Daoist Medicine & Healing: Ancient Daoist Wisdom and its Impact on Modern Chinese Medical Treatment
We are delighted to announce our Third Annual Daoist Conference and are proud and humbled by the incredible lineup of speakers we gather for this year – spotlighting the natural way of healing according to Daoist principles, tradition, beliefs, and culture. We have eight speakers who are earnest practitioners in the philosophy, art, and science of Daoist research and healing – including panelists whose personal lives were touched by Daoist healing experiences.
The format of our conference dives deep into the subject. First, a speaker presents the subject expertise, then a table discussion with our facilitator, Sam Wuest, and Daoist priest, Master Zhou Xuanyun, bringing them together to answer your questions as they come in real-time from our chatbox. All are welcome.
PROGRAM and EVENT DETAILS (Download the PDF file here).
| Read the history of the Daoist Conference and View Video Recordings of the Talks. | |||
| First Daoist Gate Conference in 2021 | |||
| Second Daoist Gate Conference in 2022 | |||
| Third Daoist Gate Conference in 2023 | |||
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 891 4917 4765
Passcode: 362751
Meet Master Zhou Xuan Yun, Advisor and Founder of the Daoist Gate Center
Founder of the Daoist Gate Center, a non-profit organization, Master Zhou’s mission is to promote cross-cultural East and West understanding and Daoist solidarity. At 13, Master Zhou was sent to live on Wudang Mountain, where he was a student and later an instructor of Taiji, Kung Fu, and Qi Gong. Living at the Daoist Association Martial Arts Academy, in the Purple Cloud Temple, he was accepted into the 24th generation of the Wudang Long Men (Lóng ménpài 龙门派) lineage. At 16, he vowed to become a Daoist Monk and began his study of Daoist philosophy and religious practices. He was trained in ritual arts, chanting, divination, and internal alchemy. Master Zhou is a formally recognized disciple of Master Li Guang Fu 李光富, the Chairman of the Chinese Taoist Association (中国道教协会会长). Master Zhou divided his time between teaching at the center and abroad.
Meet Sam Wuest – Moderator for the Daoist Gate Conference
Sam Wuest is a licensed acupuncturist and certified Daoist Gate Wudang Arts teacher. A former apprentice of master Japanese Acupuncturist T. Koei Kuwahara, Sam served as team acupuncturist and massage therapist for Columbia University before co-runningBlue North Acupuncture & Wellness in Southern California. Before becoming an acupuncturist, Sam coached college & professional track & field athletes, giving him a diverse background in understanding movement. Currently residing in San José, Costa Rica, Sam practices acupuncture and teaches in-person Taiji and online classes in movement arts and Traditional Chinese Medicine as Meridians Move.
Program At A Glance
Saturday, August 26
Introduction by Sam Wuest – 9:00 – 9:15 EST
Andrea Fakis – 9:15 – 10:15 EST
Larson Di Fiori – 10:30 – 11: 30 EST
Janet Liu – 1:00 – 2:00 EST
Paul Fraser – 2:15 – 3:15 EST
Sunday, August 27
Introduction by Sam Wuest – 9:00 – 9:15EST
Johan Hausen – 9:15 – 10:15 EST
Greg Casey – 10:30 – 11: 30 EST
Robert Hoffman – 1:00 – 2:15 EST
David Wei – 2:30 – 3:30 EST
Program Speaker’s Topic and Bio
PROGRAM and EVENT DETAILS (Download PDF file here).
Andrea Fakis
WHEN: Saturday, August 26, 9:15 – 10:15 am EST
TOPIC: How Qigong Helps Manage My Chronic Autoimmune Flare-Ups – A Personal Story
This discussion focuses on breathing techniques and meditation routines, including Tuina exercises for nerve pinches and muscle spasms to mitigate the severity and shorten the duration of the stresses caused by episodic autoimmune flare-ups. From a personal perspective, Andy will share how Qigong assists in healing herself and achieving a long-term goal of mental and physical mobility, recovery, and well-being.
BIO:
Andy has been drawn to Chinese Martial Arts from a young age. She dreamed of one day moving to a mountaintop in China where she would study Martial Arts and Spirituality while working to become a monk. As a teen, she found her love for boxing/ and kickboxing and began studying martial art at a Shaolin Martial Monk school, where she also studied Tai Chi in Chen, Yang, and Sun family styles.
