Beauty Rituals from the East: Acupuncture for the 21st Century
By Elisa Nesta
Beauty trends, fashion and pop culture have inculcated humanity with inspired aesthetics, different values and are essentially, always morphing. History is rich with cultural traditions that draw from nature and use its fragrant, colourful and rejuvenating ornaments to enhance physical beauty and honour the spiritual aspects of the feminine. In the East, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda have deeply cultivated and preserved wisdom teachings throughout time that venerate the Spirit by sustaining rituals that make the physical body a temple.
In present times, we are seeking inspiration from the past and want to learn how to age gracefully. Traditional Chinese Medicine offers powerful modalities of healing that weave taoist principals with ritual, energy, refined skill and presence. The art of facial acupuncture has seen a steady climb in popularity among women looking to erase the tell- tale signs of stress from their faces by treating their body holistically. More people are turning to natural skin therapies and tuning into Mother Nature so they can look and feel their best.
What IS that Glow everyone is after?
It's similar to the energy of being in love or bonding with your newborn baby. That glow happens because your heart chakra lights up and your face is beaming. But it’s more than oxytocin. It's literally your whole aura. When you come across someone with that energy, they look like they just stepped out of a spa day with soft and rosy cheeks, engaging looks and a vibrant expression. We have all seen this glow and yet it appears all too ephemeral.
This energy has many names. Glow. Sparkle. Vibrant. Radiant. Spirited. It also has many forms. In TCM, it is called SHEN 神. This is the fire that animates the spirit. Though SHEN resides in the heart, it is most visible in the eyes and audible in the voice.
In Ayurveda, it’s called TEJAS तेजस्. It is the fire of cosmic intelligence and the subtle form of Pitta dosha. TEJAS powers the auric field and gives it colour and vitality. A glowing colour is called prabha पभा, which means brilliant, luminous and lustrous. When this aspect of TEJAS is strong in a person - they become magnetic. Their eyes look bright and are full of SHEN, their skin is soft and lustrous.
In both traditions, there is a precious substance that sustains this glow. TCM calls it JING 精 and Ayurveda calls it OJAS ओजस्. Without this vital essence, life cannot flow. It is akin to the soil from where flowers grow. Without the vital essence within the soil, there can be no flower. Without the life-giving nutrients in the mud, there is no lotus. The source of beauty is least visible and most mysterious - this is Ojas, this is Jing.
The beauty secrets of the East involve ENERGY also known as QI 氣 and PRANA पाण. The power of Qi lies in its ability to mobilize and transform life-force energies. It is not enough to directly manipulate tissue and rearrange molecules to get the type of beauty that is most sought after. In order to get that GLOW we need to restore and harmonize Shen, Qi, and Jing. We need to nourish the root to liven the branch.
This is where facial acupuncture shines. It will help you build and preserve JING through activating Qi and supplementing Yin/Yang, Blood and Fluids/Jing that are typically lost through poor health, aging and emotional stress. Through the art of expert needle placement and energy work, this system of healing is shown to naturally boost endogenous hormones, feel good neurotransmitters and endorphins, increase skin collagen and elastin, regulate the nervous system and enhance Qi flow of the entire body. Additionally, through the proper lifestyle choices, nutrition and herbs; the skin can be restored to a state of health, vitality and beauty.
The Yin and Yang of the Kidney: How Balanced Hormones Contribute to Beauty & Youth
Hormones play a key role in maintaining metabolic health and proper levels of energy to sustain life processes throughout a human's life cycles. Estrogen and Progesterone are the two primary Yin hormones that need to be kept in a state of dynamic balance for a woman to thrive, especially in her 30s and beyond.
In TCM, estrogen is considered the Yin Within Yin hormone. It is a super Yin substance and it contributes to a woman's nourishment, juiciness, beauty and softness. Healthy levels of estrogen and Kidney Yin stimulate the right amount of oil production to keep the skin supple, smooth and plump. Also, did you know that endogenous hyaluronic acid is produced by estrogen? We all know and love this molecule. It helps our skin look younger and plays a role in helping a woman maintain a healthy weight, energy level and metabolism.
In TCM, progesterone is considered the Yang within Yin hormone. This is because as a female hormone it provides the Yang action needed to shed the endometrium, raise the basal metabolic temperature during ovulation and maintain a pregnancy. This hormone scores major points in keeping the skin beautiful and supple when working in tandem with estrogen while also being warming, calming, anti-inflammatory and sleep promoting.
