Dien Chan Zone® :: Unique and Complete
The key to health is on your face and in your hands.
Beatrice Moricoli
Four years ago, at a small school in Italy, I first encountered a therapy called Dien Chan Zone®. At the outset I was skeptical, but as I began to heal my gluten intolerance and hormone imbalance using simple gestures taught at a two-day course, I dedicated more attention incrementally...
Treating others provided equally astounding results leading me finally - as any millennial would - to consult Google on the matter. But my search for ‘Facial Reflexology’ produced more questions than answers. Why was nobody out there talking about the natural pain relief it can provide in mere seconds? Or its distinctly Vietnamese and ancient origin? Had nobody else realised that if you teach receivers to self-treat the results become super-charged?
I found beauty massages, I found instrument vendors and I found people so confused that they combined reflex zones with meridian points. But it was clear to me very quickly that the simple, comprehensive technique I had come to adore was completely unique worldwide. And it became my mission to reveal to English speakers the extent of what is possible when you use educated touch on the face.
These days, as others Google the same way I did I'm often asked the question 'What makes Dien Chan Zone® so outstanding compared to other methods of facial reflexology?'. I've never studied another course but I have done my research and so what follows is a brief depiction. I mean no disrespect to the teachers and therapists using other methods. I see no competition only complimentary and varied approaches and I advise all potential students comparing techniques to follow their own inner guidance as to which would best suit their practice.
NB :: I intend no disrespect to the teachers and therapists using other methods. I see no competition only varied approaches. I advise all potential students comparing techniques to follow their inner guidance on which would best suit their practice. My response is split into two sections for greater ease.
What is the difference between Dien Chan/m and Dien Chan Zone®?
‘Dien Chan/m’ (sometimes referred to as ‘multireflex’ or ‘Chan’beauté’) is very seperate technique from Dien Chan Zone® (Italian Facial Reflexology) though both stem from the same origin in Vietnam. Key differences include:
Dien Chan/m educators are also the main importers and vendors of the Vietnamese tools designed by the 1970s founder of the modern method Bui Quoc Chau (we buy our tools from them). They also teach classes but the method is so simple it can just as easily be learned from a book.
Meanwhile, Dien Chan Zone® has been developed over the last 20 years by an advanced therapist in Italy to meet the needs of westerners as a painless and non-invasive means of health care and vibrational medicine. Read the full story >>> here.
The former has an emphasis on the use of multiple tools to stimulate points, the latter encourages the use of fingertips on zones and one specially designed 'double pointer' tool for professionals.
Dien Chan works with hundreds of reflex points (called BQC) on a grid which can never be memorised and so Operators must keep a book handy to perform each treatment.
Dien Chan Zone® uses simpler (not to be confused with less significant) reflex zones (and certain points) to decipher personalised areas of interest for each individual receiver – hence the suffix zone. The maps are memorable and intuitive, easy to work with and applied one at a time. No books are required to perform treatments.
The former has for the past years been based in Spain/ Canada, whereas the later is only taught only in association with the International Academy of Italian Facial Reflexology from Italy. To date, Helen Black is the only teacher offering classes internationally.
Dien Chan Zone® includes simplified sequences for each apparatus in the body as well as a relaxation – tonification – base points protocol to prepare the nervous system for treatment which is used at the beginning of each session to induce deep rest (and often meditative states/ sleep).
Other additions developed by my teacher Beatrice Moricoli include a muscular Beauty Massage, the world's first Facial-Cranial reflexology, TCM incorporations to treat allergies and intolerances and simplified massages of specific zones to share with others. These have been her evolutions of Dien Chan in Italy, informed by her experience with Reiki, Shiatsu, Tuina and TCM.
Dien Chan Zone® embodies the 'original Vietnamese' approach of short and heavy-handed pressing of points in one instance only - emergency. In Vietnam, this invasive technique is perfect for the populace given their ancestral approach to the face and their association of pain with healing. But, in the West where the application of pain causes our natural defences in the body to kick in, this activity is less than therapeutic and has been known to cause lasting injury.
2. How does Dien Chan Zone® differ from other methods of Facial Reflexology more generally?
The maps: Dien Chan Zone® uses maps associated with Traditional Vietnamese Medicine which are thousands of years old and have been used for centuries by local people there to maintain wellness via facial stimulation. There are over 30, they overlap all over the face and are easily remembered and intuitive from the start. The application of multimple maps sets this method apart from any other style of reflexology. We call it 'multi-reflexology'. See examples of some maps >>> here.
Its origin: other techniques use maps associated with Native American traditions, Zone Theory (developed in the 1880s by an American doctor) or meridian points (which is technically acupressure and not reflexology). We also incorporate aspects of TCM which is closely linked to Traditional Vietnamese Medicine.
The tools: nothing fancy here, either fingertips or a double ended pointer, maybe a little bit of natural oil and occasionally (in the case of facial paralysis for example) a roller. Gemstone Gua Sha makes a nice compliment. No moxibustion on the face. No machines. No faddy instruments. Certainly no fancy creams.
Its perspective on the body: it truly sees the body as a whole. Advanced practitioners are taught to work all over the body as well as consider its signs and symptoms from far beyond the face with ease, relating back to the face for treatment. In addition, its founding principle that Similar Form determines a reflex connection allows for a new perspective on the body as a whole - a vision of that Universal Law 'as within, so without'. Read more about this concept >>> here.
Self care: at the end of each Dien Chan Zone® treatment therapists provide a personalised map with instructions for self care to be applied at home in autonomy by their receivers. Because the effects of reflexology are cumulative this is another aspect which super-charges the results offered by this technique. To date, no other training includes this step.
It's breadth of application: far greater than any other technique in this genre, it holds protocols for all kinds of symptoms. From migraines, hayfever and UTIs to allergies, intolerances, chronic inflammation and emotional imbalance. And contains multiple entry-points for therapists. It incorporates pillars of Traditional Chinese Medicine, includes the world’s first Facial-Cranial Reflexology,and the Dien Chan Zone® Beauty Massage and even emergency protocols (for pain, choking, labour, panic attacks etc). See more examples of treatments >>> here.
Balance over beauty: whilst certain methods focus on the beautifying benefits of facial reflexology, teachers of Dien Chan Zone® recognise that improved circulation, better skin function, muscle toning and fine line reductions are unavoidable (though very popular) by-products of facial stimulation. Meanwhile, the results that can be achieved by working with internal imbalances (digestive, hormonal, respiratory, etc) are so satisfying and transformative, this is always our priority. Real beauty after all, comes from deep within. Our moto: 'balance inside = beauty outside'.
These are just some of the differences shared with the intention to provide clarity in an all too often confusing online world.
To learn more about the technique, its applications and the work of my generous free-spirited teacher I recommend you explore their textbook which offers a wealth of accessible information for people from all walks of life. 'Dien Chan Zone: A Practical Handbook with Maps and Images' is available in e-book form from Amazon worldwide.