I spent 37 years not listening to my body. To what it was telling me (or shouting at me sometimes). I am sure you are more observant.
But what are those signs saying to you in acupuncture terms? Below is a simple breakdown of some areas on your body.
What is your body telling you?
All of the answers to these questions help acupuncturists make a diagnosis. Because your red tongue and dark yellow urine, might not seem like a correlation; but they might be to us.
I hope you find this useful. Any questions or comments please let me know because this isn't an exhaustive list.
I would be delighted to hear from you,
Love from Andrea
What is your tongue telling you?
One of your acupuncturist's favourite diagnostic tools, your tongue, tells us so much about what is occurring internally.
The colour, size, cracks, coat and moisture of your tongue all paint us a picture of what is happening inside your body.
For a more detailed look at how tongue diagnosis works you can take a look at my blog post here.
What can you see when you look at your tongue?
Face mapping in acupuncture
I love facial diagnosis. My face tells me a lot about what is going on. It can also give me away sometimes. And I think the past 2 years have permanently placed a vertical line between my eyebrows!
Below is a brief introduction including:
Puffiness or droopiness of eyelids: spleen deficiency
Vertical line between eyebrows: irritation, annoyance, impatience
Vertical lines around mouth: over-nurturing
Anything you can see in your own face? You can take a look here at the beauty of face reading and what your face is telling you.
What is your runny nose and spit telling you?
Your acupuncturist will ask you about colour, consistency, time of day of your sputum and nasal discharge.
Yellow would suggest heat. Unsurprisingly blood would suggest.....blood.
But even the time of day will give us a clue. Is your nasal discharge worse upon waking? Do you find it improves during the course of the day?
If you have a runny nose or sputum what is it telling you?
What are your spots telling you?
I have written a very comprehensive blog here about what your acne tells your acupuncturist.
Where are the spots? What colour are they? What is the pus like?
Again, your spots can tell us such a lot and will change how your acupuncturist will diagnose them, and treat them.
Belching
Even your burps tell us something. Are they long and loud? Are they short and low? Is there a smell? What brings on the burp?
Long and loud
An excess condition such as stomach heat, liver qi invading the stomach
Short and low
A deficient condition such as stomach qi deficiency or stomach deficient and cold
What are your eyes telling you?
In acupuncture, your eyes are related to the Shen or Mind. They are a window into the soul and a twinkle suggests all is good.
But what if you have blurred vision or eye pain or dry eyes or itchy eyes?
Take a look below and see if you can find out what your eye problems relate to.
What are your nails telling you?
Did you know that your nails relate to specific organs?
And until I did this, I didn't know what lunulae are but they are also diagnostic.
What are your lips telling you?
In acupuncture, the lips are a reflection of the Spleen. So if they are dry or pale or very red then they might suggest an imbalance.
Yes, what comes out below is just as important as what comes out up top. In fact, this might be even more helpful. Because, for the most part, these occur every day.
We can build up a clearer picture of what occurs more regularly.
What are your periods telling you?
I love treating people who have periods. They tell an acupuncturist a lot and give us excellent signs of what is happening internally.
Please note though those periods which don't look like this (see my blog post) are not considered normal. And if anything is happening which is concerning you, I would urge you to get in touch with your doctor.
What do your urine and stools tell you?
People might feel uncomfortable when I ask these questions. But I promise there is zero judgement. I ask because the information can be invaluable to corroborate or deny my diagnosis.
And often people don't know what the colour of their urine is or how often they go.
I didn't use to consider how often I went for a wee. But I do now. And it gives me lots to consider about my general health.
What does your flatulence tell you?
And last but not least what is your flatulence telling you?
Is there a smell? Is it loud? Or are they silent and deadly?
