Class 1 : Orientation to Study and Practice 

In this introductory weekend we will focus on the importance of having a clear method in the study of Chinese herbs.  We approach medicine as applied philosophy.  Class 1 dives deep into the core cosmological and metaphysical concepts that form the underpinning of all that we study.  
 
At the same time, we focus our approach on being rooted in our senses, combining our sensory experience of the herbs- their taste, smell, texture, shape, how they grow- with our philosophical world view to create the epistemological framework of future study.

• Different Types of Classification of Herbs & Formulas
• Taste and Thermal Nature
• Part of Plants and their affinities and correspondences
• Understanding texture & shape in discerning herb functions
• Exploration of smell in discerning herb functions
• Study of the manner in which herbs grow in discerning herb functions
• A method for studying the emotional and psychological aspects of herbs
• Introduction to Paozhi/processing medicinals
• The structure of classical formulas 
• Building a formula
• Introduction to Duiyao/herbal pairing 
• Introduction to the Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing
• Alchemical roots of herbalism 
• Tao Hong-Jing and the Shang Qing School of Daoism
• Herbs, spiritual cultivation and Yang Sheng/nourishing life

Class 2: Study of Qi and Its Dynamics: Integrity & Resilience 

This weekend focuses on the physiology and patho-mechanisms of Qi.  We will explore how scent, taste, and shapes of different herbs affect the movement of Qi in different parts of the body. Multiple treatment strategies, from classical to contemporary sources will be presented.  

​The difference between prenatal and postnatal tonification in treatment will be clarified.   

Tongue diagnosis is highlighted as a window into the Qi dynamics.

• Modes of Qi stagnation & their correlation to different herbs
• Levels of Tonification of Qi: Wei/Ying/Yuan
• Types of Qi and their corresponding treatment strategies: Gu, Zong, Zhen, Zheng
• Key Formulas that teach us the requirements of successful treatment of Qi disorders
• Clinical Integration: Tongue and Pulse and Facial Diagnosis (Linking specific herbs to pulse images) 
• Paozhi: processing herbs to effect the Qi and it’s vectors of movement

Class 3:  Xue and the Dynamics of Blood 

This weekend focuses on the physiology and patho-mechanisms of Xue/Blood and its dynamics.  Multiple treatment strategies, from classical to contemporary sources, for the tonification and invigoration of blood will be presented.   

A presentation of herbs in the treatment of the Luo rounds the weekend.
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• Sheng Hua/Generating and Transforming blood as a Gynecological Strategy
• The dynamics of Invigorating Blood: the physiological perquisites of moving vs. invigorating vs. breaking blood
• Blood Stasis vs. Blood Stagnation in the clinic
• Treating the Luo Vessels with herbs
• The Blood Model of Xue Ji as a paradigm for blood tonification
• Wang Qing-Ren’s models of Blood Stasis and his influence in contemporary practice
• Paozhi: processing herbs to enhance blood dynamics

Class 4: Jin-Ye the Dynamic of Fluids

This weekend focuses on physiology and patho-mechanisms of fluids. .  Understanding how to assess the physiological prerequisites for successful treatment of pathological fluids will be emphasized. Distinctions in the transformations of phlegm and the transformation of dampness will also be clearly presented.  Multiple treatment strategies, from classical to contemporary sources will be presented.

Additionally, a model for understanding the endocrine system will be explored.
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• The dynamics of the treatment of phlegm: discerning the physiological prerequisites of transforming vs. expelling vs. dissipating vs. vaporizing phlegm
• Distinctions between turbidity and dampness and phlegm in the clinic
• Treatment Strategies from the Imperial Academy tradition: formulas as teachers
• PaoZhi: processing herbs to treat dampness & phlegm
• Clinical Integration: tracking prognosis and treatment  with Tongue and Pulse

Class 5: Engaging the Shen 

This weekend focuses on the treatment of Shen.  Strategies for nourishing the heart to calm the Shen will be presented.  Subtle distinctions between anchoring, settling, sedating tranquilizing shen will be explored.  Strategies for the treatment of psychiatric, psychological and emotional disorders will be examined.   This weekend will also teach the principles of the treatment of neifeng/internal wind. Distinctions between the “Big shen” and the “Little shen” will be drawn.  

Treatment strategies for neurological conditions will be presented.

• Working with the dynamics of Shen and it’s relation to consciousness and awareness
• Anxiety and depression in the clinic 
• Treatment strategies for insomnia and sleep disorders
• Working with the brain: understanding the “Big Shen” and its relation to the Nei Dan/Internal Alchemy

Class 6: Securing the Root- Kidney Yin Yang and Jing 

This weekend focus on the treating the Root and Foundation.  Strategies for the tonification of yin/yang and jing-essence will be presented.  Treatment principles for KI disease will be explored. Key clinical distinctions between prenatal and post-natal deficiencies and how to detect this on the pulse will be examined. Treatment strategies from classical traditions,

​Zhu Dan-Xi and the Nourishing yin Current, Zhang Jie-Bin and the Warm Supplementation Current will be explored.
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• Nan Jing Source theory 
• Strategies for treating KI disorders
• Tracking the of the loss of latency
• Principles in the assessment of resources to maintain latency and management of chronic degenerative disease
• Herbs for the Divergent Channels and the Eight Extraordinary Vessels
• Clinical Integration: Tongue and Pulse images related to specific herbs & formulas​

Class 7 : ​The Shang Hun Lun Tradition 

This weekend focuses on the treatment of exogenous conditions through the lens of the Shang Han Lun.  This seminal text provides us with the foundational concepts of Chinese herbal medicine. We will explore treatment strategies for resolution of Cold Damage while also discerning the subtleties of the essential methods used by Zhang Zhong-Jing. 

 With each formula we will also examine creative and flexible usage of these foundational formulas by contemporary clinicians  
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• Strategies for the treatment of colds, flu and other infectious diseases
• The classical model for transmission of disease and its universal applications
• The art of modification of formulas
• Clinical applications of classical formulas to contemporary diseases

Class 8: Wen Bing Tradition - Clearing Heat and Toxicity 

This weekend focuses on strategies for clearing heat and toxicity.  Herbs and formulas that clear different types and different levels of heat will be differentiated.  We will explore treatment strategies for the resolution of diseases caused by heat and the concepts of seasonal and environmental conditions causes of disease.

​The concepts of lurking heat and incubation will be examined in light of contemporary understanding of chronic degenerative and infectious disease.

• Strategies for the treatment of toxic heat, blood heat, damp heat, phlegm heat, summer heat 
• Miasmic disorders
• Antibiotic, antiviral and anti fungal herbs
• Treatment strategies for antibiotic resistant conditions