European School of Acupuncture – EEA, the Way of Water and the Strength of Weakness.

Starting next fall, Elisabeth will present a webinar divided into four lectures of one hour each on the Daodejing, the Book of the Way and Its Potency, attributed to Laozi. They will focus on what the Daodejing said of the Way of Water and the Strength of Weakness.

The 4 webinar courses will be held
Mondays Sept. 16, 23, 30 and Oct. 7
at 12:30 am PDT (3:30 pm EDT, 9:30 pm CEST/Paris)

Click the following link for detailed information: the Way of Water and the Strength of Weakness Webinar

Rooted in Spirit

In the early 1970s Father Claude Larre, Jean Scatz, and Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée began a long-term project to translate and interpret the Huangdi Neijing, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine.  Among the important accomplishments of this, “The Jade Circle,” was the ability to teach English-speakers the concepts that lay at the root of Chinese medicine. Among the most important of these is shen, “spirits.”  Rooted in Spirit is a translation of Chapter Eight of the Lingshu portion of the Huangdi Neijing, the Chinese text on which all the Chinese healing arts are founded.

Rooted in Spirit explains the influence of the emotions on health according to the ancient Chinese principles of the Huangdi Neijing. The text examines the interrelationship of emotion and spirit and demonstrates how health and well-being depend upon the harmonious dwelling of the shen in the Heart. The Heart is our emotional, intellectual, mental and spiritual life; it is everything that happens within us and through which we perceive existence. It is our ability to think, to develop knowledge, awareness, consciousness, and to cultivate our inner reality to build our vital spirit (jing shen). The Heart is responsible for the correct or incorrect order in the movements of qi within oneself.

From where come the emotions then? They are the reactions we have when we are in contact with something exterior (a being, an object, an event, etc.), or when we recall the memory of it. The emotions are activated by an exterior object or event and an immediate reaction arises. The immediate reaction will modulate into multiple possibilities: attraction or repulsion, love or fear, elation or anger, sadness or joy, arrogance, envy, etc. The reaction to something depends on the natural disposition, on everyone’s own nature, as well as on the way one is true to one’s nature in the moment of the reaction. The nature of the reaction tells whether the desire in the Heart is turned towards the development of life or towards what conflicts with it. If the desires are in accordance with the natural order, if the reactions are appropriate, then one governs oneself appropriately and there is no disorder (luan). This is following the right order, following nature and one’s own nature, according to circumstances.

At the deepest level, the practice of Chinese medicine involves the proper communication between practitioner and shen. Despite the great importance of this ancient text in providing the spiritual and metaphysical context of Chinese medicine, these less-material aspects have often been left unrevealed.  Rooted in Spirit fills that void.

Survey of Traditional Chinese Medicine

In the early 1970’s, Father Claude Larre met Dr. Jean Schatz, a physician acupuncturist with a special interest in the classical medical texts and well-developed clinical skills. Since George Soulie de Morant’s massive work appeared in 1959, Dr. Schatz, as well as other French physicians, had been applying acupuncture in their clinical settings.  Dr. Schatz, convinced of the value of acupuncture and wanting to know more, continued his education in Taiwan with Wu Wei Ping in the early 1960s.

Father Larre had returned from 20 years in Asia. From 1947 to 1952 he studied the Chinese language while finishing his theological studies to become a Jesuit priest. He was ordained in 1952. He then lived in Vietnam (1956-1966), after short stays in Japan and the Philippines.  In Paris in 1966 he completed his PhD in Chinese philosophy at La Sorbonne with his translation and interpretation of Chapter Seven of the Huainanzi, “On the Vital Spirit of a Human.”

Father Larre gathered people who were interested in learning and sharing knowledge. In particular, a more accurate grasp of Chinese culture and civilization. Isabelle Robinet and Sister Ina Bergeron joined. Elisabeth Rochat de la Vallée, then an advanced language and philosophy student, was introduced to this small group very early on. It was called the “Jade Circle,” and was the forerunner of the Paris Ricci Institute. Elisabeth, Dr. Schatz and Father Larre, met weekly at the hone of sinologist Alice Fano.  This was the first group to translate and study the classical medical texts in Paris.  At the time very few Chinese medical texts had been translated at all, few of these were solid translations.

