Catriona has your number the moment she sees you. GEMMA SIMMS reports...

Catriona Cusick Riley can tell plenty about people she hasn't met before - just by looking at their faces.

The 34-year-old natural health practitioner, who teaches at the holistic centre at Rycotewood College in Thame, has a great interest in facial and brain diagnosis.

She can tell just by looking at the shape of the face whether a person is left, right, front or back-brained. And that reveals more about their personality.

"It gives you more information about the person as soon as they walk into a room. I don't judge people by what I can see but, by face-reading, I can adapt to what would be the best way to get through to them," said Catriona, who has an eight-year-old son and travels to the college to teach from her Aylesbury home.

She concentrates on tongue and brain diagnosis, which reveals more about the person she is treating. By looking at a person's face shape, Catriona can tell what sort of person they are and how they are likely to react in different circumstances. She said: "I got into complementary medicine because I suffered from rheumatoid arthritis from the age of 11 to 18 and received treatment for it.

"There are four parts to the brain. Left-brained people make the best students," said Catriona, who is back-brained herself, meaning she is fun, loving and relaxed.

The Chinese theory of face-reading is based on the holistic principles of Yin and Yang, the opposing forces in the body, and it is believed different parts of the face relate to different parts of the body.

Maura Bright is an acupuncturist at a clinic in London's Harley Street, where she's had an interest in face-reading for 13 years.

"Being an acupuncturist, you are interested in reading people and making a diagnosis because it ties in with the client's way of thinking.

"Self-knowledge is important and Chinese face-reading can be incredibly useful.

"I believe Chinese face-reading is as relevant today as it was in the past," said Maura.

I sent Maura a couple of good, clear photographs of myself. From this she told me I am a "wood" person - one of the five elements in Chinese medicine - and that the lower part of my face shows inflammation of the lower part of my body.

She also told me just from looking at the photos that when I am 45, I must be careful with my energies and to keep an eye on my health (the bottom part of my nose apparently revealed this), while at 50 I must be careful not to invest money as I risk losing it. Maura revealed I am more of a Yang than a Yin person. Yin and Yang are opposites like night and day. Yang people are more extrovert and prone to fevers, while Yin people are introverted and prone to fatigue.

She warned me not to eat spicy foods and although my fertility area is good, my uterus may be off balance or my pelvis could be tilted.

A new book, The Secret Language of Your Face, by Chi An Kuei, is published by Souvenir Press at £16.99. It explains how to find out more about a person from the eyebrows and hairline to the shape of a nose.STUDY your face. If you are:

Square jawed = front-brained

Round jawed=back-brained

Triangular face = right-brained

Oval shape = left-brained Some people are a combination of the above, giving slightly different results

WHAT YOU CAN TELL

EATING HABITS

Front-brained people go more for fast foods

Back-brained people like home cooking

Left-brained people go on diets

Right-brained tend to opt for casual eating

CAREER

Front-brained - Army situations for the leadership

Back-brained - Caring professions such as nursing

Left-brained - Will go for a professional career with status

Right-brained - An off-beat job which could change every so often. Likes problem-solving

FRIENDSHIP

Front-brained - Makes friends quickly and has high energy with them

Back-brained - A much more loving relationship, although slow establishing, but these friendships will last

Left-brained - Must have similar values: respect is very high on the agenda

Right-brained - Likes all sorts of people and has an array of friends

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