👁️ Holistic Eye Health: Find Your Chinese Medicine Pattern
The Practice Vision Edition – Part 2
The Practice is a regular series delivering holistic, heart-sourced guidance on body-mind-spirit wellness. You can upgrade your subscription for full access here:
Dearest Reader,
This is Part 2 of a three-part exploration into simple, natural ways to support our eye health. Part 1 outlined 5 everyday habits for caring for your eyes—not just as physical organs, but as gateways linking body, mind, spirit.
Today, in Part 2, I’m sharing 8 common TCM patterns (with symptoms and tips!) for anyone wanting to explore how their eye health is connected to overall wellness—because understanding why your eyes (or body, or mood) feel off is the first step towards relief. I’ll cover:
Key signs and symptoms (so you can start spotting your own pattern)
Diet and lifestyle tips for your specific pattern
Teas to support eye health (no product or affiliate links, just simple teas to brew at home)
Heads up! This edition is more clinical and specific than what I usually share at PERFECT HUNGER. But I wanted to create a practical guide that you can return to whenever needed. Questions? Drop them in the comments! While I can’t give personal medical advice here, I’m happy to answer questions about TCM patterns or to clarify concepts. (Part of me slides right back into college teacher and dean mode. 🤓)
Coming in Part 3: neuroscience-backed strategies to protect and strengthen vision—including quick, easy eye exercises that align with Chinese Medicine’s holistic approach. I’ll also share snippets from my conversation with an ophthalmologist here in Thailand.
Part 1 is free; Parts 2 and 3 are for paying subscribers. Upgrade for full access to The Practice and everything else at PERFECT HUNGER here:
Your Symptoms Tell a Story
In TCM, no symptom is irrelevant—not even your poop. (Yes, we will ask about it, and yes, we will get weirdly excited by the answer.)
When you walk into a TCM clinic, we don’t just zero in on your “main complaint.” We ask about everything: energy levels, temperature preferences, sleep, emotions, digestion—because every detail helps us piece together your pattern (zheng 证).
Here’s the key:
Disease (bing 病) = the “what” and general situation (e.g., headaches, insomnia)
Pattern (zheng 证) = the “why” and details (e.g., Liver Fire, Yin Deficiency)
Two people with the same disease (say, migraines) might have totally different patterns—and thus, need different treatments. Conversely, two people with different diseases (e.g., migraines and hypertension) might share the same pattern and benefit from the same herbs and dietary adjustments.
Even better? We can address patterns at the subclinical stage—before they progress into allopathic “disease.” For example, we can detect imbalances that, left unchecked, might develop into hypothyroidism or type 2 diabetes.