This is the Second of a Two-Part Continuing Ed Course
Designed for Practitioners and Students of Chinese Medicine

Students $265 and Practitioners $295 (Early Bird Pricing Available through Feb 8th)

Have you ever found yourself stuck on where to begin with herbs? Found yourself using the “right” formula for a specific pattern and not getting the results you were looking for? Or maybe frustrated that your diagnostic process doesn’t yield the kind of clear understanding of a patient’s presentation that you would like? In the Footsteps of the Masters is the first step in developing a skill set to break through roadblocks in your clinical thinking and help you to reimagine the core components of Chinese medicine.

Instructor Bryan McMahon, LAc

This course will teach students how to employ the classic diagnostic tools of the five phases, six stages, and three burners to arrive at a concrete diagnosis based in direct perception. Additionally, students will learn how this diagnosis directly translates into formula strategy based on the qi (movement) and wei (flavor) of herbs, effectively removing them from the hit-or-miss process of pattern-based formula correspondence. Students will observe experienced practitioner, Bryan McMahon, in a clinical theatre setting as he interviews patients and explains this step by step process of diagnosis, followed by a collaborative formula composition session for each patient. During the second day, students will be able to taste individual herbs and completed formulas that were designed the previous weekend and dive into a detailed discussion of the qi and wei of each herb together with the dynamic action of the overall formula. The instructor will also expand on historical shifts in the understanding of specific herbs over time, connecting that past understanding with current clinical application.   

             While the content of this course has direct applications in clinical practice, the greater goal is to expose practitioners to a broader process of clinical problem solving based on classical methods – to help participants begin to answer the question: what kind of practitioner do I want to be? This course is designed to liberate participants from the conventions of modern textbook medicine, to allow practitioners to develop themselves and their individual skillset with the ultimate goal of delivering the highest quality medicine to their patients. Bryan is uniquely able to take seemingly complex components of Chinese medical theory and connect them to our real world experience, helping students to understand how for example, Yangming energy manifests in physical as well as mental-emotional form within an individual, within a  given life process, or even in a piece of music. Before There Were Textbooks is a course designed to bring clarity of vision to practitioners and students looking to finally see the entirety of the forest that is Classical Chinese Medicine where before there were only trees.

Goals and Objectives:

1.)    Reframe the classic diagnostic tools of 5 phases, 6 stages and three burners for modern practitioners
2.)    Began to think of herbs from the viewpoint of qi and wei
3.)    Observe an experienced practitioner employ this diagnostic viewpoint in a clinical theatre setting
4.)    Work collaboratively to build effective formulas for patients in the clinic
5.)    Look at the historical change in understanding the functions of specific herbs

Content Outline (11 PDA Total)

Day 1 (5.5PDA)
9am-10am, 1 PDA, AOM, DemonstrationCentering Qigong that can be used anytime in an effort to focus the practitioner and the patient to maximize clinical outcomes
10am-12pm, 2PDA, AOM, Lecture Reexamining 5 phases and 6 stages for use in the modern clinical setting. Layout of different constitutional types and how to assess a patient using this particular framework
12-1:00, Lunch
1:00 – 2:15, 1.25 PDA, AOM, DemonstrationPatient 1 interview and collaborative formula creation
2:15-2:30 Break
2:30-3:45, 1.25 PDA, AOM, DemonstrationPatient 2 Interview and collaborative Formula Creation

Day 2 (5.5 PDA)
9am-10am, 1 PDA, AOM, DemonstrationCentering Qigong that can be used anytime in an effort to focus the practitioner and the patient to maximize clinical outcomes
10am-12pm, 2PDA, AOM, LectureReview of formulas written previous class and tasting the formulas themselves to discern the natures and flavors with discussion on the particular components of these herbs as they compare to the diseases being treated. 
12-1:00, Lunch
1:00-2:15, 1.25 PDA, AOM, LecturePart 1: Learning about particular herbs whose natures and flavors have changed over time and how we can use our own senses to help understand how an herb works in the body
2:15-2:30 Break
2:30-3:45, 1.25 PDA, AOM, LecturePart 2: Learning about particular herbs whose natures and flavors have changed over time and how we can use our own senses to help understand how an herb works in the body

Payment and Cancellation Policy:

Payment is due at the time of registration. All cancellation notifications must be sent to info at rootandbranchpdx.com.
The full cost of registration will be refunded if the participant cancels more than 14 days before the start of the course.
If Cancellation occurs between 14 and 7 days of the start of the course, only half the registration cost will be refunded.
Cancellation within 7 days of the start of the course is not refundable.

Any questions about this policy should be immediately directed to info at rootandbranchpdx.com