The Huangdi Neijing (黃 帝 內 經) contains the two oldest texts of Chinese medicine, and they don’t give up their wisdom through easy perusal. The oral lineage of Jeffrey Yuen has cultivated a deep relationship with Neijing over eighteen centuries, and offers many clinically important ideas that have been lost from modern Chinese medical doctrine. Steven Alpern structures and demystifies this rich lineage’s often enigmatic teachings, allowing modern practitioners and students to understand and use them more easily. These seminars offer both a broad survey of the lineage’s core interpretations and several practical diagnostic methods and treatment techniques participants will be able to begin using immediately in clinical practice.

“Steven Alpern makes the oral lineage of Jeffrey Yuen clinically useful.” Bill Wright, L. Ac. (Auburn, CA; FBU ’01)

Day 1: Unblocking the Vital Flows of Life
Individual life depends on maintaining the continuous flow of vital influences (qi, blood, jinfluids, ye-fluids, wei-defensive qi, ying-nutritive qi, jing-essence, and shen-spirit). This seminar briefly discusses classical Chinese worldview (qi-utility, xiang-image/symbol, dao -- 器 象 道), and introduces basic Neijing theories that serve as the building blocks for devising treatment strategies that inspire profound healing for practitioners and students trained in modern TCM. We will discuss the fundamental movements of life, how to differentiate blocks in vital flow, and practice both diagnostic methods and specific treatment techniques.

Clinical Practica: one workshop introduces the "Pulse Feed-back" method, which allows
practitioners and students of Chinese medicine to refine their skill in the subtle art of pulse
reading, and thus improve their diagnostic acuity; the other workshop gives seminar participants
the chance to learn several Neijing-style needling techniques by practicing with each other.

Day 2: Transformative Healing with the Channel Complexes
The primary channels/vessels (jingmai, 經 脈) are charged with maintaining the continuous flow of ying (營) and wei (衛), or in modern terms blood and qi. Yet, individuals are constantly “exposed” to both internal and external influences that stagnate vital flow (xie, 邪) -- the various pathogenic factors. Each primary channel has an entire complex of jingluo (經 絡), consisting of a sinew (jingjin, 經 筋), luo (絡), and channel distinction/divergence (jingbie, 經 別) to support it. These jingluo allow the primary channels to successfully discharge their duty to maintain continuous flow without the individual having to resolve all pathogenic factors; instead, the individual can handle those pathogenic factors by suspending, somatizing and storing them for future resolution. Thorough exploration of these channel complexes challenges practitioners and students to transform their understanding of Chinese medical practice. Besides providing a more subtle and sophisticated conceptual model of physiology, their structure invites practitioners to stimulate profound transformative healing (hua, 化), rather than seeking to manage the expression of distress, by returning patients to their ‘normal’ physiological processes (bian, 變) which had brought them to their currently manifest symptoms.

Clinical Practica: Steven will differentiate blocks in two patients, devise and demonstrate his application of Neijing-style treatments, and discuss those treatment strategies.

L.Ac./CEU Full Weekend: $150.00
L.Ac./CEU Single Day: $85.00
70% Discount for FBU Faculty = $45.00 Full Weekend / $25.50 Single Day
20% Discount for FBU Alumni = $120.00 Full Weekend / $68.00 Single Day

Student Rate Full Weekend: $100.00
Student Rate Single Day: $60.00
20% Discount for FBU Students = $80.00 Full Weekend / $48.00 Single Day

To register, please contact Ali at 831.476.9424 or email marketing@fivebranches.edu. Note - discounts must be verified through FBU administration.

In Medical Qigong IV, students are introduced to advanced Medical Qigong theories and clinical application. Topics include: energy purgation, tonification, regulation and cultivation, as well as the exercises and meditations used as homework prescriptions in the Medical Qigong clinical training. Other topics are: clinical protocols, combining Medical Qigong with other TCM modalities (acupuncture, massage, cupping, moxa and herbs), clinical ethics, clinical burnout, principles and parameters of Medical Qigong therapy, contraindications, and clinical observations of pathological energetic patterns, internal organ prescriptions, and Healing Sound Therapy. Upon completion of this course, students are ready to begin practicing on their own, utilizing Medical Qigong treatment protocols in combination with other TCM modalities, and empowering their patients by teaching them modified Qigong prescriptions to suit their personal needs.

To register, contact Ali at 831.476.9424 or email marketing@fivebranches.edu. Our online registration link will be posted shortly.