Channel Theory Course : full training (dec '24)

Embodied Practice: Exploring the Body, Mind & Spirit through the Three levels of Qi

Knowledge is important but when you embody that knowledge you gain wisdom. This course will be an investigation of the channel systems that are most important in our journey to embrace and embody our humanity. How does it feel to be able to move freely and respond to the world in a healthy manner? How does it feel to be able to manage stress or crises in such a way that we don’t get stuck in emotional distress? How does it feel to have a deep and profound connection to yourself and your curriculum?

As we explore the 3 levels of Qi (Wei, Ying & Yuan) we will look at how channels associated with that level help us survive, learn, adapt and grow. We will learn to recognize when a patient is suffering at a particular level of qi and what holding in that level feels like. We will review the theory of each system and also experience that system through our bodies so that we can more easily recognize pathology in our patients. We will practice releasing that level in a way that helps the patient regain sovereignty.

Class 1: Wei qi & the Sinews
The sinew channels circulate wei qi on the surface of the body. Their primary job is said to be protection but they do so much more. They are our interface with the world around us and they do indeed protect us from exterior pathogens and traumatic impact, but they also filter and mediate every experience and sensation that is introduced from the outside. They help us create a posture or demeanor that helps us feel safer in the world. They are responsible for the physical expression or our thoughts and emotions. The sinews carry the burden of having to react to everything outside of us before the other levels of qi engage. In this class we will explore how that reaction can become habituated and keep us in survival mode instead of moving fluidly in the world and expressing ourselves authentically.
Day 1 will cover the theory of this system. Functions, indications for use and important points.
Day 2 will be a practicum that provides exercises that deepen the understanding of the system, including: assessing posture through the 6 cutaneous zones, palpation skills, body-scanning mediations, simple “holding” hands-on techniques for freeing the wei qi.

Class 2: Ying qi & the Luo-collaterals
This course will focus on the nature of ying qi and blood through the Luo-collateral system. This system’s primary function is the create new blood vessels when the patient is overwhelmed by the emotional experiences of life. It uses blood as a way of holding emotions we are unable to process until we can gain perspective or resources to work our way through that experience. How do we survive emotional experiences that are so uncomfortable that we do not want to feel them? How do we bear the unbearable and continue to live our lives, raise our children, go to work?
Day 1 will cover the theory of the Luo-collateral system
Day 2 in the morning we will complete the theory including observation of the luo pathways and in the afternoon, we will look at techniques for releasing latency in the luos.

Class 3: Yuan qi & the 8 Extraordinary Vessels
This course will focus on the 8 EV and their influence on the constitution and curriculum. We will look at how trauma or evolutionary stress impedes the flow in these vessels and obstructs our ability to pursue meaning and purpose in life. We will explore the cosmology of these vessels to gain an understanding of how humans are formed and how curriculum is gifted to us by our parents and the Heavenly Mandate. This is about the search for Self and our relationship to time and space.
Day 1 we will look at the general theory of these vessels in the morning and then investigate the first Ancestry (Chong Du & Ren)
Day 2 we will complete the remaining channels (Wei, Qiao & Dai) in the morning and in the afternoon, we will have a practical portion where we focus on locating and needling the master points to open each vessel. We will also learn pulses to identify the 8 EV and explore some breathing exercises to awaken these vessels.