Zanzhu (BL2): The Eyebrow Point for Tired Eyes and a Heavy Brow

Where Zanzhu Sits

The point sits at the inner end of each eyebrow, where the first hairs begin, directly above the inner corner of the eye. It is the second stop on the longest line in the traditional map. That line begins at the inner corner of the eye, climbs to the eyebrow, crosses the forehead and the top of the head, and runs down the back in two bands either side of the spine. It then passes down the back of the leg to end at the outer corner of the little toenail. Vietnamese and Chinese texts call it the Bladder channel. This point is its first real foothold on bone.

Under the skin is the upper rim of the eye socket. Near its inner end most people can feel a small notch in the bone, sometimes a shallow dip and sometimes a clear groove. The World Health Organization's location manual notes that this notch can often be felt at the inner end of the brow, directly above the first point on the line. The muscles here are the ones you use to frown and to close the eyes tightly. They are the muscle that draws the brows together (the corrugator), the ring of muscle around the eye, and the lower edge of the forehead muscle.

The notch is there for a reason. It carries a small nerve, the supratrochlear nerve, out of the eye socket and up onto the forehead, along with a small artery and vein. The nerve is a branch of the first division of the trigeminal nerve, the main nerve of feeling for the face, which also serves the eyeball, the upper lid and the front of the scalp. That is why this spot is often quietly tender when the eyes are tired, and why a heavy press can send a sharp line of sensation up into the forehead.

To find it, close your eyes and run a fingertip along one eyebrow toward the nose until the hairs begin. Feel the bone under them. The point is on that rim, where one spot stings when you press, usually in or right beside the notch.

Why This Spot

Anatomy gives the first reasons. The point sits where a nerve leaves the eye socket, so it reflects the state of the eyes and brow more clearly than most places on the face. The bone gives a firm shelf to press against. And the muscles under it are the ones that do the work of squinting and frowning. People who read a great deal, who need new glasses, or who live with pain often hold these muscles tight for hours. The ache that builds there is real, and pressing the right spot gives you a way to let it go.

There is also something practical. The point is easy to reach with both hands at once, and the bony shelf makes it hard to wander far. Once you have felt the sting a few times, you can find it in seconds.

In this tradition the line it belongs to is said to begin at the eye and carry its influence over the head and down the whole back. The points near the eye are used to brighten the eyes and clear the head. That is why the space at the inner end of the brow is reached for when the eyes feel dry, heavy or strained, and when a headache sits behind them. Its name, gathered bamboo, is usually read as a picture of the brow itself, the hairs gathered like a clump of bamboo leaves. Those are traditional descriptions, offered as such.

What the Old Texts Say About Zanzhu

This is one of the oldest points on the map. It belongs to the channel points set down in the great early catalogues. The oldest that survives is the Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, compiled by Huangfu Mi in the third century, which arranged the points channel by channel. Its address at the inner end of the brow has hardly moved since. Modern international standards spell its name differently, as a second reading of the same two characters. Many teachers still use the older reading, which is the one at the top of this page.

The Vietnamese reference we work from is Ngô Trung Triều's Huyệt vị kinh lạc cơ thể người (Points and Channels of the Human Body). It places the point in the hollow at the head of the eyebrow, and its quick-finding note gives a neat check. Find the hollow at the inner end of the brow directly above the point at the inner corner of the eye. It lists the point for headache, for painful eyes, and for one further complaint of the face that belongs with a doctor, not a fingertip.

The World Health Organization's location manual of 2008 describes the same spot in the language of modern anatomy. It is a depression at the inner end of the eyebrow, with a notch in the bone often felt directly above the first point of the line. Ancient text, Vietnamese handbook and modern standard all agree on where to put your thumb.

We have not found a classical passage for this point that we can quote with confidence, so we will not invent one. What the record shows is a long and steady use for the same complaints: a heavy brow, a headache behind the eyes and eyes worn out by close work.

Points That Work With Zanzhu

The first partner sits between the two eyebrows, on the midline above the bridge of the nose. Together with the two points at the inner ends of the brows it makes a short line of three across the base of the forehead. Work them in turn for a headache that sits behind the eyes and across the brow.

The second is at the temples. From the outer end of the eyebrow, move back about a finger's width toward the ear, into the soft hollow at the side of the head. It is the natural partner when the ache spreads from the inner brow around to the sides.

The third is on the hand: the soft web between the thumb and the first finger. Press your thumb against the side of your hand and the muscle there bunches into a small mound; the point is at its highest part. In this tradition it is the main hand point for the head and face, and pressing it first takes some of the edge off before you work near the eyes. It carries its own caution in pregnancy, explained on its page.

How to Find and Press Zanzhu

Getting Into Position

Sit at a table with both elbows resting on it, so your hands come up to your face without effort and your head stays level. Take off your glasses. Close your eyes and let the jaw hang loose. If you want to work both sides at once, rest both elbows and use both hands.

How to Find It

With your eyes closed, run a fingertip along one eyebrow toward the nose until the hairs begin. Feel the bone under them, the upper rim of the eye socket. Bring the tip of your thumb, or the rounded tip of a pressing tool, onto that rim.

Now probe. Press gently upward onto the bone, move a few millimetres along the rim, and press again. Most of the rim feels like ordinary pressure. One spot will sting, a sharp, pinpoint tenderness clearly different from the bone around it, often in or beside a small notch. That is the point. If you feel the pressure going down toward the eye, you have slipped off the rim. Lift off and start again higher.

