​Japanese Abdominal Diagnosis and Shang Han Lun Formulas


with Kumiko Shirai, MS, L.Ac.
July 21rst -22nd, 2012

 Course description: 14 CEU's
          We are happy to host Fukushin specialist Kumiko Shirai!
          Japanese abdominal diagnosis or Fukushin is the diagnostic art developed in medieval Japan based on the canonical writings by Zhang Zhongjing. Careful inspection of the Shang Han Za Bing Lun reveals countless references to abdominal conditions that could only have been diagnosed by actual palpation of the abdomen. The skill never fully developed in China but flourished in Japan.


          Fukushin refers specifically to the Shanghan Lun style of abdominal diagnosis developed by Japanese scholars during Edo period (1603-1867 CE) for the purpose of prescribing the Han dynasty formulas of Zhang Zhongjing. 


         Kumiko Shirai’s Fukushin course is taught to match the abdominal patterns with formula methods and formula families of the Shang han Lun (It will have a sequel for Jin Gui Yao Lue within the next 6 months, date TBA). This seminar is very practical and clinically oriented, and is designed to give you diagnostic and treatment tools you can apply immediately. Kumiko will lecture about the specific herbal methods and formula families for each of the 6 conformations as well as teach hands-on diagnostic methods. 


        

























Space is limited so as to allow for quality of instruction and hands-on practice. For more information please call (415)250-8508 or email mellowmoonherbs@yahoo.com. 


REGISTER




Tuition:
$225 early bird (before July 1rst)
$250 thereafter
$175 students
Please review our cancellation policy.
Location: Between Heaven & Earth Acupuncture and Herbs, 8 Bolinas Road, CA. 94930.
Date: July 21rst - 22nd, 2012 
Time: 9 AM - 5 PM




About Kumiko Shirai, L.Ac.:


         Kumiko Shirai grew up in Kobe, Japan, but has been living in the USA for more than ten years. Influenced by her mother, a Taiji master, she learned to appreciate Asian medical and martial arts from an early age and has been practicing Aikido for almost twenty years. Kumiko majored in Chinese Studies (BSc) and attended the School of Classical Chinese Medicine at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR, USA where she ultimately graduated with a Masters (MSc) of Oriental Medicine. Kumiko trained in discipleship with Dr. Arnaud Versluys for three years and specializes in Han-dynasty herbal medicine and Japanese abdominal diagnosis fukushin. She has taught in Dr. Versluys’ Canonical Chinese Medicine Training™ curriculum and teaches both in the US and in Europe.

 
 

Description    
  
          This series of five classes is devoted to the study of obstetrics within the supportive frame of classical Chinese medicine. Through the study of the early Chinese canons of medicine, emerges a clinical system which has a lot to offer as an adjunct to the primary care of pregnant women. While it in no way replaces care by a midwife or an obstetrician, Chinese medicine offers some very real, safe and gentle therapeutic solutions in a field of medicine where they are very needed due to the delicate nature of the growing baby. This series is an exploration of our role in obstetrics, as modern practitioners of classical Chinese medicine working together with midwife or doctor to achieve the ultimate outcome: a healthy baby and a healthy mother. 

                 All the Chinese medicine classes will be taught by Genevieve Le Goff out of the great canons of classical Chinese literature: the Shang Han Za Bing Lun, The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, the Tang Ye Jing, the Classic of Childbirth from Mawangdui... artfully weaving a thematic presentation with text analysis. We have the great luck and asset to have Joan Green teach the western obstetrics class; through the lens of the midwifery model of care, Joan will teach fetal development, lab tests, birth and complications. By bringing together ancient Chinese knowledge and modern obstetrical knowledge, this course will leave students feeling confident about safely and effectively assisting and enhancing the primary care of pregnant and birthing mothers.


Schedule:

Class 1: Classical Physiology of Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum 
An in-depth study of the 10 lunar months of gestation, birth and postpartum. We will study physiological principles from the Tai Chan Shu (Classic of Childbirth), Shang Han Lun and Jin Gui Yao Lue, and Nei Jing.
05/01/16 9:30AM-4:30PM, 6 CEU's
Taught by Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac. 

