Through the looking glass: your mirror reflects your health and vitality. (Innerbeauty: holistic beauty expert and health advocate Kat James offers new strategies for vibrant living).

In this often superficial world, it is important to love ourselves, no matter how we look. But that doesn't mean we should ignore what the mirror tells us. Aside from our size, or the attractiveness of our makeup or clothes, we can learn a lot from our reflected image by tuning in to the deeper messages it conveys about the state of our health.

Doctors, however, rarely tell us what under-eye circles, brittle hair and nails, puffy abdomens or varicose veins say about our health. Today it's easy to disregard those signs because cosmetic technology has enabled us to cleverly sand, zap and conceal our flaws. But if we conceal them before considering the valuable clues they provide, we miss out on opportunities to identify and resolve imbalances that may be deeply affecting our health.

image therapy

Next time you look in the mirror, avoid passing judgment on what you see--and avoid comparing yourself with social ideals. Instead, compare what you see now only with what you saw yesterday. Your pores, your coloring and even the contours of your eye area may look different. Every face tells a different story, and that story can change dramatically from day to day.

For example, under-eye circles--the "crystal ball" of facial signs--are indications of many things: poor sleep, sluggish kidneys, allergies, a sugary diet or over-taxed adrenals. How you deal with these signs is up to you. Will you settle for shortsighted, quick fixes, or will you become inspired to transform your looks--and your life--from the inside out?

The rewards of the latter approach are profound--and far less work in the long run than futile Band-Aid approaches. But because there can be dozens of causes behind any given body issue, you'll need to pay close attention to outer and inner warning signs.

vital signs