Chinese Bodywork for Clinical Practice 2023

The greatest impact on physical treatment is our touch. Handskill is the highest and most fundamental aspect of treatment, and the ancient Chinese realized this from the beginning of its medicine. Using medical theory and clinical experience, they developed touch into the highest healing art within the field of Chinese medicine. Just as the usefulness of a sword depends on the warrior’s handskill, the efficacy of a needle depends on the practitioner’s touch. To treat internal diseases or external injuries without deeply training the hands greatly limits the speed and success of our clinical results.

This five module intensive training program provides the same bodywork foundation Andrew Nugent-Head learned in China, in the order he learned over his years there. It is, in Andrew's opinion, the most important piece of practicing tangible, effective and reliable medicine and the reason of his clinical success.It covers visceral massage, Yin Style Bagua bodywork techniques, and Wellness Protocols offered at his home clinic, The Alternative Clinic Asheville.

Taught by Andrew Nugent-Head

Module 01 Focus: Daoist Zangfu Acupressure
Focused on regulating the Qi flow in the viscera of the body cavity, Daoist Zangfu Acupressure is a powerful bodywork treatment method to return fundamental health to very sick patients. Originally passed on by a wandering Daoist, it was nearly lost in the Cultural Revolution. It was the first clinical treatment method learned by Andrew Nugent-Head, taught to him by the late Professor Wang Jin-Huai. Whether treating consumptive diseases (such as auto-immune, parasitic or viral illnesses), addressing the full range of digestive conditions (IBS, GERD, food sensitivities, loose colon, prolapses and more), or OBGYN issues (dysmenorrhea, amenorrhea, cysts, fibroids, fertility, etc), Daoist Zangfu Acupressure is one of the most successful tools a practitioner can have in the clinic.

Module 02: Yin Style Bagua Bodywork Techniques I
This module introduces the medical bodywork of Yin Style Bagua. Bodywork is the fundamental treatment method of Yin Style Bagua medical practitioners, the core of their Qi based skillset and the source of their acupuncture skill. Passed onto Andrew by the late Dr. Xie Peiqi, these modules cover basic hand work, the differences between Qi focused vs. Blood focused techniques, skeletal alignment, protocols and treatment demonstrations. Participants also begin learning the Foot Massage Protocol from the Alternative Clinic to grasp the importance and power of acupressure on internal health.

Module 03: Yin Style Bagua Bodywork Techniques II
Modules 03 continues the medical bodywork of Yin Style Bagua. Bodywork is the fundamental treatment method of Yin Style Bagua medical practitioners, the core of their Qi based skillset and the source of their acupuncture skill. Participants continue learning YSB hand techniques, Qi vs. Blood work, and skeletal alignment. Participants continue practicing the foot massage protocol and learn Deep Muscle Release, known as 推油 Tui You in Chinese, an oil based massage to unbind the sinew channels and muscles of the body.

Module 04: Yin Style Bagua Bodywork Techniques III
Modules 04 completes the introduction to the medical bodywork of Yin Style Bagua. In this module, learned hand techniques are combined into sequences commonly integrated into massage and acupuncture focused treatments used in the clinic. Training continues in the foot massage, deep muscle release, and learn the classic 全身 Quan Shen, a full body dry massage to relax the sinews and soften the muscles.

Module 05: Awakening the Yuan–The Deep Qi Protocol
Using Qi work as the focus, the final module introduces the skills to address the intangible yet most fundamental Qi of sickness and health, the Yuan Qi. It focuses on understanding what we must tangibly do to get to and awaken the Yuan Qi when working with the chronically, systemically or terminally ill. Candid discussions on the possibilities of spontaneous healing, giving quality of life through the dying process, the successes and failures of both Chinese and allopathic medicine, and practitioner maturity are balanced by learning and practicing a protocol sequence for awakening the Yuan Qi as well as adapting it to redressing physical and emotional imbalances in our patient base. Practice also continues in the wellness protocols of the Alternative Clinic to solidify familiarity and skill.