Nationally certified in nutrition, she spent over 25 years becoming a Master Chef focusing on local fresh foods and eating in season.
After sustaining a severe injury during Kung Fu training, Andy discovered she had a rare connective tissue disorder that limited her mobility. At that time, she focused on internal arts and found the quiet healing power of Taijiquan, Qigong, and Meditation. She loves sharing the culture and joy of these arts, which she credits to her road to recovery.
Larson Di Fiori
WHEN: Saturday, August 26, 10:30 – 11:30 pm EST
TOPIC: Situating Health Cultivation Practices
For many, learning Chinese health cultivation practices can seem overwhelming, with countless styles, techniques, and lineages. How is it that Qigong includes both moving and still practices? Is Taijiquan a form of qigong? Are these inherently Daoist practices? This talk will present some scholarship on the taxonomies of cultivation practices and some sense of their history. We will also explore some of their relationship to Daoism.
BIO:
Larson Di Fiori teaches Religious Studies and Contemplative Studies at Brown University. His courses and research focus primarily on Chinese culture, particularly Daoism and its associated texts and practices.
Janet Liu
WHEN: Saturday, August 26, 1 – 2 pm EST
TOPIC: Exploring the Benefits of Yoga Therapy and
Its Connections to Qigong
This presentation will explore the nature of Yoga Therapy, how Yoga Therapy can support whole health & wellness, and similarities of yoga and qigong within the integrative health model in Western medicine. Yoga Therapy is a unique and powerful modality for healing. It addresses the physical symptoms and the mental-emotional issues that often arise during diagnosis. A yoga therapist can offer yogic tools to support and empower the client each step of the way.
BIO: Janet is an internationally certified Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT) that provides personalized assessment, goal setting, lifestyle management, and adaptive yoga for whole health and well-being.
Through a bio-psycho-social-spiritual lens, she works with clients of all ages and abilities to help improve mind-body resilience. Janet’s specialty is working with cancer and stroke survivors.
Janet’s 20+ years of experience as a K-12 music and art education teacher has naturally segued into her work as a yoga therapist. She views yoga therapy as an educational process often involving teaching clients about the benefits and processes of evidence-based mind-body tools and practices. She aims to empower people to create space for healing and resilience amidst life’s challenges.
Paul Fraser
WHEN: Saturday, August 26, 2:15 – 3:15 pm EST
TOPIC: Using Qigong to Overcome Cancer and Other Serious Diseases
Paul will discuss the theory behind using Qigong to treat cancer and other serious illnesses, tracing the healing root from Hua Tuo in the Warring States. He will explain Qigong’s application in today’s medicine, and in addition, he will explore how people with little training may join forces to have profound healing effects on one another.
BIO:
Paul Fraser faced a life-threatening illness in 1987 and met Master Tom Tam of Boston, Massachusetts. Inspired by Qigong’s restoration of his health, Paul began to study Medical Qigong with Master Tam. He continues to study, practice, and teach to this day. His studies took him to mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and many of the Chinatowns in North America, learning the martial arts and medical systems in Shaolin and Daoist traditions. In 1999, Paul had the good fortune to meet world-renowned Qigong Master Ou Wen Wei, creator of Pangu Shengong. He completed his teacher training for the Moving Form and Nonmoving Form in 2001 and 2005, respectively, and co-authored a published work with Master Ou titled “Qi Gong in the Treatment of Rare Genetic Disorders in Children,” presented at The World Qigong Conference. He remains Master Ou’s dedicated student. He holds a Master’s in Acupuncture from the Academy for Five Element Acupuncture in Gainesville, Florida, and is the former director of the school’s Medical Qigong Program.
He is the author of “Qigong: Rediscovering Our Humanity,” published by Aeon Books.
Johan Hausen
WHEN: Sunday, August 27, 9:15 – 10:15 am EST
TOPIC: The Foundation of Wudang Qigong Healing
Johan Hausen’s presentation revolves around the theoretical framework, the basis, and the foundation of Wudang Qigong Healing regarding morals and its ethical tenets. He will outline the etymology, the definition, and the types of qigong and focus on the practitioner’s prerequisites, such as one’s thinking, attitude, intrinsic qualities, and inner nature, without which Qigong healing is bound to fail or the efficacy reduced.