Class 2: Divine Alchemy: Safe and Effective Classical Herbal Formulation for Pregnancy, Birth and Postpartum
This class is an exposition of the cosmic art of effective formula making. We will apply this to pregnancy, learning how to to use insights from the Tang Ye Jing, Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing, Shan Han Za Bing Lun and Tai Chan Shu to make safe and effective formulae for mothers.
05/15/16 9:30AM-4:30PM, 6 CEU's
Taught by Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac. 

Class 3:  Basic Pregnancy and Birth from a Midwifery Perspective
05/22/16, 9:00AM-5:00PM, 7 CEU's
Taught by Joan Green, LM 
This will be an overview of normal pregnancy and birth from conception to 6 weeks postpartum.  This presentation will include normal fetal development, and normal physiological changes in the mother.  Also included will be standard laboratory work and available genetic testing.  Each trimester of the pregnancy will be covered.  Several complications will be discussed. Normal labor and birth will be presented and the first several weeks of life for the newborn is included.  This course is designed for acupuncturist and acupuncture students interested in working with pregnant and newly post partum women.


Class 4: Herbal Treatment of Common Ailments of Pregnancy
This class will cover differential diagnosis and possible classical herbal treatments for the common ailments of pregnancy, birth and postpartum, ranging from beign ones such as morning sickness, fatigue, and constipation, to severe problems such as pre-eclampsia, threatened miscarriage, failure to thrive etc.
06/05/16, 9:30AM-4:30PM, 6 CEU's
Taught by Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac. 

Class 5: 50 Cases Studies
50 case studies from Genevieve's practice, all involving formulae from the Shan Han Za Bing Lun and the Qian Jin Fang. Vivid birth stories included!
06/12/16, 9:30AM-4:30PM, 6 CEU's
Taught by Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac. 
​

About Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac.

    Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac., is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist. She practices an ancient form of Chinese medicine that has its roots in the Classical Era of Chinese history (Han dynasty and prior). She specializes in applying classical Chinese medicine to pregnancy and birthing in partnership with several local midwives.
    After graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in Environmental Studies & Ecology, and the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences with a MS in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Genevieve received special training in midwifery and gynecology, as well as extensive post-graduate training in Classical Herbal Formulation from the Institute of Classics in East-Asian Medicine. This formulation system is in the lineage of Tian He Ming, who practiced in the tradition of Zhang Zhong Jing's Shang Han Za Bing Lun. She is constantly engaged in research and study to further her ability to help her patients, and is now pursuing a second post-graduate degree at the Hunyuan Institute. She also directs a State accredited Continuing Education Program for licensed acupuncturists, bringing prominent scholars, sinologists and clinicians to the Bay Area to teach seminars.
    Genevieve Le Goff is the mother of two wonderful girls, both born at home. 

​About Joan Green, LM

          Joan Green has attended over a thousand births as the primary midwife and has been practicing woman-centered midwifery care since 1984.
          She received her training at the Maternity Center in El Paso, Texas. She had a home childbirth practice in El Paso after completing her training. She then went on to teach and attend births for many years at Maternidad La Luz, renowned midwifery school and free standing birth center. She has been living and practicing midwifery in Marin and Sonoma Counties for the last 17 years. She was the co-founding midwife for Circle of Life Midwifery Center in Fairfax and now practices as Heart Wisdom Midwifery. She served for more than 5 years on the Board of Directors of the California Association of Midwives and also completed two terms as Vice President for the Midwives Alliance of North America.

​

October 5th, 2014 ~ 9am to 6pm
8 CEU’s 

Course Description:


This class is the sequel to the previously offered “Pregnancy, Birth and Post-Partum with Classical Chinese Medicine” class.
We will review the physiology and pathology of pregnancy in the introductory part.  Then we propose to explore over 25 case studies illustrating the treatment of pregnant, parturient and post-partum women with formulae from the Shang Han Lun, Jin Gui Yao Lue, and Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang. We will amply discuss theory, treatment principles and herbal safety for each case study. Through these case studies will emerge a picture of where and how the mother’s life cycle intersects with the baby’s development, as well as the importance of female Blood and how to nurture mother and baby by nourishing this life giving liquid. The best fetal-maternal care comes out of the deep understanding of this relationship, as well as a solid grasp of herbal methods and appropriate and safe formulation.


