#475
August 25, 2026

The Practice of Seeing: Ming, Hidden Jing and Original Face
Anita Chopra & Angela Hunt

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Jessica Parker Functional Medicine

In this episode Qiological celebrates its ninth anniversary. 

For nine years new conversations on East Asian medicine and methods have appeared in your podcast feed each Tuesday morning

Anita Chopra, our guest from episode 429, joins us again not just to discuss face reading, but to give us a demonstration of how she uses several of the basic maps that chart the face.

We’re also joined by Angela Hunt, the winner of our drawing to appear on this episode and receive a face reading. If you’d like to skip directly to the face reading section, scroll to the one hour fifteen minute mark.

Listen in for a conversation that touches on mentorship, practice building, being authentically who we are clinical work, a bit of Qiological’s backstory,  and reflections on the journey that has brought the podcast to its ninth anniversary.

 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • The Origins of Qiological: How Everyday Acupuncture evolved into Qiological as a deeper professional podcast for acupuncturists.
  • The Work Behind the Podcast: The team and editors behind the scenes that help  to produce each episode.
  • Learning to Live with Uncertainty: How clinical practice influences interviewing through the ability to remain open to not knowing.
  • Things Take Time: A classmate’s reminder during acupuncture school became a lasting principle of persistence for Michael.
  • Face Reading as a Holistic Practice: Chinese face reading combines multiple facial features to understand a person’s physical, emotional, and constitutional patterns.
  • The Original Face: Face reading seeks to recognize the essential person beneath trauma, conditioning, and life experiences.
  • Mountains and Rivers: Prominent bony features represent mountains and fluid facial features represent rivers, offering different insights into a person’s nature.
  • The Three Decision-Making Zones: The forehead, middle face, and lower face reflect intellectual, practical, and feeling-based approaches to decisions.
  • Face Reading in Clinical Practice: Facial features can provide additional diagnostic information and help guide acupuncture point selection.
  • The Rest Line: A line above the chin may indicate overwork, depleted reserves, and the need for rest rather than continued effort.
  • Awareness Can Shift Qi: Simply recognizing and speaking about an emotional obstruction can create meaningful changes without using needles.
  • The Importance of Self-Cultivation: Practitioners must examine and understand themselves before they can clearly perceive and support others.
  • Community and Mentorship: The podcast creates connection across the profession, while mentorship can emerge through teachers, peers, and unexpected encounters.

Anita
Be clear about what you are skilled in and when you need to refer out

Angela
Trust what the body reveals over what your mind predicts—when you stop overthinking the case and simply treat the person, clarity replaces confusion every time

Chinese face reading

Anita Chopra, DTCM, R.Ac

Sometimes we find ourselves walking a path we did not think was even in the realm of possibility. East Asian Medicine is that for me. Face Reading an ever bigger leap into the category “unimaginable & incredible”

After completing a Bachelor of Commerce Degree, 20+ years of East Asian Medicine, (Doctor of TCM Diploma), 10+ years of Facial Acupuncture (Constitutional Facial Acupuncture Certificate), and now 8+ years of Face Reading (Master of Face Reading Certificate), the unimaginable has become a realty. I became an Acupuncturist and much to my surprise a Face Reader.

The gratitude of my own Face Reading with my mentor Lillian Bridges, is what drives me. My Face Reading moved me to see myself in a way that is accepting, open-hearted and hopeful. We all matter. I practice “seeing” my client’s Original Face and using it in clinical practice. I have faith that we have come here for our Ming (Golden Path). I use the Face Maps to identify the five elements, yin/yang principles for guidance to embrace and live our Ming more fully.

I practice with the intention of my clinic’s name Santosh; Love who you are.

Angela Hunt, M.Ac, L.Ac

Prior to my journey into Eastern medicine, I spent 15 years working in environmental science and regulation. In 2021, my path shifted entirely after experiencing profound personal recovery from chronic back pain, stress, and anxiety through Five Element acupuncture. I was immediately drawn to this specific tradition because of its gentle focus on supporting each person’s unique constitution and its compassionate emphasis on treating the whole individual—body, mind, and spirit together.

I earned my MAc degree in 2024 from the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainesville, Florida, where I am honored to continue supporting as a member of the Board of Directors. Grounded in a lifelong passion for learning, I continuously enrich my care by exploring holistic nutrition, medicinal herbs, psychology, Qigong, and Taoist alchemy.

Today, I am deeply committed to sharing this transformative, healing medicine with my home community in Homer, Alaska, helping my patients bridge the gap between physical symptoms and lasting emotional well-being.

Links and Resources

For face reading classes with Anita visit her website.

In October 2026 Anita will be presenting virtually at the New Zealand Acupuncture Conference.

For more on face reading we have two Qiological conversations with Lillian Bridges:
Episode 20, Right There in Plain Sight and Episode 153, Untangling Emotion.

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