By the third year of their study, they were more secure in their interpretation of the text.  Elisabeth left in 1974 to spend a year in Taiwan to improve her spoken Chinese (the Cultural Revolution blocked access to Mainland China). When she returned in 1975, Father Larre, Dr. Schatz and Elisabeth decided to start teaching what they learned in their reading of the texts. After a year of teaching, they decided to give a formal frame to this work and founded the European School of Acupuncture in Paris in 1976.

The European School of Acupuncture is aimed at people who already have a basic training in Chinese medicine, people interested in China and its vision of life, and those who wish to work with traditional texts. Its originality lies in three aspects:

• The rigorous approach to classic medical texts and their accurate study, which methodically investigates theoretical and clinical questions by relying on an overall vision of the Chinese medical literature.
• The medical questions studied are developed in connection with the great texts of traditional medical thinking, whether they be Confucian, Taoist or other, particularly those that are contemporary with the development of medical theory in the few centuries around the beginning of the Common Era.
• An opening onto practice and experience. This research is part of a dialogue and experience of sharing with the participants, which continues in workshops offering a real application of a traditional discipline (for instance, calligraphy).

From this common work, Father Larre, Dr. Schatz and Dr. Rochat co-authored A Survey of Chinese Medicine, published in 1979 (English translation published in 1986). It is a philosophical overview of Traditional Chinese Medicine. its roots in the Chinese language, and the way of Chinese thought which created the Chinese healing arts. This text emphasizes the critical importance of examining ancient Chinese texts which are the basis for Traditional Acupuncture.

The Acupuncture Sports Medicine Apprenticeship Program

Oakland, California, Fall 2019: Weekend #1: September 27, 28, & 29, 2019. Treatment of The Shoulder and Upper Extremity.

Weekend #2: October 25, 26, & 27, 2019. Treatment of The Low Back, Hip, and Pelvis.

Weekend #3: December 6, 7, & 8, 2019. Treatment of the Lower Extremity

Cost: $1000.00 per three-day weekend, with a 300.00 deposit needed to hold space. CEUs: These three courses are each approved for 20 PDAs/CEUs by the NCCAOM and the state of California. Site: The Hampton Inn and Suites, Oakland Airport, in Alameda, California. Contact Email: [email protected]

Review Courses on Acupuncture Sports Medicine

June 22 & 23, 2019 – August 24 & 25, 2019: Alameda (Oakland), California. Instructors: Jenny Nieters, LAc and Kenji Hirabayashi, LAc. Cost: $450.00 per two day weekend. Contact Email: [email protected]

November 9 & 10, 2019: Paso Robles, CA (San Luis Obispo county). Instructor: Whitfield Reaves, OMD, LAc. Cost: $700.00 per two-day weekend. Contact Email: [email protected]

The review course is the following NCCAOM program: Anatomically Significant Points and How to Use Them. PDAs: 15 hours, NCCAOM. CEUs for California pending.

May 1st 2019, 7PM to 10PM – Acupuncture CEP-047, 3 CEU’s – Category 1 pending, Los Angeles, Emperor’s College – An In-depth Study of Extra Meridian Chong Mai. Contact: Jacques Moramarco: [email protected] and/or Chong Mai Classical View Online Registration

May 9th 2019, Petaluma, CA.: Nature and Destiny. Contact: Sean Fannin, [email protected]

Friday May 10th to Monday May 13th, San Jose, CA., Five Branches. Five Aspects of the Spirit – The Great Practitioner – The 6 Extra Fu – Intuitive Knowledge. Contact: Robyn Grieve [email protected]

May 18th and 19th, New York City, NY., Double Aspect of the Heart. Contact: Mark Kueber, [email protected]

We are offering Concise Chinese Materia Medica at 75% off, only $25.00!

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