BIO: Johan Hausen is a 24th-generation Complete Realization, Dragon Gate lay Daoist (sújiā dìzǐ 俗家弟子) under the tutelage of Li Shifu, abbot of Five Immortals Temple and last transmitting master of the Chunyang lineage, who resides in the Wudang mountains. Johan cultivated with his master in this temple setting for more than five years, facilitating programs for foreign students as a translator. He is also a Chinese medicine practitioner holding a Bachelor’s degree and a National Diploma from the New Zealand College of Chinese Medicine and a naturopathy license in Germany. He founded Purple Cloud Press in order to preserve the traditions of Daoism, Chinese medicine, martial arts, and Asian wisdom and has published four books on Daoism to date.
Greg Casey
WHEN: Sunday, August 27, 10:30 -11:30 am EST
TOPIC: Shen & Ling: Daoist Ideas on the Spirits and Souls of Chinese Medicine
Greg Casey will explore the spiritual dimensions of Chinese medicine, examining ideas of the Shen/Spirit, Ling/Soul, Po/Corporeal Soul, Hun/Ethereal Soul, Zhi/Will, and Yi/Mind. The Shen/Spirit as an area of study is often glazed over with little depth in modern standardized curricula of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) textbooks and colleges. Based on his years of study with his Daoist Sifu, Jeffrey Yuen, as well as his contemplation and meditation on these spiritual aspects of life, Greg will endeavor to illuminate their deeper impacts on our health and wellness and to bring overall greater awareness of these various aspects of our soul and its evolution from a Daoist perspective.
BIO: Greg Casey teaches martial arts and Qigong and is a licensed doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, where he lives in Rhode Island. He is also an ordained disciple within two Daoist lineages under his Sifu, Jeffrey Yuen. Within the Yu Qing Huang Lao Pai (Jade Purity Yellow Emperor Lao Zi Sect) of the Shang Qing Pai (Upper Purity Lineage), Greg belongs to the 89th Generation, and his Daoist name is 玄惠 Jyun Wai (Pinyin: Xuán Huì). Within the Longmen Pai (Dragon Gate Sect) of the Quan Zhen Pai (Complete Perfection Lineage), Greg belongs to the 27th generation, and his Daoist name is 高瑞 Gāo Ruì.
Robert Hoffman
WHEN: Sunday, August 27, 1 – 2:15 pm EST
TOPIC: Numinous Mushrooms in the Daoist Texts
In this talk, Dr. Hoffman will discuss mushrooms, comparing their use in traditional Chinese medicine and the Daoist texts. While lingzhi (reishi) gets most of the attention in Western popular culture, there is a wealth of herbal knowledge from within the texts, including the possible use of hallucinogenics in the quest for immortality.
BIO: Researcher, clinician, producer, and musician Robert is the Chief Executive Officer at Yo San University in Los Angeles, serving on the master’s and doctoral faculties. He has written numerous articles on Daoism and Chinese medicine and serves as editor and peer reviewer for several integrative medicine journals. He received his master’s in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Yo San University and completed his doctoral degree (DAOM) at Five Branches University in San Jose. He is a Ph.D. candidate at Zhejiang Chinese Medicine University in Hangzhou, China. His current research is on using mushrooms as adjuvant therapy in cancer treatment and the role of Chinese herbs in T cell regulation. In addition to his formal education, Dr. Hoffman is an ordained 23rd-generation Daoist priest in the Quanzhen Longmen tradition, studying with Josh Paynter, Jack Schaefer, and Ross Rosen of Parting Clouds.
David Wei
WHEN: Sunday, August 27, 2:30 – 3:30 pm EST
TOPIC: Five Hands of Classical Chinese Acupressure
Tui – Na – An – Mo – Pai
Learn these five fundamental hand methods of classical Chinese acupressure massage, also known as Tui Na. These five basic techniques can address any number of common complaints. Moreover, they can be layered in various combinations to add new depth to your practice. Whether you are a manual therapist, a movement instructor, or keen on self-practice, the five classic hands will be invaluable to your health and wellness toolbox.
BIO: David Wei, Wayfarer of Vast Capacity, 16th generation lineage inheritor of Wudang San Feng Pai. Founder of Wudang West Cultural Heritage Center. He is based in Oakland, California, where he lives with his wife and child.