The Five Channel Systems
of Classical Acupuncture
STEVEN ALPERN, LAc practices Chinese medicine as applied clinical philosophy. He began his study of acupuncture in 1982 as a private student of Tseui Wei in Oakland, CA then completed formal studies at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in 1986. He has also been a student of Kiko Matsumoto and since 1994, has studeied with Jeffrey Yuen. Steven has been sharing his experience in a regular column in Acupuncture Today since April 2006.
SEMINAR SCHEDULE
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Spring 2011
Golden Flower Chinese Herbs is proud to present this series on Classical Chinese Acupuncture with Steven Alpern. This series of four seminars discusses in depth the five distinct and inter-related systems of channels and vessels at the core of Neijing-style acupuncture. Taken together, the five channel systems of Neijing-style acupuncture constitute a complete, detailed, and cohesive physiology of the human being. Learning to work with the complete complex of channels and vessels, rather than simply one or two systems offers practitioners treatment options not available to them from conventional acupuncture education.
During this series we will discuss the meaning, developmental physiology, and distinctive pathologies of each channel system, as well as ways to evaluate and treat patients according to the most appropriate of the five systems. Included in each weekend will be practical workshops, where participants can learn to apply their new knowledge and skills. Participating in the entire series will provide practitioners sufficient working knowledge of the channel systems to allow them to continue exploring them in clinical practice.
Weekend I*
Sinew Channels--Saturday
This seminar provides both a conceptual and practical introduction to the sinew channels. We will discuss the six divisions of yin-yang (taiyang, shaoyang, yangming, taiyin shaoyin, jueyin) as the canonical movements of post-natal qi. Unblocking the sinews facilitates the flow of wei qi, which naturally flows upward & out -- to release or expel any stagnations that have begun to accumulate within the body. Participants will learn and practice a procedure for precisely identifying a-shi points, which are not simply any tender point, but the key points blocking the smooth articulation of wei qi through the sinews. Workshop: Sinew releases and classical sinew needling techniques.
Primary Channels I--Sunday
The primary channels are responsible for generating and managing post-natal qi, which is a process without end (Lingshu, chapter 16). The continuous flow of cycles supports individual life, and this central idea is represented in the familiar “meridian time-clock” sequence of the primary channels (Lung to Liver). This well known sequence of external pathways provides rich theories of human life, including how individuals assimilate life experience. We will discuss little-known energetics and the physiological process of this continuous sequence, including how it introduces the inherent challenges of individual life that eventually lead to pathology. Workshop: Locating, palpating and treating command points; Introduction to the “pulse feedback” method of testing diagnostic impressions.
Weekend II*
Primary Channels II--Saturday
This seminar explores other aspects of the primary channels. While the familiar time-clock provides a continuous circuit of the external pathways of these channels, there is another sequence (originally suggested by Zhang Jingyue during the 17th century) that presents life as a progressive dissemination of jing-essence. This progression is a continuous circuit intimately involving key internal pathways. This seminar will also discuss the important “roots and nodes” theory (Lingshu, chapter 5), which suggests a way of pairing the channels other than the familiar “husband-wife” (yin-yang) pairs. The theory of roots and nodes plays a central role in understanding the opportunities and challenges of individual life process and how pathology develops. Workshop: Needling techniques of the Primary Channels and refining the “pulse-feedback” method.
Luo Vessels--Sunday
The body manages unresolved emotional and spiritual conflict by displacing and embedding these internal pathogenic factors (IPF’s) into physical humors, and storing them in the luo vessels as “storage reservoirs.” The luo can also contain external pathogenic factors that the body has successfully kept in the external anatomy, but failed to release or expel. Indeed, the entire system of luo vessels expresses shaoyang, as they all contain the product of the body’s indecisiveness (unfinished process) between the interior and the exterior. Eventually, that accumulation overwhelms the individual’s ability to contain it and it begins to overflow back into the interior. While this common strategy allows us to “move on” to other experiences in the short-term, it does not eliminate the eventual need to address the individual’s unfinished (and thus unresolved) process. Workshop: Identifying, evaluating and treating luo vessels with plum-blossom needling.
