Apricot Grove Trainings

Our training programs follow the basic patterns of nature to combine the best aspects of both traditional and modern learning. Like the growth of a great tree, learning is a continuous process that is best built on a strong foundational root; learning is a way of living, engaging and moving through the world, and not an end destination.

• Learning flows from the past: Knowledge, like a great tree nourished from roots set down in the distant past or a broad river rising from a source and flowing through time, our learning is fed and sustained by roots in the past. These roots of learning arise from the cosmos and nature itself, the ancestors who thoughtfully created and passed down their writings, and our own individual teachers through which this knowledge flows. We thanks and respect our roots as well as the students who will grow to become the teachers and elders of tomorrow.
• Learn directly from senior teachers and classical texts: Classical medical education involves a close mentorship relationship between students, teachers, and classical texts. We follow this model by presenting concepts and text readings in weekly lectures and meeting together in live sessions each Sunday. In addition, every third week is designated for experiential learning and direct mentorship training.
• Learning is a cycle: While the world appears complex, it is ordered on basic rules. We learn by studying these basic principles from a variety of vantage points, such as cosmology, basic sciences, physical diagnosis, and clinical practice; in Neijing Nature-Based Medicine, this approach to learning is known as circular learning.
• Plant a seed of learning: As teachers, we can only teach deeper truths about the cosmos when the student already contains this knowledge deeply within themselves in a latent form. Developing knowledge is like a growing seed that resonates and begins to stir in response to the writings of classical texts.
• Create a root of practice: In traditional medicine, adaptability, innovation, diagnostic, and clinical skills all grow from a solid foundation of classical text learning. Classical text reading creates a flourishing root upon which we can build a thriving professional life. For this root to thrive, it must be developed first. Thus, the beginning of our training focuses on basic issues of principle and text reading, while practical skills involving clinical practice are taught later.
• Branches grow from roots: Specific practical skills, such as needle techniques and methods of pulse diagnosis, are best taught after a solid root foundation of understanding. Without this root of understanding, skills have minimal value.
• Deep understanding develops slowly: While we can quickly understand some principles in classical texts, other aspects require sustained and repeated exposure to assimilate them and allow them to grow inside us. This knowledge develops and flowers slowly, like a growing plant.
• Learn language like a child: While it is not necessary for students to know Chinese for our training, similar to how a child learns through exposure to the world around them, students become familiar with many characters and passages over the course of our classes.
• Many plants create a forest: Students come to our trainings from a variety of professional and life experiences, as well as diverse styles of learning. In our teaching, all learning styles and experiences are welcome.
• Learning creates new breath: The primary function of education is to inspire (create new breath) and develop new previously unseen possibilities. No meaningless death by PowerPoint allowed.
• Learning is joyful: It is the natural disposition of humans to explore the world with joy and curiosity. Learning without pleasure is ineffective and causes disharmony and illness.