Objectives:

The students will:
be familiarized with the presentation, diagnosis and treatment of common ailments of pregnancy and post-partum;
- gain an understanding of the normal physiology of pregnancy, birth and post-partum from a classical, 6 Conformation and 5 Movement perspective;
- gain insight into classical formulation and the safe application of classical formulae in order to achieve the well-being of mother and baby;
- be introduced to the cosmological dimension of Chinese medicine and herbalism at large, and more specifically in this context, of the physiological development of the fetus.


For more information, you may call (415)250-8508 or email mellowmoonherbs@yahoo.com.


Outline:

Morning: Theory

9am-10am:
Directional/cosmological theory
Herbal methods and safety

10:10am- 12pm: 
Pre-natal development month by month according to Wang Shuhe’s Mai Jing, the Tai Chan Shu, Xu Zhi Cai and Zhang Zhong Jing’s Jin Gui Yao Lue.

12-1:00 pm: LUNCH

Afternoon: Case Studies

1pm-2:00pm: 1rst trimester case studies
1. morning sickness
2. 1rst trimester fatigue- twins, one not growing due to placental insufficiency - jueyin dryness and cold
3. endometriosis, hyperemesis gravidarum, charlie horse-
4. incomplete miscarriage
5. gan mao, shaoyang in 1rst trimester jueyin xu,blanched nipples and colic
6. subchorionic bleeding, 1rst and 2nd trimester, bi polar, post dates, shaoyin xu and reckless ministerial fire
7. ying wei disharmony in early pregnancy

2pm-3:00pm: 2nd and 3rd trimester case studies
1. severe asthma in pregnancy
2. pneumonia in 3rd trimester
3. premature contractions in 8th month 
4. cholestasis and diabetes, early medical induction, premature birth
5. breech baby - shaoyin xu and yang not submerging
6. oligohydramnios

3pm-4:00pm: end of pregnancy case studies
1. pre-term labor
2. pre-eclampsia: water overtaking fire 1
3. pre-eclampsia: water overtaking fire 2
4. pre-eclampsia: water overtaking fire 3, with ministerial fire losing its
root
5. past due labor: shaoyin xu
6. past due labor: yang ming blockage
7. past due labor: cervical lip due to trauma of cerclage- stalled labor: shaoyin/jueyin xu
8. stalled labor: yangming rebellion


5pm-6:00pm: intra and post-partum case studies
1. stalled labor: shaoyang obstruction and shaoyin xu
2. intra-partum hemorrhage, shock, neonatal distress, insufficient
lactation 
3. post-partum depression - shaoyin xu
4. post dates, intra-partum hemorrhage and arrhythmiae, post-partum
bladder prolapse
5. post-partum hysteria - jueyin dryness and bao mai rebellion into the
heart
6. jueyin xu and hysteria, baby Gan Cao Xie Xin Tang


About Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac.

    Genevieve Le Goff, L.Ac., is a Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist. She practices an ancient form of Chinese medicine that has its roots in the Classical Era of Chinese history (Han dynasty and prior). She specializes in applying classical Chinese medicine to pregnancy and birthing in partnership with several local midwives.


    Classical Chinese medicine views the human body as a microcosm of the universe. Therefore the health of the planet is inseparable from ours. In keeping with the highest precepts of the classical Chinese medical canons, a good doctor seeks to understand physiology in an ecological fashion, and to honor the roots of these insights by the observation and protection of natural rhythms.
    After graduating from UC Santa Barbara with a BA in Environmental Studies & Ecology, and the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences with a MS in Traditional Chinese Medicine, Genevieve received special training in midwifery and gynecology, as well as extensive post-graduate training in Classical Herbal Formulation from the Institute of Classics in East-Asian Medicine. This formulation system is in the lineage of Tian He Ming, who practiced in the tradition of Zhang Zhong Jing's Shang Han Za Bing Lun. She is constantly engaged in research and study to further her ability to help her patients, and is now pursuing a second post-graduate degree at the Hunyuan Institute. She also directs a State accredited Continuing Education Program for licensed acupuncturists, bringing prominent scholars, sinologists and clinicians to the Bay Area to teach seminars.


