Jung Tao School of Classical Chinese Medicine

This course provides the foundational knowledge for the understanding of Chinese Medical theories, where they fit in the bigger picture of traditional Chinese models of the natural world, and how they are applicable to the human condition. Continuing from the first semester we will learn the basics of diagnosis including pulse and tongue diagnosis. We will explore the channel systems that are laid out in the historical, classic text, Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu. In modern times the emphasis has been on the Primary Channels, also called the Principal Channels. We will go further and study the Sinew (Tendino-Muscular) channels, the Luo Mai (Linking Vessels), the Jing-Bie (Channel Divergences) and the 8 Curious/Extraordinary Vessels.

This course provides the foundational knowledge for the understanding of Chinese Medical theories, where they fit in the bigger picture of traditional Chinese models of the natural world, and how they are applicable to the human condition. Continuing from the first semester we will learn the basics of diagnosis including pulse and tongue diagnosis. We will explore the channel systems that are laid out in the historical, classic text, Huang Di Nei Jing Ling Shu. In modern times the emphasis has been on the Primary Channels, also called the Principal Channels. We will go further and study the Sinew (Tendino-Muscular) channels, the Luo Mai (Linking Vessels), the Jing-Bie (Channel Divergences) and the 8 Curious/Extraordinary Vessels.

This course is primarily a didactic course, relying on lecture and class demonstrations.

Lecture: The lecture portion provides an in-depth study of the diagnostic process, which can be subdivided into two main categories:

Gathering Diagnostic Information: Communicating with and interviewing the patient is covered, including listening, counseling, explaining, and teaching the patient, as well as the issue of patient compliance. The crucial process of gathering information from the patient interview and examination is thoroughly demonstrated and amply rehearsed to give the student complete fluency with this diagnostic method. Use of the pulse and tongue as diagnostic tools is discussed and practiced, including pulse positions, rate, amplitude, and quality, as well as areas and qualities of the tongue as diagnostic indicators. Observation of odors, skin, nail and hair color and quality, and sound of the voice is also discussed.

Arriving at a Diagnosis: By first exploring what causes health, the origins of illnesses become evident in terms of their external and internal influence on the energetic field of the human being. We observe their original symptomatic manifestations from both Chinese and Western perspectives, and chart the natural homeostatic mechanisms which return the system to a state of health. Etiology of energetic disease, progression of external pathogenesis, progression of internal pathogenesis, latent pathogenic qi, continuum of soma through psyche, and yin through yang are discussed.

We examine the criteria applied to the presenting case information in order to arrive at an accurate diagnosis: the wuxing, classical order of jings, the energetic layers, sanjiao energetics, the eight curious vessels, and the eight parameters (internal/external, hot/cold, empty/full, yin/yang).

The practice of Taijiquan (Taiji) has a direct bearing on one’s ability to preform Chinese medicine in a clinical setting. However, this is not always evident to students who are dealing with the frustration of learning and remembering the form, being tested, and finding time for practice outside of class. So it may take a couple of years (or more) to begin to see the truth of this for yourselves.

Taijiquan is a means of directly experiencing, on a physical and emotional level, the principles on which Chinese medicine is based. Students have the opportunity to explore, in themselves, the application of Yin & Yang, the five movements (Wuxing), and the 8 marvels (BaGua), as well as the effects of taijiquan on all body systems including, emotional and psychological states.

We teach Taiji as part of the curriculum at Jung Tao in order to

• • Teach students how to use their bodies in the most natural manner possible
• • Practice proper body mechanics for needling techniques
• • Teach proper body mechanics for bodywork, Guasha, and cupping
• • Teach the most effective way to create power without stressing one’s own body, for use in bodywork and ones daily life.
• • Help with finding one’s center - Being able to find one’s center both physically and energetically is important to help us maintain our perspective and not be influenced by the patients energy.
• • Help with quieting the mind - Which allows us to get out of the way of the patient and to hold a clear field for them to express themselves.
• • Listening- teach students to become more sensitive to what they are feeling in their own bodies as well as in a partners/patients body, though the training of a two person exercise known as push hands.
• • Improve the ability to stay calm under pressure (This is a function of the two performance exams each year).
• • Improving Qi flow - by relaxing and removing blockages in the channels, which leads to better health for the partitioner.

The practice of Taijiquan (Taiji) has a direct bearing on one’s ability to perform Chinese medicine in a clinical setting. However, this is not always evident to students who are dealing with the frustration of learning and remembering the form, being tested, and finding time for practice outside of class. So it may take a couple of years (or more) to begin to see the truth of this for yourselves.

Taijiquan is a means of directly experiencing, on a physical and emotional level, the principles on which Chinese medicine is based. Students have the opportunity to explore, in themselves, the application of Yin & Yang, the five movements (Wuxing), and the 8 marvels (BaGua), as well as the effects of taijiquan on all body systems including, emotional and psychological states.

We teach Taiji as part of the curriculum at Jung Tao in order to.

• Teach students how to use their bodies in the most natural manner possible
• Practice proper body mechanics for needling techniques
• Teach proper body mechanics for bodywork, Guasha, and cupping
• Teach the most effective way to create power without stressing one’s own body, for use in bodywork and ones daily life.
• Help with finding one’s center - Being able to find one’s center both physically and energetically is important to help us maintain our perspective and not be influenced by the patients energy.
• Help with quieting the mind - Which allows us to get out of the way of the patient and to hold a clear field for them to express themselves.
• Listening- teach students to become more sensitive to what they are feeling in their own bodies as well as in a partners/patients body, though the training of a two person exercise known as push hands.
• Improve the ability to stay calm under pressure (This is a function of the two performance exams each year).
• Improving Qi flow - by relaxing and removing blockages in the channels, which leads to better health for the practitioner.