8:30AM - 9:00AM Welcome and Orientation
Neil R. Gumenick, M.Ac. (UK), L.Ac., Dipl. Ac., Director
David Goodell, L.Ac., M.Ac., Ac.M.(UK), Dipl. Ac., Symposium Co-Chair
Eliot Ivanhoe, M.D., M.Ac. (UK), Symposium Co-Chair

9:00AM -10:30AM The Basics of Five Element Practice
Neil Gumenick, M.Ac. (UK), L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

In this session, Neil will cover the basics, starting with the energetic blocks and strategies we must consider - and in what order - when beginning treatment on a new patient or caring for an established one. The workshop will review the protocols for detecting and clearing Possession, Aggressive Energy, Husband/Wife Imbalance, balancing the Umbilical Pulse and Akabanis, Entry and Exit Blocks, including CV (Ren) and GV (Du) Blocks, the Spirit Level Block, as well how to support the patient's primary elemental imbalance: the Causative Factor.

10:30AM - 11:00AM Break

11:00AM - 12:30PM The Basics of Five Element Practice (continued)

12:30PM - 2:00PM Lunch

2:00PM - 3:30PM The Four Examination Skills and The Ten Classical Questions
Niki Bilton, M.Ac. (UK), MBAcC, L.Ac.

Part one of Niki's presentation is aimed at cultivating mastery of the four examination skills: to see, to hear, to palpate, and to inquire, leading to greater efficacy of diagnosis and treatment assessment. The session will review classical theory from the Nei-Jing and Nan-Jing in handouts, enabling participants to deepen their clinical application of examination skills through experiential exercises and discussion. Part two will focus on inquiry through skillful use of the Ten Questions.

3:30PM - 4:00PM Break

4:00PM - 5:30PM The Ten Classical Questions

9:00AM - 10:30AM Communicating Without Words
David Goodell, L.Ac., M.Ac., Ac.M.(UK), Dipl. Ac.

Among the most fascinating and informative aspect of diagnosis that I learned from J.R. Worsley was the non-verbal communication between practitioner and patient. Paying attention to how our patients take our hand, the look in their eyes, whether they move toward us or back away, how they respond to physical contact are clear and direct ways that our patients communicate what they are feeling, what they need, and how they are responding to treatment. This presentation will help us become more conscious of and comfortable working with this level of communication. It will help us more easily and effectively understand what patients need and whether our treatments are providing it.

10:30AM - 11:00AM Break

11:00AM - 12:30PM Roots and Branches Five Element Qi Gong
Pat Gorman, M.Ac., B.Ac, (UK), L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

Roots and Branchesis a new approach to the classical tradition. The movements, postures, and energy massages emerge from the Five Elements and their meridians, conserving and generating all levels of Qi. For practitioners, it replaces the energy we expend; for patients, it enhances and sustains their treatment until they return. Best of all, it can be learned and taught without previous experience. On more advanced levels, there are ways for practitioners to tonify, sedate, and move energy around the Sheng and K'e Cycles, to open chronic blocks, and to tonify the spirit. Professor Cheng Man Ch'ing, T'ai Chi Grand Master and practitioner in the Five Element tradition, began this work to save his own life when he was near death with tuberculosis. Later, he refined it for use with his patients.

12:30PM - 2:00PM Lunch

2:00PM - 3:30PM Spirits of the Points - A Focus on the Conception Vessel, Governing Vessel, and Outer Bladder Line Points
Merry Gerard, M.Ac., Ac. M. (UK), L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

The gift of Five Element Acupuncture is in our ability to treat the patient's spirit with very specific and, often, magical results. Each of us, as practitioners, have our favorite points: the ones to which we can go and know what that point will offer. Please come to this workshop with one or two of your favorite points to share with the group. Broaden your understanding by hearing from other practitioners about their favorites. Come away with some new favorites points to bring to your practice.

3:30PM - 4:00PM Break

4:00PM - 5:30PM Point Location and Anatomical Landmarks
Brian Bender, MSTOM, L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

Impeccable point location is a skill within any practitioner's grasp, if you know how to position the patient, utilize reliable anatomical landmarks, measure accurately, and palpate with sensitivity. In this session, Brian will go over the most important landmarks, as well as specific commonly missed points, and points discussed in the Spirits of the Points presentation.

7:45AM - 8:45AM Roots and Branches Five Element Qi Gong Practice
Pat Gorman, M.Ac., B.Ac. (UK), L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

The hour will be spent refining the moves learned the previous day, and learning how and when to use them and teach them to patients.

9:00AM - 10:30AM Finding the "Way" to becoming an "Instrument" of Medicine
Dirk Hein, M.Ac. (UK), L.Ac.

