More Classical Chinese Medicine courses in Portland, an update and a question

Hello my patient readers,

I have a few items of interest for you today.

1. I am working hard on several things for the blog. My work has been stymied somewhat by the new course I’m teaching at NCNM (have to get my teaching legs under me) and the intense amount of activity going on at Watershed Community Wellness. In the queue are the following:

• Information, currently being worked on with students at NCNM, about the relationship method of learning Chinese herbs
• A special offer for Deepest Health readers on some excellent books for learning Classical Chinese in the context of Classical Chinese medical texts
• An interview with Paul Rosenberg, tea monk in Portland, about the energetics of tea

2. Watershed Community Wellness is currently upgrading our website. You can see the newest iteration by clicking on the link in this sentence. New to the site is a sign-up page for our newsletter. Geared towards patients and people looking for useful, accurate everyday health information, it may be of interest to some of Deepest Health’s readers – so go ahead and sign up if you are interested. Thanks!

3. A question : who would like to see the weekly Eric rambling about Chinese medicine podcast return to Deepest Health?

4. Michael Givens, MAEC, MSOM, recent graduate of NCNM and long time student of Chinese medicine, history and culture has several courses coming up at Watershed Community Wellness. Below find a schedule of his current offerings. If you are interested, please contact him directly.

Classical Studies Saturday Series

Reviving the old to gain knowledge of the new…

At Watershed Community Wellness

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with Michael Givens, MAEC, MSOM

Advanced Formulas Study – new class beginning soon!

This course is an advanced study of the Shanghan zabing lun. Beginners are welcome and will benefit from taking the course, but it is geared towardsthose who have an interest in studying the depth and intricacies of the work of Zhang Zhongjing.

We will discuss the major formulas in each of the six conformations, including their internal and modular structure, their directional quality according to classical physiology, and their relation to many other formulas in the Shanghan lun and Jingui Yaolue lun.

This course will also demonstrate the seasonal wisdom inherent in the system of the six conformations as understood both from the Neijing Suwen and the Shanghan lun. Students in the course will begin to see the diverse application of classical formulas and thus will be able to begin using them to treat the diverse diseases and imbalances of the modern patient.

We will cover the six conformations in this order so as to correspond with the seasons:

9/26:             Taiyang

11/7:            Yangming

12/5:             Taiyin

1/9:             Shaoyin and Jueyin

1/16:             Shaoyang

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $300 or $70 per class (drop-in : you can commence at any time after the first class and still benefit)

Introduction to the Shanghan lun

This course will prepare you for studying the classical formulas of the Shanghan lun, as well as establish a firm basis of all formulas study. The Shanghan lun offers us a deep understanding of physiology, pathology and the correct approach to treating all diseases. This class is for the beginning and advanced student. Even if you already have a strong formulas education but would like to dig deeper into the text of the Shanghan lun, this class is for you.

We will be reading and analyzing the introductory lines of each of the conformations in the Shanghan lun, and discussing the fundamental formulas in each chapter and how they are representative of the physiology and pathology of each of the conformations.

Dates: Saturday 10/3 and Saturday 10/17

Time: 9-noon

Location: Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee: $120

Discussion of the Trigrams in the Yijing

This course will deepen your understanding of the core principles of the Yijing (The Classic of Change). Through carefully looking at the Shuogua (the Discussion of the Trigrams) we will unearth core principles of Chinese medicine, and the philosophy of the superior physician.

The Shuogua is one of the “wings” of the Yijing, ancient commentaries which had a significant impact upon the understanding of the Yijing, as well as on the theories of the ancient classics of medicine. We will discuss the deeper aspects of the trigrams, numerology, symbolism and correspondence, as well as moral philosophy, as they came to influence Chinese medicine.

The Shuogua introduces many key concepts found in Chinese medicine, especially within the theories of Yin and Yang and Five Phases, as seen in the Hetu (Yellow River Map) and the Luoshu (River Luo Writings). This pre-Confucian treatise offers for us a glimpse of the root of these very fundamental theories.

Dates:                         Saturday 10/10 and Saturday 10/24

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $120

The Great Battle of the Dragon and Turtle

A 3 hour lecture on the Open – Close – Pivot (Kai He Shu) theory in the Neijing Suwen chapter 6, as understood through the lens of ancient Yijing calendrical science and the Six Conformations of the Shanghan lun. This class will present a unique way of looking at time and change (and transformation) as well as a deeper understanding of physiology, pathology and the fundamental concept of “one yang.”

Date:                         10/31

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $60

The Joy of Learning, the Delight of Discussion

An Introduction to the Confucian Analects for the Chinese Medicine Practitioner

“To learn and at due times to repeat what one has learnt, is that not after all a pleasure? That friends should come to one from afar, is this not after all delightful?

“The Master said: Let a [student] first be incited by the Songs (Shijing, Book of Odes), then given a firm footing by the study of Li 禮 (ritual / virtue of the Heart), and finally perfected by Yue 樂 (music).”

Following the example of this statement found in the Analects, we will discuss the ancient Odes (Shijing) of the early Zhou dynasty, then explore the depth and meaning of Li 禮, and then finally engage with the concept of music and joy (yue / le 樂) in the Analects as well as in the art of Chinese medicine. Please join Michael in on two Saturdays in November for this discussion series on the wisdom Confucius can offer to students and practitioners of Chinese medicine.

Dates:                         11/14, 11/28

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $120

The Erdan and Liushen Formulas in the Tangye jing

This course will present the important Erdan and Liushen formulas in the Tangye jing (the ancient all-but-lost classic of formulas), which have been shown to be precursors to the formulas in the Shanghan lun. They provide for us an ancient perspective of seasonal illness.

There are two sets of Erdan formulas (the Yang Dan formulas, and the Yin Dan formulas or the Sunlight in the Sunrise formulas, and the Shade in the Sunrise formulas), which include a total of five formulas, the most important being Guizhi Tang (Cinnamon Twig Decoction).

The Liushen formulas are based upon the six directions (North, South, East, West, Above and Below), but also can be seen as corresponding to the Twelve Branches, as understood in classical Chinese medical theory. They are the original Dragon, Phoenix, Tiger, and Turtle formulas.

Both of these sets of formulas treat Tianxing (or seasonal diseases or epidemics). This course will provide an understanding of how these ancient formulas are very relevant for modern epidemic diseases.

Dates:                         11/21, 12/12

Time:                         9-noon

Location:             Watershed Community Wellness, SE 9^th and Morrison

Fee:                         $120

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