It's all over your face: Dien Chan reflexology comes to town

You can tell a lot about a person's emotions and feelings by looking at his or her face. To Dien Chan practitioners, the face represents much more: the entire human body, to be precise.

By using a variety of specially developed massage tools to stimulate different areas and reflex points on the face and head, Dien Chan facial reflexology is said to have potent healing effects for back or neck pain, poor digestion, migraines, stress, hormonal imbalances and even mental or emotional conditions such as anxiety and depression. The therapy is also said to enhance sleep quality and boost calmness, as well as stimulate facial rejuvenation by creating a natural facelift.

Created in 1980 in Ho Chi Minh City by Vietnamese professor Bui Quoc Chau, Dien Chan has slowly spread across the world. Last month, it arrived in Hong Kong through London-based practitioner Alex Scrimgeour, who served as a visiting therapist for two weeks at the Mandarin Spa at Mandarin Oriental hotel.

Dien Chan is based on the theory that the face is the command centre of the whole body. "If you look at modern research into the facial muscles and nerves that govern expression, they're very much connected to the nerves that govern the heart and lungs as well. In many ways, these are the basis of good health, circulation and breathing," says Scrimgeour, a licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist. "Also, because of the close proximity of the face to the brain, Dien Chan is seen as affecting the brain neurochemistry as well."

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the face is the area which stocks yang energy, and all the yang channels pass by the face.

In traditional acupuncture, it's believed that a person's face represents all the vital organs: the ears for the kidneys, nose for lungs, eyes for liver, lips and mouth for the spleen, and tongue for the heart. By acting on the face, the acupuncturist can regularise organ function.