Weekend III*
Channel Distinctions and Divergences--Saturday & Sunday
While the channel distinctions and divergences (jingbie) are not an important part of modern acupuncture theory, they were central in the classical acupuncture theory of Neijing. Indeed, there are several reference in both that venerated text and the Jiayijing (Systematic Classic of Acupuncture and Moxibustion) of Huang Fumi (215-282 C.E.) that characterized the channel divergences as the most important system of channels. This weekend seminar will introduce the important roles filled by these jingbie, and how individuals use them to support their lives.
Our brief exploration of the philosophical basis of the channel distinctions and divergences leads naturally into our discussion of their physiological functions, both as a group and individually. We will discuss the distinctive symptoms and clinical signs they express when in distress, and how these channels lead to a wide range of progressive and degenerative pathologies. After the workshop practicum, we will further discuss how to devise a treatment strategy for these important vessels. Workshops: Gua-sha of divergent zones, and identifying the “drain.”
Weekend IV*
Eight Extraordinary Vessels--Saturday
The Eight Extraordinary Vessels provide the constitutional foundation for individual life. While they were mentioned in the Neijing (Inner Classic), during the classical period they were generally considered beyond the reach of therapies other than acceptance. Fifteen centuries later, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), practitioners began to explore clinical interventions for these fundamental vessels. We will discuss the meanings and functions of the pre-Heaven and post-Heaven vessels (the latter group can be further divided into 2nd and 3rd ancestries), and how each supports an individual’s (post-natal) life. That apparently philosophical theory leads directly to the discussion of pathologies characteristic of the Eight Extraordinary Vessels and developing treatment strategies. Workshop: Needling methods for the Eight Extraordinary Vessels.
Clinical Application of the Channel Systems--Sunday
This seminar is designed to help participants use the material presented during this series. The Neijing approach to acupuncture, focused on the five systems of channels and vessels, offers contemporary acupuncturists opportunities beyond modern acupuncture. We will review and refine the key principles of Neijing style acupuncture, based on treating channels rather than collections of points, and respond to questions that participants have developed during the program. For demonstration purposes, Steven will evaluate and treat 2 or 3 sample patients for the class.
The journey into Neijing style acupuncture may be initially daunting, yet it grows entirely cogent, increasingly reasonable, and sublimely scientific, as one learns to decode its central principles.
* Each weekend is part of an integrated whole. Interested participants are urged to attend all 4 weekends in order to fully appreciate how the 5 channel systems work in concert to maintain health. Registration for individual weekends is permitted, but participants should understand that the 3rd and 4th weekends build on material present in the first two weekends.
Feedback from Steven's 2008 Seminars:
"Steven is very knowledgeable as well as obviously excited and passionate about the material. He held my attention throughout the day!"
"My practice will benefit from my exposure to this teacher!"
"Steven is one of the most eloquent and knowledgeable speakers I have had the pleasure of listening to!"
"Steven shows a deep knowledge and penetrating understanding of the meanings of Chinese medicine physiology, pathology and mental-emotional implications."
Cost:
$1200 for the whole series
Early Registration Discount: $1100 if paid in full 21 calendar days prior to the first weekend in the series.
$325 for an individual weekend
All courses are approved for continuing education/professional development activity units by the NCCAOM and the state of California. Texas CEUs are pending. Please contact us to determine whether these courses meet the requirements for your state.
Times: Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., lecture begins at 8:30 a.m. There will be a 90-minute lunch break. Seminar concludes at 5:00 p.m.
Conditions for Registration: No one is considered registered until payment is received in our office. Checks or payment received after the cut-off date for early registration will need to be for the full registraton fee. Early registration discount ends 10 business days
(14 calendar days) prior to each seminar. No exceptions will be made. Lodging and parking are the responsibility of the registrant.
Cancellation/Refund Policy: A $20 administrative fee applies to all cancellations and will be subtracted from refund. Due to contractual obligations to the hotels, Golden Flower Chinese Herbs cannot refund registration fees for cancellations made less than 14 calendar days before any particular seminar. No refunds will be issued from 14 calendar days prior to each respective seminar. No exceptions.
Golden Flower reserves the right to cancel or reschedule seminars when necessary and will give notice in advance. In these cases, registration fees will be refunded in full. Golden Flower will not be responsible for other costs incurred by registrants resulting from such cancellations, such as airfare or lodging.
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER:
Call our education department toll free at 800-729-8509 or email us.