How to Press It

Use the tip of the thumb with the nail cut short, or a pressing tool with a smooth, rounded tip. Near the eyes, many people prefer the thumb, because they can feel the bone better. If you use a tool, steady the hand by resting the elbow and touching the forehead lightly with your other fingers.

Once you have the stinging spot, press up onto the bone and rub in small circles, no wider than a grain of rice. Keep the tip in contact with the skin so that the skin moves with it. The direction is always up and slightly into the brow, like pushing glasses up the nose. Never press down into the eye socket or toward the eyeball. Breathe out slowly as you rub.

How Much Pressure

A sharp sting under the tip is what you are looking for, and it is right. What matters is what happens when you lift off. The sting should fade within a few seconds, leaving the brow warm and lighter. If the pain stays after you lift off, spreads, or the skin turns swollen, hot or red, stop for the day. If you see flashes of light or feel dizzy, stop at once. Near the eyes, use less force than anywhere else on the body. Holding your breath or screwing up your face means you are pressing too hard.

How Long

Rub each spot for one to three minutes. In the first sessions stay near one minute on each side; build toward three as the days go on and the area gets used to it. Do both eyebrows, even if the ache seems to sit on one side. Once or twice a day is plenty. Longer only leaves the skin over the bone sore.

When to Do It

Daytime suits it best. A round mid-morning after reading, or in the afternoon after time at a screen, catches the eye strain before it turns into a headache. A short round before bed, with the light on and sitting comfortably, is a gentle way to close the day. Do not press in the middle of the night. If pain wakes you in the small hours, change position, have a sip of water and leave the point until morning. Half asleep in the dark is the worst time to work this close to the eyes.

What This Won't Do

It will not change your eyesight, and it will not remove the reasons the eyes get tired. Glasses that no longer match your eyes, long hours of close work, dry indoor air, too little blinking at a screen and poor lighting all play a part. So does a lack of sleep. A point at the end of the brow sits downstream of all of that. Get your eyes tested, take short breaks to look into the distance, light your reading well, and then this point has something to add. On its own it is a comfort measure, and a useful one.

It will not replace a diagnosis either. A red, painful eye, sudden blurred vision, halos around lights, a curtain or shadow across your sight, or a sudden shower of floaters and flashes need an eye doctor urgently, often the same day. A sudden, severe headache unlike any before is an emergency. So is a headache with confusion, slurred speech, weakness on one side or a face that droops. Call for help, do not sit pressing your brow. Headaches that start after fifty and keep getting worse, or pain at the temples with a tender scalp and pain when chewing, also need a doctor soon.

Safety First

Never press on the eyeball, and never let the tip slide down into the eye socket. Keep all pressure on the bony rim above the eye. Do not work this point if you have had eye or eyelid surgery in recent months, including cataract surgery, unless your eye surgeon says it is fine. Leave it alone if you have an eye infection, a stye or a swollen eyelid, or broken, bruised or rashy skin on the brow. If you take blood thinners or bruise easily, use lighter pressure and shorter sessions.

Stop at once if you feel dizzy, see flashes, feel an electric or numb sensation, if the pain stays after you lift off, or if the area turns swollen, hot or red. Nothing here requires you to push through pain. For the full list of cautions and situations where self-applied pressure is not appropriate, read the full safety guide before you begin.

Questions People Ask

Where is the Zanzhu (BL2) pressure point? Zanzhu (BL2) sits at the inner end of each eyebrow, in a small notch on the bony rim of the eye socket, directly above the inner corner of the eye. Follow your brow toward your nose until the hairs begin, then feel the bone under them. The point is the one spot there that stings when you press.

How long should I press Zanzhu? One to three minutes on each side. Stay near one minute in the first sessions and build up as the days go on. Do both eyebrows, one after the other or at the same time with both hands. Once or twice a day is enough; longer sessions only make the skin sore.

How do I keep the pressure away from my eye? Aim up, not in. The point is on the bony rim above the eye, so the pressure goes up onto that bone, the way you would push a pair of glasses up your nose. Rest your elbow on a table so your hand is steady. If the tip ever slips down off the bone, stop, reset and start again more gently.

Can I press Zanzhu with my glasses or contact lenses on? Take glasses off so the frame does not get in the way. Contact lenses can stay in, since you are pressing on bone above the eye, not on the eye. Keep your eyes closed while you work. If your eyes are already sore or red from the lenses, leave the point for another day.

Is Zanzhu (BL2) the same point as Cuanzhu? Yes. The two spellings are two readings of the same two characters, and both name the notch at the inner end of the eyebrow. Modern international tables use the second spelling; many teachers keep the first. The name means Gathered Bamboo, and in Vietnamese it is Toản Trúc. The location is the same in every source.

Can I use Zanzhu for a red, painful eye? No. A red, painful eye, sudden blurred vision, halos around lights or a new shadow in your sight need an eye doctor quickly, sometimes the same day. This point is for the everyday ache of tired eyes and a tight brow, not for an eye that is unwell.

Other Points in This Library

Each of these sits within reach of the same hand. They are often worked in the same sitting.

This page shares general information about a traditional practice. It is not medical advice and does not replace what your doctor has given you. If you are pregnant, managing a health condition, or unsure whether this applies to you, check with your doctor first.

The whole inner edge of the foot, laid out on one page with photographs, is in The Foot Map — the free book. For every point in this library, see the full pressure point index.

(Point shown: BL2 · Zanzhu · Gathered Bamboo · Toản Trúc.)