    Genevieve Le Goff is the mother of two wonderful girls, both born at home. She has run the Between Heaven & Earth Community Supported Acupuncture (CSA) program, a cooperative of Marin Organic Farms, since 2002.

March 15, 2014 ~ 9 AM-6PM
8 CEU's


Course description:

        Composed in the third century BCE, the Zhuangzi is not only one of the most beautiful, thought-provoking, and entertaining writings from classical China but also the most relevant Daoist classic for practitioners of Chinese medicine. It discusses topics like life and death; the nature of the universe and the role of humans therein; true health and happiness; the self, the limitations of rational thinking, and the acquisition of technical skills; and perhaps as a thread to tie it all together, self-transformation and the art of “nurturing life” (yang sheng), which is the heart of true Chinese medicine.

                                                      The present seminar will take participants on a journey of “free and footloose roaming” (xiaoyao you, the title of a famous chapter) through this fascinating text by working with excerpts from the original source in classical Chinese. As we encounter them, we will review basic grammar patterns and discuss the deeper meaning of key terms and phrases, as well as their usage in medical literature. But we will also step back and discuss the concrete clinical application of these pearls of Daoist wisdom from the following angles: in the practitioner’s own practices of self-cultivation; in the acquisition, evaluation, and application of medical skills and knowledge; in the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of patients’ clinical conditions as expressions of underlying “dis-ease”; and in practitioner-patient communication and education in the cultural background underlying Chinese medicine as not only a clinical practice but also a life-long process of cultivating health and happiness.
        At the end of the day, this seminar will leave participants refreshed and newly inspired by the fountain of deep wisdom from which their medicine sprang forth more than 2000 years ago, with a greater appreciation for the meaning of healing in the classical Chinese context.
 

Objectives:

- Improve the ability to read classical Chinese literature related to medicine in the original by reviewing basic grammar patterns and vocabulary.
- Guided by the instructor, translate and survey selections from the Zhuangzi that express key concepts of Daoism relevant to medicine.
- Develop a historically sound understanding of Daoism in its historical and cultural context
- Recognize and appreciate the Daoist influence on Chinese medicine, which participants can then communicate to their colleagues and patients to explain the roots of their medicine, justify specific diagnostic and therapeutic choices, and improve patient compliance by explaining the larger context of yangsheng practices.
-Explore and appraise the application of key tenets of Daoism in various modern clinical contexts.


This translation class is accessible to advanced classical Chinese readers and beginners alike. All you need is a basic knowledge of deciphering and looking up characters, and the willingness to prepare. Texts and supportive materials will be provided before the class.


Early bird registration: $150 before February 20th,
$175 thereafter.


For more information and to register, please call (415)250-8508 or email mellowmoonherbs@yahoo.com.



Biography: Sabine Wilms, PhD.

        Sabine has been studying classical Chinese writings on medicine ever since her PhD program in Asian Studies and medical Anthropology. While her academic background has given her a solid foundation in early Chinese philosophy, science, and cosmology and therefore in a historically and culturally sensitive approach to classical Chinese medicine, she also enjoys an ethnomedical approach to Chinese medicine as a living, clinically effective, and ever-changing response to any given cultural environment. She focuses her research and teaching on gynecology, reproduction, and “nurturing life,” as understood in the broadest sense by the great medieval “King of Medicinals” Sun Simiao. Sabine is happiest when engaging in a dialogue with practitioners on how to make this ancient wisdom come alive in our modern times. Following in Sun Simiao’s footsteps, she spent many years dividing her time between writing and lecturing on Chinese medicine and raising goats, poultry, bees, and apples on her small biodynamic farm in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. She currently resides in the mountains of Portland, Oregon, and teaches at National College of Natural Medicine.