Professor Worsley often made the distinction between being an acupuncture technician and being an "instrument" of this system of medicine. How do we learn to become an instrument and how do we know when we are one? This presentation will explore how we can deepen our ability to work at this level in a step-by-step process. Through Five Element Psychology, participants will gain new perspective and insight into how to develop and maintain this awareness in working with patients, as well as in a teaching situation.

10:30AM - 11:00AM Break

11:00AM - 12:30PM Emotions as Wave Forms: A Guide to Emotional Intelligence
Jane Grissmer, M.Ac., L.Ac., Dipl. Ac.

When we see patients through time, we become all too aware that sustaining balance and health ultimately requires transforming our habitual responses to living. In this workshop, we will explore our emotions as "Qi", moving wave forms rich in texture with myriad manifestations seeking their own completion. Observing each of the Five Elements through this lens offers the practitioner a window into assessment and treatment, as well as a coaching tool for guiding our patients beyond habitual responses to greater emotional intelligence.

12:30PM - 2:00PM Lunch

2:00PM - 3:30PM Treatment Planning
Eliot Ivanhoe, M.D., M.Ac. (UK)

Having covered the basics of Classical Five Element practice, including Causative Factor, diagnosis of color, sound, emotion, and odor, and patient interaction, we will in this presentation, put it all together in practical application. There will be further clarification of the order of treatment, the proper use of moxabustion, reaching the level, and the actual methodology for determining what the patient needs. Since this can only be meaningful in relation to the unique patient, we will examine a patient with the intent to determine their best possible treatment.

3:30PM - 3:45PM Break

3:45PM - 5:15PM Treatment Planning (continued)

5:15PM - 5:30PM Closure
Neil, David, and Eliot

Brian Bender holds a B.S. in Education/Mathematics from the University of Colorado and a Masters Degree from McClaren College of Business Administration, University of San Francisco. After earning his MSTOM degree from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine (1996), he completed his certification in Five Element Acupuncture from The Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture Inc. (2001). He spent two years in the Master Apprentice Program™ under the direction of Professor J.R. and Dr. J.B. Worsley. Brian has over 25 years of training and teaching in Aikido and Iaido. He is an instructor and clinical supervisor at Pacific College of Oriental Medicine, San Diego. He maintains a private practice in Del Mar, CA.

Niki Bilton trained at the College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK): awarded Lic. Ac (1982), B.Ac. (1985), and M. Ac. (1988). She served on the faculty of CTA from 1988-1999, holding various positions, including clinical supervisor, Lic. Ac. And advanced training tutor, and Dean of Post Graduate Studies. Niki has run many workshops, seminars, and clinical events for licensed practitioners throughout Europe and North America since 1995, and has lectured at many colleges of Oriental medicine. She is currently President of Tending Shen Inc., providing acupuncture healthcare services and graduate education, a guest lecturer at CTA, and Academic Dean of Onigiara College of Acupuncture and Moxabustion, Ontario, Canada (from 2007). Special interests are Five Element Acupuncture informed by classical Daoist philosophy and the cultivation of the reflective practitioner in acupuncture education.

Merry Gerard has been in private practice for almost 30 years. She received her Masters degree from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute (1981) and a second Masters degree from CTA (UK) in 1989 under Professor Worsley. She is a Senior Faculty member at the Academy of Five Element Acupuncture in Gainesville, FL and the Governing Board Chair of the Academy. Merry is also on the faculty of New England School of Acupuncture in Newton, MA.

David Goodell holds a B.I.S. in Chinese Civilization from George Mason University, earned his Certificate of Competence from the Traditional Acupuncture Institute, Columbia MD in 1985, B.Ac. from CTA (UK), M.Ac. from TAI in 1990, and his Ac. M. (UK) from J.R. Worsley in 1996. He organized and attended numerous clinical seminars with J.R. and J.B. Worsley between 1987 and 2008, was a clinical supervisor at TAI from 1995-97, and attended and helped coach participants in the Worsleys' Master Apprentice Program™ from 1997-2007. David was a founding member and President of the Worsley Institute from 1998-2008. He studied meditation with Arica Institute from 1974 to the present, and studied and taught Tai Chi with The School of T'ai Chi Chuan from 1976 to the present.

