Diagnosis in Chinese Medicine: Why do you we look at the tongue?

In Chinese Medicine, we look for patterns in your system. We will look at physical symptoms and more to point us to different organs. They do not always translate directly to the western interpretation. All the organs also interact and have different tendencies. Some are yin some are yang. There are. yin yang pairs, like the liver (yin) and the Galbladder (yang). There are meridian pairs based on how they connect in the body, directly and indirectly. We will look for excesses and deficiencies and imbalances. Physical pain can point to stagnation or Qi or Blood, and more. 

The Tongue: the tongue is the only organ that we can see the state of. What do we look for? Moisture, size, motility, coat, color. The image below is courtesy of: https://www.naturopathy-uk.com/news/blog/2024/05/28/does-your-tongue-look-like-this/

I usually use the tongue or get more insight to my diagnosis. We can tell if there are pathogens complicating the situation and more. The nature of the coat, if it is peeled, color etc.

So if we ask you to stick your tongue out at us, that is why. If you are curious, please ask, we do not always use this tool, but here is some insight as to why. 

Best, Stefanie Rothert LAc. CEO of Aupuncture for Wellbeing
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