Her publications include:
Pathomechanisms of the Five Viscera (translator, separate books on the Heart, Liver, Lung, Spleen, and Kidney, 2005-2007, Paradigm Publications); 
Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, Essential Prescriptions worth a Thousand in Gold for Every Emergency: Volumes 2-4 on Gynecology (The Chinese Medicine Database, 2007); 
Chinese Medicine in Infertility (co-edited with Andreas Noll; Thieme Publications, 2009); 
The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, Volume 1 (The Chinese Medicine Database, 2010);
Formulas from the Golden Cabinet with Songs (The Chinese Medicine Database, 2010)
Jin Gui Yao Lue: Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer (co-authored with Nigel Wiseman, forthcoming by Paradigm Publications).
Concise Introduction to Chinese Medicine (co-authored with Nigel Wiseman, forthcoming by Paradigm Publications).
Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, Essential Prescriptions worth A Thousand in Gold for Every Emergency: Volume 5 on Pediatrics (Happy Goat Productions, 2013).

May 25-26th, 2013
14 CEU's

Unearthing the Treasure of Classical Chinese Gynecology by Returning to the Roots:
Studying Gynecology in the First 1000 Years of Chinese Medical Literature


          
​        In this weekend of text study, we will translate and contemplate the key passages on the medical treatment of women in the Chinese classical medical tradition, from the Huáng Dì Nèi Jīng 黃帝內經 (“Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor,” Han dynasty) to Sūn Sīmiǎo’s 孫思邈 Bèi Jí Qiān Jīn Yào Fāng 備急千金要方 (“Crucial Treatments Worth a Thousand in Gold to Prepare For Emergencies”) to Qi Zhongfu’s Nü Kē Bǎi Wèn 女科百問 (“Hundred Questions on Gynecology”) and other Song dynasty classics. 


        In terms of content, we will look at the special characteristics of women’s developmental stages through childhood, menarche, the reproductive years, and menopause and aging. Following the Chinese tradition, we will then focus our attention most specifically on the significance of female Blood (in the form of menstruation, fertility, nurturance to the fetus during pregnancy, and breast-feeding) and the effects, positive AND negative, of women’s reproductive processes. Throughout the course, we will consider the significance of these insights in regards to clinical diagnosis and treatment.


            Much of this priceless information has never before been translated and has therefore been routinely ignored in modern TCM-style representations of Chinese gynecology, to the great detriment of the profession and your patients. By now, it is well known that Chinese medicine has priceless treatments for such standard gynecological concerns as menstruation or fertility, for which biomedicine lacks satisfying answers. But even beyond that, the deep insights expressed in the classics into the functioning, symbolism, and beauty of female physiological processes present powerful and much needed perspectives on the female body that will have a profound impact on how you approach your female patients and their care.



Objectives:
- Translation of key passages from classical medical literature on gynecology, much of which are not translated elsewhere.
- Familiarity with the basic concepts of classical Chinese gynecology
- Creation and discussion of a rudimentary vocabulary of Chinese technical terms in gynecology that will lay the foundations to access later literature on your own.
- Mastery of important recurring patterns in classical Chinese grammar by explaining and practicing them in class.
- Sensitivity to the beauty, power, and depth of the classical Chinese perspective on the female body in health and illness.
- Ability to evaluate concrete tools for diagnosis and treatment, based on a new, deeper understanding of gynecology that aims at achieving true health instead of just treating symptoms.

1. -Inspiration from the heart for your daily work as a healer, as a nurturer of life, in your work on female bodies, on male bodies, on yourself, and on the universe.

Prerequisites: This is a translation class. A basic knowledge of classical Chinese is required, but you do not need to be advanced, or even intermediate! The texts will be emailed to participants 2 weeks ahead of time; to get the best out of this opportunity to study with Dr. Wilms, it is recommended to prepare the texts before class. We will then go over the translation in detail at the seminar.


