Asian Medical Bodywork (AMB)
Program hours required over 15-24 months: 1058
These including anatomy and physiology requirements.
This will soon be a Financial Aid eligible program as a standalone pursuit, allowing you supported access to the bedrock of Chinese medicine through a bodywork degree.
You will be in lineage program overseen by Tony Della Croce, LAc, a student and friend of the late Vince Black, founder of the North American Tang Shou Tao Association (NATSTA).
In the ABT program students will employ therapeutic techniques of Chinese medicinal bodywork and massage. Tuina is a subtle art requiring the honed knowledge of meridian and energy flow, and the experience and sensitivity to feel a body's energy move and release as you open the healing process. Though students may distinguish similarities to other massage modalities, tuina at its depth moves well beyond movements and manipulations - into the push and grasp of energy. Tuina, in a master's hands is energetics imbued with the soft language of a body's paths; energy may be lead, moved, infused, focused, brought to the surface and expelled, all dependent on the 'read' of the therapy.
Tui (tway) in mandarin means: to push. Na (na) means: to grasp.
As a stand alone program this is not yet eligible for FA.
When you are in a full degree program, you complete this certificate as an aspect of the degree, increasing the value of your education. This program is:
recognized by the State of Arizona as a vocational program certificate
recognized by the American Organization of Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA) and far exceeds their standards.
in consideration from national accreditation (ACAHM) to become the first nationally recognized Asian Medical Bodywork Master’s Certification
recognition will make the certificate available as a standalone potentially financial aid eligible program; We anticipate this recognition to be complete in 2023
A variety of systems of acupressure have developed throughout Asia over the centuries, but in China, tuina (tway nah) is the most common. Tuina uses the same theoretical and diagnostic principles as both acupuncture and herbal medicine, however the Qi (energy) within the channels is stimulated through the use of the hand, finger, and body techniques in rubbing and pressing motions and manipulations. These techniques help to release stagnant or stuck Qi (energy or flow in the body) and allow it to circulate freely again. Stagnation in the body is the primary cause of pain.
Tuina is often used in conjunction with acupuncture or herbal therapy. Tuina is the third most common and dynamic therapeutic modality of Chinese Medicine. It is used primarily to treat musculoskeletal conditions, but a trained practitioner can use her bodywork and knowledge of points and auxiliary techniques to be an effective healer for a myriad of conditions addressed by Chinese medicine.
“Where there is no movement, there is pain. Where there is movement, there is no pain.”
Pillar 2. Masters of Acupuncture (MAc)
This degree is a robust, nationally accredited degree program.
The needle is an extension of your trained hands and mind.
It does not pierce. It parts the skin and opens the path.
Masters of Acupuncture
This a full-time, three year program. You are in class 45 weeks a year.
Total program hours: 2,575.
The Master’s Degree in Acupuncture Program provides the foundational knowledge and skill in Chinese Medicine, needed to pass the national (NCCAOM) acupuncture certifying examination, become licensed in Arizona (as well as other states), and work competently as an LAc. in private practice.
As a Masters in Acupuncture student, you will study the foundations of Chinese medicine: diagnostics, physiology, pathology, clinician technique, elements, balance, and qi. The MAc. degree program will include the AMB certification program. Through the AMB program students will learn the therapies of tuina (baguan: cupping and guasha) to expel stagnant or blocked qi (energy) from the body. Furthering and strengthening their AMB method, throuhg acupuncture studies students will learn the manipulation of hair-thin needles to stimulate qi flow along the body's paths and meridians. The therapeutic focuses of acupuncture are extensive; students may have the opportunity to pursue focuses and continue on through the herbal aspects of our degrees.
By the end of the first year you will be finished with your preceptorship, you will have been through Clinic Skills, and passed your Clean Needle Technique exam (CNT).
At the beginning of the second year, you will become a co-treater in the clinic.
After the second year, first term, you will be a clinic intern treating regulars and new patients from our local community - under the watchful guidance of our seasoned clinic supervisors/mentors.
We find that many of our students choose to begin in the MAc. degree, but at some point change their program to incorporate the study of herbs as they complete the more extensive MAc.OM degree.
Herbs are one of the three pillars of Chinese medicine that help structure the medicine as a complete modality. In China, there is no separation of the aspects of Chinese medicine when referring to the medicine as a whole or in practice. Acupuncture, tuina, and herbs all speak the same complimentary language, and together they multiply the powerful holistic healing strength of each aspect on its own.
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In the West, acupuncture is the most popular form of Traditional Chinese Medicine. In acupuncture fine, stainless steel needles are inserted into the skin at specific points on the body. It is often used to treat pain, but can be used for the direct treatment, or as a complimentary and integrative care model of nearly any disease, whether the disorder is physical, mental, or emotional.
The use of acupuncture is predicated upon the understanding that acupuncture points are located on specific channels that run throughout the body. It may help to think of channels like rivers and tributaries flowing through the land of your body. Channels carry Qi, the body’s vital force (essence, energy and flow) that warms, nourishes, and promotes optimal functioning and balance of your bodily systems. These channels are the connection of your internal organ systems to specific points on the skin. By manipulating the flow of Qi within the channels, tiny needles in the hands of a trained practitioner can encourage the stimulation and restoration of your body’s internal balance and harmony.
In the hands of a highly trained individual, acupuncture may seem to work miracles. We want you to be a miracle worker.
The skillful techniques of the acupuncturist, her understanding of the theory behind channels and points, and the intention she carries into the treatment room, are what establishes this art of care as a viable aspect of integrative medicine. This medicine has the potential to impact healthcare bottom lines through the preventative care and public health education strategies that are organic aspects of the Chinese medicine care model.
