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I would like for you to consider the following scenario. Imagine that Canada and the USA follow in the footsteps of Denmark and implement a
steep tax, let's say 200%, on automobile purchases. Since cars are expensive already, you may not be able to purchase a car at 3 times the price. Thus the car
you currently own may be the last car you will buy, ever. Your car is extremely important to you; without it you cannot make it to work, visit your family or even buy
groceries. You would be lost without it.
One day your car begins to show signs of distress. You take it to a mechanic who has trained in all of the most
modern diagnostic and repair techniques. You begin to tell him your car's problems, but interjects that he has others waiting and needs to get to them
also. His computers and gadgets will tell him all he needs to know. He soon gives you a diagnosis and informs you that it is a very serious problem. He would like to
perform a radical repair. The technique is widely tested with its mechanism of action scrupulously detailed by automotive science, but it is not without risk. A quarter of the cars he repairs in this way end up breaking as a result of the repair. Another quarter end up breaking as a result of the initial
problem, but much sooner than expected. Still another quarter show no change. And finally the last quarter are repaired.
You decide to get a second opinion
by a mechanic who has trained just as extensively as the first, but in very different techniques. He wants to hear all about your car and the problems you have been
having with it. He then thoroughly examines your car personally and gives you the same diagnosis as the first mechanic. He agrees that it is a very serious problem and offers to
perform what he says is a safe repair. He cannot tell you exactly why this repair sometimes works, but he shares his results with you. A quarter of the cars he
attempts to repair with this problem show no change at all. A full half of the cars end up running better but are not completely repaired. And finally, a quarter are
repaired.
Some of you already know where I am going with this. Change your mindset now. Your car is your body. It is the only one you will ever own, and you would
be lost without it. The first mechanic represents a health practitioner primarily prescribing drugs and surgery; the second represents a holistic health practitioner who
considers the synergistic functioning of the entire body, mind and emotions. Neither is superior to the other, and both play important roles in maintaining health.
Some of you may be aware that homeopathic medicine is again under heavy fire in North America. Dissidents are trying to categorize the entire
field of homeopathy as sham medicine. Scientists cannot understand its energetic working, much the same as they cannot explain the mechanism of acupuncture.
Although these therapies and others are extremely safe and are backed by extensive clinical evidence, complementary therapies are often difficult to analyze through scientific
studies. As a result, they are written off by many as being ineffective at best and quack-based medicine at worst.
I am not necessarily a proponent of one form of medicine over others, but I am in favour in most situations of using safe therapies that carry few side effects for the recipient and also for the environment. It greatly concerns me that iatrogenic (doctor-induced) diseases were the 3rd leading cause of death in the USA in 2011, and that pharmaceutical toxins are contaminating our oceans and food chain at an alarming rate. Saving one life should not be at the expense of others.
One more thing before I sign off: What
mechanic would you choose to try to fix your car? Shouldn't you give your body the same thoughtful consideration?
Todd N Howard, President
School of Yogatherapy Open House The School of
Yogatherapy at PRC will be having a public Open House on Saturday, June 2nd from 10am to 4pm. Many of our students have found profound healing experiences through their practice
of yoga, which has motivated them to want to share the possibilities this practice brings. Free lectures will be presented throughout the Open House as per the
following schedule:
10:15am-11:00am
"Learning to see with your Heart - the Path of Yoga" by Nikki Manzie
11:30am-12:15pm
"Brighten Your Day with Yoga-to-go - Yanumoja Yoga Class" by Shannon Devenney
1:00pm-1:45pm
"Importance of unconditional positive regard in therapeutic relationships" by Zoe Eakle
2:30pm-3:15pm
"Finding Your Voice - The Yoga of Sound" by Fabrizio Alberico
The School of Yogatherapy offers a semester-long certificate program and a 2-year diploma program, the latter being the first of its kind outside of India. PRC is registered
with the Yoga Alliance - the national education and support organization for yoga in the United States - and is also a member school of the International Association
of Yoga Therapists, which supports research and education in yoga and serves as a professional organization for yoga teachers and yoga therapists worldwide. Both
programs include recognized Yoga Teacher Training components. Join us on June 2nd to learn more.
PRC Student Trains at Chinese University
Diploma of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine graduate and current Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine student Carmen Bedard-Gautrais is completing clinical training
at one of China's largest institutes of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Liaoning University of TCM. In 2009 PRC and LNUTCM forged an agreement that permits School of
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine students to complete clinical training at the University and its affiliated hospitals. To learn more about Carmen's experience, please
visit her blog, The China Cabinet.