Tuition:
Practitioner, early bird (before April 15th): $275
Practitioner, regular price: $325
Student: $200



For more information and to register, please call (415)250-8508 or email mellowmoonherbs@yahoo.com.



Outline


Day One
9-10:15
Introduction to
- classical medicine and the ideal of Nurturing Life
- Women in Chinese culture vis-a-vis our own cultural blinders and biomedical views
10:30-11:50
Gender Differences in the Early Classics: Sù Wèn 素問 and Jīn Guī Yào Lüe 金櫃要略
12:00-1:30 
Lunch Break
1:30-2:20
Sūn Sīmiǎo’s 孫思邈 Gynecological Volumes in the Bèi Jí Qiān Jīn Yào Fāng 備急千金要方 : An Introduction and Overview
2:30-3:45
Why Women are Different: Introduction from the Qiān Jīn Fāng 千金方 (Treatments Worth a Thousand in Gold)
4:00-5:00: Embryology and Treatments for Nurturing the Fetus: Mawangdui 馬王堆, Taichanshu 胎產書  and Ishimpo 醫心方



Day Two
9-9:50
Introduction to Song Gynecology 
10-10:50
Female Blood: Fine-Tuning Menstruation in the Fu Ren Da Quan Liang Fang 婦人大全良方 (Compendium of Good Formulas for Women) 
11-12
Menstruation in the Nü Kē Bǎi Wèn 女科百問 (“Hundred Questions on Gynecology”).
Lunch Break
12-1:30
1:30-2:20
The Ideal of a Natural Birth: The Shí Chǎn Lùn 十產論 (Discussion of the Ten Kinds of Childbirth”)
2:30-3:20
Postpartum Care: The Qiān Jīn Fāng 千金方 (Treatments Worth a Thousand in Gold)
3:30-5
A Basic Formula: Sì Wù Tāng 四物湯 (Four Ingredient Decoction) from the Tài Píng Huì Mín Hé Jì Jú Fāng太平惠民和劑局方 and its later discussion as a postpartum treatment.


Biography: Sabine Wilms, PhD.

        Sabine has been studying classical Chinese writings on medicine ever since her PhD program in Asian Studies and medical Anthropology. While her academic background has given her a solid foundation in early Chinese philosophy, science, and cosmology and therefore in a historically and culturally sensitive approach to classical Chinese medicine, she also enjoys an ethnomedical approach to Chinese medicine as a living, clinically effective, and ever-changing response to any given cultural environment. She focuses her research and teaching on gynecology, reproduction, and “nurturing life,” as understood in the broadest sense by the great medieval “King of Medicinals” Sun Simiao. Sabine is happiest when engaging in a dialogue with practitioners on how to make this ancient wisdom come alive in our modern times. Following in Sun Simiao’s footsteps, she spent many years dividing her time between writing and lecturing on Chinese medicine and raising goats, poultry, bees, and apples on her small biodynamic farm in the mountains of Northern New Mexico. She currently resides in the mountains of Portland, Oregon, and teaches at National College of Natural Medicine.


Her publications include:
Pathomechanisms of the Five Viscera (translator, separate books on the Heart, Liver, Lung, Spleen, and Kidney, 2005-2007, Paradigm Publications); 
Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, Essential Prescriptions worth a Thousand in Gold for Every Emergency: Volumes 2-4 on Gynecology (The Chinese Medicine Database, 2007); 
Chinese Medicine in Infertility (co-edited with Andreas Noll; Thieme Publications, 2009); 
The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Zhen Jiu Da Cheng, Volume 1 (The Chinese Medicine Database, 2010);
Formulas from the Golden Cabinet with Songs (The Chinese Medicine Database, 2010)
Jin Gui Yao Lue: Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer (co-authored with Nigel Wiseman, forthcoming by Paradigm Publications).
Concise Introduction to Chinese Medicine (co-authored with Nigel Wiseman, forthcoming by Paradigm Publications).
Bei Ji Qian Jin Yao Fang, Essential Prescriptions worth A Thousand in Gold for Every Emergency: Volume 5 on Pediatrics (forthcoming 2013).

