So, Let’s Talk About Tongues
“Can I take a peek at your tongue?”
And just like that, your precious mouth privacy has been violated. Why, you wonder- why is this person so interested in seeing what’s going on in my mouth?
Well, on behalf of all Chinese Medicine practitioners around the world, I am oh so glad you asked.
Tongues, my dear sweet friends, are our most external internal organs. You see, back in ancient China, when the monks were sitting around in meditation, downloading the powerful wisdom of the body we now have as Chinese medicine, they did not have all the fancy lab tests and scans we have access to in the modern world. They needed to get a sense of what was going on inside your body by analysing what they could see/ feel on the outside of your body. This includes your tongue, your pulse, microsystems felt on your abdomen, and asking lots of questions about things that were once inside of you that are now outside of you - ie, your menstrual blood, urine, and everyone’s favorite - pooop!
Tongue analysis in Chinese Medicine gives us a lot of information about the functioning of different organs in the body. We can glean information about the quality of your internal fluids, the balance of heat and cold in your system, and whether your blood circulation is up to snuff. Tongue analysis is one of the main ways your Chinese Medicine practitioner will be able to identify the root cause of your symptoms, given that, within the framework of CM, many different underlying patterns could result in the same branch symptom. We analyze all parts of the tongue, including its shape, size, color, and coating (and even those veins you may or may not see on the bottom when you touch the tip of your tongue behind your two front teeth). Through tongue analysis, we learn to read the body's quiet cues. The tongue mirrors what lies within: our digestive health, emotional landscape, constitutional vitality, and the slow, continuous changes that shape our wellbeing over time. The different aspects of the tongue correspond to different organs. The tip is most often attributed to the Heart, and just behind it sit the Lungs. In the middle of the tongue, we get information about the digestive system (Spleen and Stomach), in the way back lie your Kidneys governing your constitutional essence (something we like to call Jing). Holding down the sides of the tongue are the Liver and Gallbladder, which both pertain to the wood element.
The study of tongue diagnosis goes as deep as the Mariana Trench, so if you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out! But for now, just know that when your Chinese Medicine practitioner asks to see that old tongue of yours, they are looking for more than remnants of what you may have eaten for breakfast.
