Chinese Face Mapping and Our Overall Well-Being

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the eyes and face tell us what we need to know about our body’s health. The eyes are a window into our soul, and the face is a map that decodes the body’s silent language. We all have that intuition, that fleeting feeling of split-second non-verbal exchanges as we pass by others: eyes revealing true thoughts and the body exhibiting classic body language. Traditional Chinese medicine teaches that the face is a mirror to our overall health of mind, body, and soul.

While this sounds mysterious and arcane, the basic premise behind this discipline is that our exterior bodily presentation is connected to our internal bodily functions.

For over 5,000 years, TCM has sought to answer two basic questions: what is a human being and what is the natural world? TCM suggests they are the same. The human body is comparable (and representative of) the greater natural world. In other words, the human body is a microcosm of the bigger universe. Our body is interconnected just as other elements of the natural world are interconnected, and all are subject to the law of Cause and Effect.

Everything is Connected

This is a key area in which TCM diverges from conventional western medicine. What affects one organ affects the other, what affects one system ultimately affects the whole of the body. TCM presents a variety of philosophies that explain the concept: Yin and Yang, the Meridian Channels, the Organ Systems, and the Five Elements. The overarching principle is that everything in the body is interconnected.

Nature demonstrates this concept throughout the world. TCM says that the body is connected through energetic channels known as meridians in which energy flows to and from organ systems in the body. In addition, vibrational and bio-electrical energy comprise the natural world, and our physical body exists due to an energetic life force that animates the body, ensuring movement, breathing, brain activity, emotions and more.