April 13-14th, 2013
12 CEU's
 

Course Description:


    This course is an introduction to the calendric sciences found in the Huangdi Neijing Suwen (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Basic Questions). It covers the foundational material necessary to grasp and apply these theories such as an in depth investigation into the profundity of Yin and Yang, and that of the Wu Xing (five phases) and Liu Qi (six atmospheric influences). 
    As a starting point, this course begins with the oldest known treatise on the Yijing (Classic of Change), the Shuogua (Discussion of the Trigrams), for this text offers a primary view of the theories of Yin and Yang, and that of form and transformation. The theories of form and transformation are later investigated specifically through Suwen 5, in which a connection to flavor and qi is then made. Then there will be an exploration of calendric science, which will be the heart of the class, and in connection with the theories of form and transformation, flavor and qi, a basis of understanding the application of herbal protocols based upon the yearly energies and movements will be established.


Objectives:
    At the end of this course, students will be able to: 

1. 1.Grasp the deep mysteries of yin and yang as found in the Huangdi Neijing Suwen (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, Basic Questions). 
2. 2.Distinguish between form and function, flavor and qi as found in the classics. 
3. 3.Know and apply the methods of determining calendric changes and energies as found in the Suwen. 
4. 4.Apply methods of prescription that are based upon calendric science, yin and yang, wuxing (the five phases) and liuqi (the six atmospheric influences). 

5. Begin to engage with local weather and climatic patterns, as well as local medicinals based upon a foundation of calendric science.



Registration: Michael Givens teaches by donation. We are asking for a $75 registration fee to cover the costs of organization; when you come to the seminar please take into account Michael's generosity and how much it normally costs to come to a weekend seminar, and give him a generous donation in the basket we will provide!
Please use the link below to register, or feel free to contact Genevieve Le Goff at (415)250-8508 or mellowmoonherbs@yahoo.com for more information.



About Michael Givens:


    Michael Givens has an MA in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College, where he focused on classical Chinese language, and Yijing, Daoist and Confucian texts, as well as classical texts from India and Japan. He also has an MS in Oriental Medicine from the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM), and is a Licensed Acupuncturist. In addition to his studies at NCNM in the School of Classical Chinese medicine, Michael studied directly in a traditional discipleship with Dr. Heiner Fruehauf. After graduating from NCNM in 2009, he established the School of Ancient Medicine (Fang Shi Ye), a teaching and training center for the art and science of directional medicine and ancient wisdom, and the Fang Shi Press. 
    He has written and published three books through the Fang Shi Press, and two books through Shenming Press. He also began teaching at NCNM upon graduation and continues to teach both privately and at the college. He has been in private practice since 2009 as well. He is currently practicing with the Anatara Group in San Francisco, California, and is the co-founder of Radiant Heart Center for Wholeness, LLC in Troutdale, Oregon, where he practices with his wife, Dr. Allison Givens, ND. Together, they are transforming their work, clinic and center into a three-fold, Anthroposophic organization. They live in the windy woods of in the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon, where they are raising their two children, Kai and Umi in the Waldorf tradition.



Detailed Outline:

Day 1 (9am – 4pm, with an Open Question period following)

I. (9-9:15) Introduction 
2. (9:15-9:30) Yin and Yang: foundational principles
3. (9:30-noon) Yin within yang, Yang within yin 
-- Trigrams
-- Inner formation
-- Outer expression
Break (10:30-10:45)
-- Qi: between mountain (air) and marsh (water)
-- Breath, vapor, dynamic movement shaped by invisible form
-- The child of heaven and earth
-- The human being
Lunch (12-1)
4. (1-1:30) Review: the breath of the bagua
5. (1:30-3:30) Form and Transform
-- 4 Directions and the Center
-- 4 Seasonal Conformations: original names
– Suwen 5: formative forces
-- Flavor and Qi; thick and thin; heaven and earth
Break (2:30-2:45)
-- Change and Transformation: 
-- Suwen 5: bianhua
-- Contraction and expansion 
6. (3:30-4) Conclusion: the spirit of form
(4-4:30/5) Open for Questions