Pat Gorman has been an explorer in the worlds of energy, Tai Chi, and acupuncture for nearly half a century. Her quest began with her father's Lakota (Sioux) teachings; he was raised on Rosebud reservation and Pat is a pipe carrier for their tribe. Native American and Chinese principles run parallel; she began to study Tai Chi at Professor Cheng Man Ch'ing's Shr Jung studio in 1972 and continued with Professor Patrick Watson, appointed a legacy holder by Professor Cheng, and who appointed Pat a legacy holder in the tradition. Pat was assigned the task of tracking Professor Cheng's use of Tai Chi postures and massages with patients, which she started in 1975, and which has evolved into Roots and Branches Five Element Qi Gong. Pat has taught T'ai Chi to both students and teachers for over 35 years, including the form, push hands, sword, pole, and Qi Gong. She received her Masters from TAI Sophia in 1985 and continued her studies with J.R. Worsley until his death, earning a Lic. Ac. And B.Ac. from the College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK). She has studied with Mark Seem at Tri State Institute, Clinical Integration with John and Angela Hicks, and herbs with Jeffrey Yuen. She has extensive experience in teaching Five Element acupuncture at the Swedish Institute College of Health Sciences, Tai Sophia, and an accredited 2-year course for licensed practitioners, designed and taught with her husband Steve Flores, M.Ac. and Dr. Robert Abramson.

Jane Grissmer has been in the practice of acupuncture since 1980. She received her Masters degree from the College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK), studying under J.R. Worsley, and a certification of in Chinese Herbal Medicine from Tri State Institute. She has a background in the therapeutic bodywork traditions and a B.A. in Sociology from Purdue University. Jane co-founded Crossings: A Center for the Healing Traditions in 1992 and currently guides their integrative health care practices and body/mind/spirit awareness education program. From 1984-1997, she was a faculty member of Tai Sophia Institute, where she served as Dean of Faculty from 1988-92. In this capacity, she designed and taught a wide range of classes in Chinese medicine specializing in sensory skill development, spirits of points, and engaging the emotional body. Her publications include: Another View: Cholesterol; Notes of a Qi Teacher; When Anger Rises; Walking Fearward; The Gift of Autumn.

Neil R. Gumenick is Founder and Director of The Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture Inc. in Santa Monica, CA. Neil's career path was to professional acting when he was bitten by the Five Element Acupuncture bug in 1978. He is a Worsley Certified Advanced Teacher, holds three degrees from The College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK), and participated for ten years in the Master Apprentice Program™ led by Professor J.R. and Dr. J.B. Worsley. Neil is the Founder and Facilitator of the acclaimed two-day Classical Five-Element Acupuncture...Beginning the Journey™ seminars. Neil is a Master level practitioner and has been in private practice since 1981. He is a Professor of Acupuncture at Emperor's College of Traditional Oriental Medicine, has served of the faculty of SAMRA University, and has taught at the UCLA and USC Schools of Medicine, The Pacific Symposium, CSOMA Expo, AOM Alliance Expo, American Academy of Medical Acupuncture Symposium, Southern California University of Health Sciences Expo, Southwest Symposium, as well as at schools and colleges internationally. In 2008, Neil was honored as a Pioneer and Leader in the field of Oriental Medicine by the AAAOM. He has been a distinguished columnist for Acupuncture Today since 2001.

Dirk Hein is Director of the Wu Hsing Tao School in Washington State. He has been in private practice for over 25 years, having received his Masters degree from the College of Traditional Acupuncture (UK) in 1987, under the tutelage of the late Professor J.R. Worsley. He holds a teaching degree from the Worsley Institute of Classical Acupuncture in Florida, for which he was a clinical tutor. Dirk was two-term President of the Acupuncture Association of Washington and two-term Chairman to the Acupuncture Advisory Committee to the State of Washington. Dirk was a faculty member of the Worsley Institute of Classical Acupuncture (WICA), the Academy of Five Element Acupuncture, Bastyr University, the Northwest Institute of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, and the Canadian College of Oriental Studies. He started a specialized Five Element Acupuncture Program and an exclusive clinic shift at Bastyr University Health Clinic. He has presented papers on diagnosis and treatment at the Northwest Conference on Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine for several years and appeared on a TV interview on Health, Mind, and, Spirit. Dirk also taught Taoist philosophy at Antioch University in Seattle.

Eliot Ivanhoe, M.D., M.Ac. (UK), born in Brooklyn, New York in 1947, decided to become a physician at the age of 5, cultivated a hobby of comparative anatomical dissections from the age of about 11, received the Alex Herkowitz Biology Award in high school, concentrated in Biology as a College Scholar at Franklin and Marshall College, and received an academic scholarship to attend NYU School of Medicine from which he received his M.D. in 1971. Following a year in Family Practice at Lancaster General Hospital, he returned to NYU to complete a residency in Neurology, and was Chief Resident in Neurology at Bellevue Hospital in 1975. In 1976, he began practice in the Arica Way for Enlightenment, which he continues on a daily basis. In 1979, he began his study and practice of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture with J.R. Worsley in Royal Leamington Spa and continued these studies in the Master Apprentice Program™ with J.R. and Judy Worsley until 2005. He is a certified Advanced Teacher of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture, serves on the faculty of The Institute of Classical Five-Element Acupuncture Inc., lives with his beloved wife Sandy, qvells over his daughter, Hana, now a practicing attorney in international law, and enjoys composing music.