either side.

System 3 — Interior-Exterior (Biao-Li)

The classic Interior-Exterior pairs (e.g. Lung and Large Intestine), read from the Fu Xi circular Ba Gua. Hand-to-Hand or Foot-to-Foot, needle the opposite side.

System 4 — Chinese Clock Opposite

Pairs meridians directly across from each other on the Chinese clock (e.g. Small Intestine and Liver, the scapular-pain pairing). Hand-to-Foot, needle either side.

System 5 — Chinese Clock Neighbour

Pairs the clock neighbour with the same polarity (e.g. Spleen and Heart). Hand-to-Foot, needle the opposite side.

System 6 — Same Meridian

The meridian treats itself, needled far from the complaint using mirror or image projection. Ideal for fine-tuning a small residual spot.

Odd / Even side rule

A memory aid: odd systems (1, 3, 5) needle the opposite side; even systems (2, 4, 6) allow either side.

System notation (1-6)

The six systems are written with Arabic numerals, from System 1 to System 6. Roman numerals (I-VI) are reserved for the numbered Meridian Conversions.

Multi-system convergence

When one treating meridian balances several sick meridians at once, each through a different system. Fewer needles, broader coverage.

Balance Method Matrix

The Balance Method Matrix is the reference chart of every meridian and its balancing options across the six systems. It is bidirectional: if one meridian treats another in a given system, the reverse also holds. Matrix analysis means using it to find one treating meridian that covers several sick meridians at once — maximum coverage, minimum needles.

Projection

Projection is mapping the painful area onto the treating limb so you know where on the balancing meridian to needle. The two main formats are Mirror and Image.

Holographic mapping

The umbrella idea behind Mirror and Image: every part of the body reflects the whole, so a limb can stand in for the trunk, head or another limb. Both projection formats are holographic maps.

Mirror (Mirroring)

Mirroring is a reflected projection where the treating limb mirrors the affected one (e.g. ankle maps to wrist, the joints facing each other).

Image (Imaging)

Imaging is a same-direction projection mapping one body part onto another (e.g. the scapula onto the tibia, bone matching bone).

Big Image (Universal Image)

Projecting the whole body onto a single limb, so one region of an arm or leg stands in for the entire torso or spine. Also called the Universal Image.

Puppet Show landmarks

A landmark-matching technique for lining up a projection, using clear anatomical reference points so the mapping stays accurate.

Reversed variants

Reversed mirror or image projections, used when the standard orientation does not give the most reactive point.

“The Bottom treats the Top”

An imaging principle where a lower part of the body is projected to treat an upper part (and the reverse), following the same mapping logic.

Structure matching

Structure matching means matching the tissue type at your needling site to the tissue type at the problem — bone for bone, tendon for tendon. It often decides which system to choose.

Zone vs target

The balancing meridian gives you the zone; the reactive ashi point within that zone is the target.

Proportional projection

Projection respects proportion: if the problem sits a quarter of the way along a meridian, the treating point sits a quarter of the way along the matching landmarks — not just "somewhere on the forearm".

Ashi point

An ashi point is the reactive, tender point within the treating zone. The most reactive ashi confirms you are in the right location; it is the target you actually needle.

Palpation

Feeling along the meridian for the ashi point before needling. The point you feel beats the textbook location.

Depth matching

Matching needle depth to the tissue at the problem: bone for bone, tendon for tendon, a depression for a depression.

Feedback loop (retest)

Right after needling, you ask the patient to move or press the area. Real-time improvement tells you whether the selection is working.

No ashi reaction

When no clear ashi appears on the chosen meridian, that absence is itself a signal — switch to the meridian from another system.

Threading (thread-through)

Needling along a pathway from one point toward another to clear a whole stretch of pain with a single insertion.

Holographic Bridge

A Lung-threading master move that captures an entire anatomical stretch with one powerful needle for stubborn back, leg and heel pain.

Local Balance

Local Balance is treating one sick meridian for a localised complaint — the standard one-meridian, one-area approach. Note: local refers to scope, not to needling the painful spot.

Global Balance

Global Balance is treating across all four limbs to balance the whole body, a geometric pattern of four or more meridians. This is what changes outcomes for chronic and internal disorders, where a single local meridian isn't enough.

Dynamic & Static balance

The two balancing modes that work together within Global Balance to stabilise the whole system.

Global Balance patterns

Named four-limb combinations used in Global Balance, such as the Shao Yin Tai Yang and Jue Yin Yang Ming patterns, each pairing Chinese-named meridians across the body.

Meridian Conversion

Meridian Conversion is the Bagua approach beyond projection: instead of treating only the pain pathway, you address the whole channel to reach function and emotional disorders.

Pathway, Function & Shen

The three layers a meridian can be treated on: the physical Pathway (pain), the Function (physiology) and the Shen (emotional or spirit level).

Shen

The spirit or mind — the emotional layer addressed when you go beyond physical pain into anxiety, low mood and sleep.

Numbered Conversions (I-VI)

Dr. Tan's advanced work defines several distinct Meridian Conversions. They are taught in depth in the Balance Method Notebook.

Million Dollar Combo

Dr. Tan's signature point combination for lower back, neck and shoulder pain — a reliable go-to before layering in projections and Global Balance.

Six meridians of the knee

Six channels cross the knee — three Yang on the outside, three Yin on the inside — which is why one-finger diagnosis matters so much there.

8 +1 Magical Points

A classic distal point set (eight points plus one) used in the Balance Method for fast, broad effect on common presentations.

12 Magical Points

Dr. Tan's Strategy of Twelve Magical Points — a core set of high-value distal points, detailed in his book of the same name.

Master Tung Acupuncture

A separate distal-needling tradition. It overlaps with the Balance Method in fast pain relief, but its points, diagnosis and logic differ fundamentally.

Core texts

Dr. Tan's foundational books: Acupuncture 1, 2, 3; Twelve and Twelve in Acupuncture; Twenty-Four More in Acupuncture; the Strategy of Twelve Magical Points; and Internal Showcase for functional disorders — plus the Balance Method Notebook.

Balance Method Ambassador

A practitioner who officially represents Dr. Tan's Balance Method and helps spread it within the wider community.