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Traditional Chinese Medicine - as it is referred to for the purposes of study in the West - is not, in its essence, medicine. TCM is a theory of wellness, it is a lifestyle, and it is therapy. In China, Chinese medicine is embedded in the culture and is seen as the balanced process of action and behavior. The elements of nature are in balance, and the energy of life is abundant. There is a way for humans, as beings, to be in tune with the balance of nature and play of life's energy, yet we spend most of our time out of balance, ignorant to the knowledge of the balance, and duly ignorant of the repercussions. There is no blame to be meted out for lost knowledge of energy and balance. Evolution has asked of us to change our habits, to live outside of nature, to walk little, run less, exercise only our fingers on keyboards, and our stomachs on food. But a true path of balance is in us; it is innate; it exists in the passed on knowledge of our ancestors; it breathes in the ancient wisdom of the East; it waits in the forests and the earth, swims in our waters, and in the air around us. To live in balanced harmony is to know the signals of our physical being, to feel when it is time to rest or time to move, to know when we should eat or drink one type of food, or pursue another, to know how the seasons may ask us to dress and what areas of our bodies need remain covered well and kept warm. A loss of balance will create discomfort. Too much time lived with discomfort creates disease (dis-ease). Achieving balance is found in proper action, behaviors and habits, harmony of mind and stomach, and subsequently, the organs. The path to balance lies in our movements, our thoughts, the food we eat, and our community. We are the energy that surrounds us; and the energy we hold within us, the way we choose to live, affects our environments.
In China, Chinese Medicine is a full-bodied, healing therapy. It is an integrated therapy. For a Chinese doctor in China, there is no separation between acupuncture, herbs, bodywork, and the manipulation of energy toward the necessity of balance. If one studies Chinese medicine, the modalities of Chinese medicine come hand-in-hand; they are the therapy. When a patient is seen by a Chinese doctor in China, they do not receive only acupuncture, but may, in turn, also be given an herbal prescription and be treated through some forms of tuina. Here in the West, the modalities have been separated for courses of study, for convenience and personal interests. Indeed, here at ASAOM and most schools across the nation, acupuncture, herbs, and tuina can be pursued as separate programs. Though they are integrated as a full path of study at ASAOM, they are not required to be pursued as such. The concern in separating the modalities is for the treatment. Chinese medicine taken as a whole, holistic therapy, requires each piece of the 'medicine' to be known and addressed. Receiving only one portion, or knowing only one portion of Chinese medicine, is addressing only one piece in the puzzle of balance and health, though each aspect can be honed extensively and achieve amazing results.
Although ASAOM offers each piece, MAc, OM, and AMB, separately, we encourage each student in our program and each patient in our clinic to be open to the possibilities and strengths in each of the pillars of Chinese medicine. They are, only together, a complete therapy resting on the kindling of the mind and energy - the movement and the flow.
Pillar 3. Herbal Medicine (MAcOM)
If acupuncture is a vehicle delivering one to health, herbs are the sincere and experienced driver dedicated to the mission of transporting you.
As you know, acupuncture opens pathways for energy to move in the body.
Herbs will influence the body’s systems toward movement and balance, and enhance the body’s gentle movement toward overall health.
Masters of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
The is an intensive, comprehensive program requiring 3 years plus one 15-week term of study.
You are in classroom and clinic for approx. 45 weeks a year.
Total program hours: 3,040.
If you already have a masters degree or equivalent in acupuncture, you may elect to complete the herbal program alone as a Masters Certificate in Chinese Herbal Medicine.
Herbal Therapy
There are approximately 13,000 medicinal herbs used in the Chinese Materia Medica. Of this number, 300 – 400 are commonly used in therapy. The Materia Medica mostly consists of the various parts of plants, including the leaves, stems, roots, rhizomes, etc., but stones, animal parts, insects and bones also contribute to the pharmacopeia.
Chinese herbal medicine uses a combination of various herbs to create an herbal formula. The art of herbal medicine lies in the mastery of the development of the herbal formula. Herbal formulas can average between four to twenty herbs depending upon the condition for which the herbs are being prescribed. Within the formula, the herbs act synergistically to bring about the desired therapeutic effect. The herbs are traditionally boiled and the resulting tea is consumed over the course of treatment.
Herbal medicine technology has advanced significantly over the past century, and as a result, herbal formulas can now be consumed in pill form, capsules, granules or tinctures. An extensive knowledge of herbs is vital when putting together an herbal formula and for achieving the best therapeutic results.
The Master’s Degree in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Program is the MAc. Degree program, inclusive of the AMB Certificate, with the addition of courses and clinic time covering Chinese herbology.
Successful completion of the MAc.OM program qualifies students to sit for the national (NCCAOM) certifying examination in Chinese herbology.
Herbology is an essential feature of Traditional Chinese Medicine as practiced in China. While the state of Arizona does not regulate herbology and Arizona’s Acupuncture Practice Act does not require training in herbology for licensing as an acupuncturist, a comprehensively trained practitioner of TCM can skillfully prescribe both loose and prepared herbs as part of a comprehensive treatment program for their patients.
This degree will require the time-honored knowledge of the Zangfu system of physiology and elements, foods and their beneficial harmonies within the body, traditional herbs and formulas, tuina body therapies and massage (through our AZ State recognized and AOBTA recognized AMB certification), Western and Chinese medical language, anatomy and physiology of the body and the energy channels within it, bio-medicine, the sacred art of acupuncture and pressure, as well as the complexities of diagnoses - the sacred flow, and the cultivation of life's energy through practice.