PRC Student Featured in Acupuncture Documentary While completing a recent Global Outreach placement in Nepal with the Acupuncture Relief Project, Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine student Jenn
Rankin was featured in the documentary Compassion Connects: Ancient Medicine for Modern Health Care. In 2011, filmmaker Tristan Stoch followed a team of Acupuncture
Relief Project volunteer practitioners during their stay at the Vajra Varahi Clinic in Chapagaon, Nepal.
In this short film he successfully illustrates many of the complexities of providing primary medical care in a third world environment. There will be a free viewing of
this film at the Hollywood Theater in Portland, Oregon on June 13th at 7:30pm. Visit www.acupuncturereliefproject.org for more information.
PRC Representatives to attend Mother Earth News Fair If you are in the Seattle area and want to learn more about Pacific Rim College, please visit our booth this weekend on June 2nd and 3rd at the Mother Earth News
Fair in Puyallup, Washington. Not only will this event provide you an opportunity to meet with PRC admissions representatives, students and alumni, but it is also host
to dozens of speakers, workshops and exhibitors. Visit Mother Earth News to learn more.
Diploma of Holistic Nutrition gains NANP RecognitionThe Diploma of Holistic Nutrition program, Canada's most comprehensive on-site program of Holistic
Nutrition, is now recognized by the National Association of Nutrition Professionals as an approved and recommended
education program. Graduates of this 2115-hour program - which includes over 300 hours of clinical training; foundational training in Traditional Chinese Medicine,
Ayurvedic Medicine and Western Herbal Medicine; and advanced training in Biomedicine and Nutritional Therapeutics - are qualified for professional membership with NANP
and to sit for the holistic nutrition national board exam offered through the Holistic Nutrition Credentialing
Board (HNCB). Successful exam candidates will become Board Certified in Holistic Nutrition.
Students can also pursue dual diploma study options by
combining this program with the Diploma of Acupuncture or the Diploma of Phytotherapy. For more information on all Holistic Nutrition study options, please click here.
PRC now Recognized by the EQA Pacific Rim College
has met the eligibility requirements and has been granted permission to use BC's Education Quality Assurance Designation for British Columbia-based operations. BC's
EQA Designation is Canada's first and only provincial brand of quality for post-secondary education. EQA provides one standard provincial seal that can be recognized
globally as a symbol of quality education and consumer protection.
Holistic Nutrition Certificate ProgramIf you want
to learn more about holistic nutrition and explore career opportunities, consider enrolling in the Holistic Nutrition Certificate program this fall at PRC. This 270-hour program is offered evenings and weekends and includes components on supplements, whole foods preparation, global dietary trends, backyard gardening, food
therapeutics and much more. For graduates who want to continue on with their education, half of the credits for this program transfer directly into the Diploma of
Holistic Nutrition. Enrolment space for the certificate program is very limited. Classes begin on September 6th. For more information, please click here.
Summer Continuing EducationThe final courses
in PRC's summer continuing education series begin in the end of June. Registration is still open for these courses, most of which are offered twice weekly until mid-August. Opportunities include herbal medicine making, public speaking, Qi Gong, holistic nutrition and ethnobotany. To learn more about these courses and to register,
please visit our Continuing Education page.
Ayurvedic Marmatherapy Program returnsThe Fundamentals of Ayurvedic Marmatherapy Certificate Program (FAM) is a 252-hour (1-semester) program that introduces
students to the philosophies, therapeutic principles and techniques of Ayurvedic Marmatherapy. It can be taken independently or as part of the Diploma of Eastern
Therapies and Bodywork (ETB). Applications are now being accepted for September 2012 enrolment. Please click here for
more information.
Community Herbalist Program The next
instalment of the popular Community Herbalist Program begins September 6th. This 270-hour program, offered on evenings
and weekends, introduces students to the incredible world of plants and their medicinal uses according to various cultures. This program explores the history of
plant-based therapies and how to identify and cultivate herbs, use plant-based foods to maintain health, and make and apply herbal remedies to restore health. It also
includes 30 hours of Backyard Gardening. For those CHP graduates who are interested continuing with more studies, more than half of the components of this program transfer directly in to the Diploma of Phytotherapy program. For more information about the Community Herbalist Program and
how you can register, please click here. Registration space is limited.
PRC Welcomes New Instructors PRC is
proud to welcome new members to its extraordinary teaching faculty.
