MEDICAL WORKSHOPS

With the use of Mien Shiang, a health practitioner can diagnose medical history, current state of health and propensity for future ailments.

Mien Shiang, which means facial analysis, was developed by Taoist healers in China nearly 3000 years ago. They studied the body and particularly the face and concluded that people with specific illnesses had similar appearances and behaviors. They assigned these similarities to the Five Element theory that everything in the universe can be described as having the Element traits of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal or Water. In medicine, the categories were defined by the organ systems: Liver (Wood), Heart (Fire), Spleen/Stomach (Earth), Lung (Metal) and Kidney (Water).

For example, lines across the earlobe often indicate history of or propensity for hypertension and are an alert to test for this Liver Element ailment. Puffy areas of the philtrum and upper lip can be symptoms of fibroids or endometriosis, which are Kidney Element ailments. Mien Shiang teaches us how to make these simple observations enabling preventative treatment or early diagnosis.

Allopathic (western) doctors, acupuncturists, chiropractors, naturopaths, and massage therapists treat the same illnesses, and often the same patients. The Mien Shiang Institute offers a variety of workshops at medical and acupuncture schools, private retreats, and various other settings.

In 2000, Patrician McCarthy established the first Medical Certificate Program in Mien Shiang in the United States at Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Los Angles, CA. click here to see the four-semester curriculum