Day 2 (9am – 4pm, with an Open Question period following)
1. (9-9:15) Introduction
2. (9:15-10:30) Wuyun, Wuxing, Wuzang: the five in the three
-- Ancient definitions 
-- Wuyun: planet, tone, tool
-- Wuxing: gesture and expression of form; flavor (resonance/ function)
-- Wuzang: resonance and function 
Break (10:30-10:45)
3. (10:45-noon) 10 Stems
-- Symbols of the yin and yang of the wuxing
-- Transiting energy
-- Tones, greater or lesser 
-- Basics of the calendar
Lunch (12-1)
4. (1-1:30) Review: the five wanderers
5. (1:30-3:30) Liuqi: the six atmospheres
-- Specifics from Suwen
-- Conformation correlations
-- Relation to the functions of the conformations
Break (2:30-2:45)
--12 Branches: symbols of yin and yang of the Liuqi
-- Conformational correlations
-- Inner trines from the Huainanzi
-- Calendar calculations
6. (3:30-4) Conclusion: Guisi, the year of the yin water Snake
(4-4:30/5) Open for Questions

January 26-27th, 2013

 14 CEU's
​
          We are happy to welcome back Fukushin specialist Kumiko Shirai! 
    This is the sequel to Kumiko’s “Japanese Abdominal Diagnosis and Shang Han Lun Formulas” seminar last July, which was immensely popular among participants! This time we will focus on abdominal patterns for complex diseases,  Jin Gui Yao Lue. The first day will be an introduction to Fukushin palpation techniques, while the second day will be devoted to jin Gui Yao Lue adbominal patterns. By dividing the weekend in this way, students who have previously taken Kumiko’s classes are able to attend only the second day, unless of course they wish to review basic techniques. Those who are new to Kumiko’s Fukushin classes should register for both days.

    Fukushin refers specifically to the Shang Han Za Bing Lun style of abdominal diagnosis developed by Japanese scholars during Edo period (1603-1867 CE) for the purpose of prescribing the Han dynasty formulas of Zhang Zhongjing.           
    Japanese abdominal diagnosis or Fukushin is the diagnostic art developed in medieval Japan based on the canonical writings by Zhang Zhongjing. Careful inspection of the Shang Han Za Bing Lun reveals countless references to abdominal conditions that could only have been diagnosed by actual palpation of the abdomen. The skill never fully developed in China but flourished in Japan.

         Kumiko Shirai’s Fukushin course is taught to match the abdominal patterns with formula methods and formula families of the Jin Gui Yao Lue. This seminar is very practical and clinically oriented, and is designed to give the participants diagnostic and treatment tools they can apply immediately.
        

Space is limited so as to allow for quality of instruction and hands-on practice. For more information please call (415)250-8508 or email mellowmoonherbs@yahoo.com. 



Tuition:
BOTH DAYS, 14 CEU’s:
    $250 early bird (before December 21rst)
    $275 thereafter
    $225 students
SECOND DAY ONLY, 7 CEU’s:
    $150 early bird (before December 21rst)
    $175 thereafter
    $150 students


Location: Between Heaven & Earth Acupuncture and Herbs, 8 Bolinas Road, Fairfax, CA. 94930.
Date: January 26-27th, 2013
Time: 9 AM - 5 PM


About Kumiko Shirai, L.Ac.:

         Kumiko Shirai grew up in Kobe, Japan, but has been living in the USA for more than ten years. Influenced by her mother, a Taiji master, she learned to appreciate Asian medical and martial arts from an early age and has been practicing Aikido for almost twenty years. Kumiko majored in Chinese Studies (BSc) and attended the School of Classical Chinese Medicine at the National College of Natural Medicine in Portland, OR, USA where she ultimately graduated with a Masters (MSc) of Oriental Medicine. Kumiko trained in discipleship with Dr. Arnaud Versluys for three years and specializes in Han dynasty herbal medicine and Japanese abdominal diagnosis, also known as Fukushin. She has taught in Dr. Versluys’ Canonical Chinese Medicine Training™ curriculum and teaches both in the US and in Europe.