I figured that this quote from the familiar children’s story of the “The Three Little Pigs” would be a nice segue into my post today, because it includes a chin reference, a big, bad wolf and lots of hot air from me. The hair part, we’ll just ignore, mmmkay?
I recently came across an article on Chinese Medicine discussing how our faces can offer us insights into our overall wellness. I admit to being skeptical about reading it, mainly because it was an online update when I logged on to the computer this morning and not within a medical journal. When I hit the part about the chin/water connection, though, I found myself a little more intrigued.
Chinese medicine has been practicing the use of “reading” our body’s language on the outside in communicating to us what is going on in our insides. For over 5,000 years, this traditional practice has been in use utilizing a Five-Element network consisted of Fire, Earth, Water, Metal and Wood. These elements correspond to internal organ groupings that assist in a better understanding of symptoms we experience. In this article, the Five Elements are also used in helping us think about what our facial skin is telling us by not only its condition, but the location of the symptoms.
This article caught my attention because, if I look closely, the skin on my chin is somewhat leathery and due to (what I assume) is sun damage. It isn’t very pliable, but if I keep it lathered with sunscreen, buff it and moisturize, it can pass for fine. While reading this article and following his discussion about the Water element, I remembered a number of issues over the years with my chin. I have Stage Four Kidney Disease and am in a constant state of dehydration, as I mentioned here recently . I tend to manage my lupus-related stuff through a cooperative relationship with my body and try to connect cues on some important symptoms. Hmmm, leathery (dried out) skin on my chin….damaged kidneys. Okay, he had me hooked.
I didn’t get diagnosed with my lupus until my kidneys failed (a rough way to learn, but often it’s surprisingly necessary in order to garner an official lupus diagnosis.) Prior to that failure, I had lots of redness and groups of ‘bumps’ that weren’t acne but, instead, ‘water’-filled all over my chin. As a teen, I usually broke out only on my chin and rarely anywhere else. Over time, my chin always indicated some weird colors, shapes, dents, and so forth consistently keeping me calling in to have it checked out, only for the symptoms to disappear before my appointments.
However, before I jump in with a lot of uninformed ranting and proclamations, I think it would be best to bring in someone who may have a more professional take on both this article and how Chinese Medicine is actually used.
Here is Becca’s response to the article and be sure to check back often, as she will be contributing more information and opportunities to explore integrating resources into our health management.
Take it away, Becca ~
“Facial diagnosis is one of the many great tools that Chinese medicine practitioners use to gather information about the health of a patient without the aid of modern diagnostics. I’m really glad that Maria found this article and brought it here to share with you all!
The ancient Chinese made many observations about themselves and the environment and saw us as intimately entwined with our environment. Both our inner influences (what the Chinese called our constitution, and what modern medicine calls our personality and our genetics) and outer influences (the weather and our environment) play their parts in our health and well-being, all of which is reflected in our bodies and can be seen on our faces, in our pulses, our tongues and even in our eyes! (The ancient Chinese got creative with their systems of diagnostics!)
I would like to caution, however, that an imbalance that shows on your face may not always be a sign of, biomedically speaking, serious disease. What it does mean is that you likely have an energetic imbalance that should be corrected in order to prevent serious disease, and to promote health and well-being! Aren’t we lucky to have such a sensitive diagnostic tool in our own bodies? As in the story of the girl with asthma that Dr. Maoshing Ni mentioned in his article, we all have the ability to act preventively because we are given signs of disease prior to its expression, we must simply know where and how carefully to look.
In our society, we have been trained to only go to the doctor once disease is in full swing and we can’t stand the symptoms any longer. How much could be prevented if we were taught to listen more closely to our bodies? Or for those of use who have always listened closely, how many of us could have avoided the conversation of “it’s all in your head” only to be vindicated years later when symptoms have finally become “clinically relevant?”
If you’ve read the facial diagnosis article and think you may be seeing an imbalance reflected in your face, consider seeing an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist who can help you regain your health, or prevent future unhealth!
If you’re interested in reading more about the five elements of Chinese medicine, and how they affect our health, I’ve written a blog post about each one and some to keep them in balance.
Enjoy! “