Often times, women in their 20s to 30s encounter the common problem of low progesterone relative to estrogen. This often will impact mood regulation, causing anxiety and depression. In TCM, low progesterone is often seen as a lack harmony of the Kidney system - particularly Kidney Yang. Adequate amounts of progesterone decreases your body's reliance on cortisol, which is a pro-aging hormone for the skin. Chronic stress is very likely to make a woman's level of progesterone drop. When excess cortisol is depleting progesterone, this can be due to unresolved Liver Qi stagnation which then becomes a drain on the Kidney Yang Qi and eventually leads to Kidney Yin deficiency
The 5 Elements of TCM: Pathways to Beauty Inside and Out
The face contains a microcosmic map of the five element and organ energetic system. Facial acupuncture works in tandem with body acupuncture to rejuvenate this system and promote a more balanced constitution. Additionally, it directly impacts the skin, fascia, lymphatics and muscle tone of the face through the increase of microcirculation, hydration and lymph movement, while lifting and smoothing the tissues of the face. Each element and organ system works synergistically to maintain overall health and vitality.
Points and zones for acupuncture treatment on the face and their connecting internal organs.
Wood Element - The Trailblazer. The Liver and Gallbladder represent the Wood element. They are the Yin and Yang of our stress management system. This element nourishes fire by providing the raw material to keep the fires burning - think metabolism, circulation, activation. However, excess wood can cause the fire to get out of control. This could show up as unwanted facial acne, rosacea and hair loss. Another manifestation of excess Wood is the chronic release of stress hormones which relate to the hyperactivity of the Liver. This pattern will eventually deplete the Kidney energy via the 5 element cycle. It is important to keep this system in check to avoid the over-production of cortisol which is pro-aging due to systemic oxidative stress overload and tissue break down - think collagen depletion.
Fire Element - Cosmic Illumination. The Heart and Small Intestine represent the Fire element. They are the Yin and Yang of our emotional health. A hit to this system will cause us to lose our Shen. This often means that our aura is damaged and leaking energy. We cannot be sustained by our Spirit. The Heart is the first to be impacted by emotional disharmony. Over time, trauma or chronic stress can cause stagnation of Heart Qi which will affect skin pallor and cause depression, palpitations, insomnia, anxiety and poor circulation. Studies have shown that chronic depression and unresolved trauma may directly contribute faster biological aging.
Earth Element - Rebirth. The Spleen and Stomach represent the Earth element. They are the Yin and Yang of our digestive system and vitality. These organs allow for the transformation of food or Gui Qi and distribute this throughout the body. Weakness of the Spleen can show up as facial oedema, pale skin, lack of energy, poor blood sugar regulation and slow, skin cell turnover and wound healing. When blood sugar is poorly regulated the production of AGEs will eventually damage collagen fibres and promote a loss of elasticity in the skin and internal organs. This leads to excessive and premature wrinkles in the skin.
Metal Element - Diamonds are Forever. The Lung and Large Intestine represent the Metal element. They are our Yin and Yang elimination pathways. Through our breath, skin and intestines we have a direct line to purification. This element powers our capacity to be oxygenated and exude life force. The metal element maintains skin clarity and hydration while eliminating internal pathogenic factors that can get trapped in the skin such as heat, damp phlegm and dryness showing up as facial rosacea, acne, dry skin and fine lines.
Water Element - The Fountain of Youth. The Kidneys and Bladder represent the Water element. The kidneys contain the root of all Yin and Yang and stores Jing which directly influences the function of our hormones and neurotransmitters. It governs the human life cycle of aging and influences genetics. A decline in hormones directly impacts our biological aging process and results in decline of skin vigour. The Bladder is its Yang partner and its function relates to the regulation of the neuroendocrine system and the fluid metabolism of the body. An imbalance of this system may cause issues with oedema and fluid metabolism, bladder dysfunction and hormonal dysregulation. This can contribute to dehydrated skin, hormonal acne, fine lines and wrinkles, under eye bags and dark circles.
Beauty Beyond Skin Deep
TCM facial acupuncture will balance your unique constitution which in turn will modulate and regulate the hormonal and nervous systems. This is where we nourish the root to liven the branch. By finding the root cause behind what is zapping your glow and dimming your Shen. Facial acupuncture is very effective at turning down the stress and pain signals while calming emotions - this translates to a calm, vibrant and refreshed facial appearance. Not only that but it also beneficial for improving conditions that affect the face and head such as chronic migraines, TMJ, bells palsy or other neurological issues affecting the facial and trigeminal nerves.