Celina Lyons is a Registered Acupuncturist in British Columbia and a California
Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist. The focus of her work has been the treatment of fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care and the wellness
care and treatment of children. Celina has enriched her clinical experience working with Survivors International in Oakland, California, on the stroke ward at The
California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco and volunteering as a Chinese medical practitioner at the Charlotte Maxwell Complementary Clinic, also in
Oakland.
Catharine Kozak has been a practicing acupuncturist in BC since 2000. Following an internship at the Xi Yuan Hospital in Beijing in 2000, she
received a 4-year Diploma in Traditional Chinese Medicine from the Academy of Classical Oriental Sciences in Nelson, where she then taught until 2008. In 2003, in
tandem with West Kootenay-Boundary Addiction Services, she started Nelson's very first free clinic based on NADA-style auricular acupuncture for the treatment of
addictions.
2012 Acupuncture WorkshopsThe
Fall 2012 workshop schedule for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine contains some of our most exciting workshops and speakers to date.
We are pleased to
welcome back one of the world's leading authorities on TCM veterinarian medicine, Dr. Bruce Ferguson. On September 8th-9th, Dr.
Ferguson will be presenting a seminar based on human acupuncture entitled "Integrating Dr. Tan's Balance Method
with Distal Point Microsystems for Rapid Clinical Results".
Distinguished author
and clinician Lonny Jarrett also returns in September for a workshop on the functions, patterns and spirits of Acupuncture
points entitled "Getting to the Point".
Author Jason Robertson returns in November for another workshop on "Channel Palpation and
Diagnosis". Jason is author of the acclaimed Applied Channel Theory in Chinese Medicine as published by Eastland Press.
With much anticipation, Sports Acupuncture expert and author Whitfield Reaves presents his first workshop at PRC
entitled "Acupuncture in the Treatment of Pain and Common Sports Injuries - the Upper Extremity" during the first weekend in December.
Last but not least, we are pleased to welcome to PRC for the first time Dr. Martha Lucas as she presents a 2-day workshop on "Mei Zen
Cosmetic Acupuncture". Dr. Lucas is recognized around the world as an expert in cosmetic acupuncture.
Please visit our Lectures, Workshops and Events page for more
information about these workshops and others.
2012 Herbal WorkshopsWe are
excited to announce our most exciting season of herbal workshops ever beginning this September!
Author and teacher Margi Flint returns on September 29th-30th to present another instalment on "Reading the Body: Traditional Western Herbal Medicine Diagnosis".
Director of the North American Institute of Medical Herbalism Paul Bergner comes to PRC for the first time on October 20th-21st to present "Physiomedicalism: Vitalism, Foundations of Chronic Disease and Herbal Formulations".
Visiting Faculty member and
author Robert Rogers returns to again present the ever-popular "Medicinal Mushrooms of Western Canada" on October 27th-28th.
PRC visiting faculty member, herbal medicine authority and author Peter Conway returns on November 17th-18th to present "Cancer, Complexity
and Plants: New Perspectives on the Roles of Herbal Medicines and Diet in Supporting People Experiencing Cancer".
International
speaker Bev Maya returns on December 8th-9th to present "Diagnostic Tools in Herbal Medicine:
Critical Assessment of Laboratory Tests and Their Applications".
The last workshop is not scheduled until October 2013, but it
may be our most anticipated workshop to date. In his final workshop ever, author and herbal medicine authority Stephen Harrod Buhner will present one
of his hallmark topics in a workshop entitled "Sacred Plant Medicine". Registration will be opening soon for this workshop.
Please visit our Lectures, Workshops and Events page for more information about these workshops and others.
Renowned Authors visit PRCRenowned TCM Authors David Legge and Will Maclean recently visited PRC and made a generous book donation to the student and faculty libraries. Will is author of numerous books including the three-part Clinical Handbook of Internal Medicine series. David is also an author of several books including the ever popular Close to the Bone, which details musculoskeletal therapies of acupuncture and TCM. Both Australian authors have decades of experience and lecture around the world. We greatly appreciate their generous book donations.
TCMABC and QATCMA Announce a Strategic AllianceBC's two largest Chinese Medicine Associations, the TCMABC and the QATCMA have come together to further unification talks and create ONE VOICE for the
Traditional Chinese Medical Professional Community. This alliance represents several years of negotiations coming to successful fruition and heralding a new era of
communication and professional representation for BC's vibrant TCM community. For more information, please visit TCMABC.
IN-CAM Research SymposiumThe 7th IN-CAM Research Symposium is taking place November 2nd-4th in Toronto. The theme of the 2012 Symposium is "Evaluating CAM Practices: Effectiveness, Safety, Integration and Costs". Researchers, graduate students/research trainees, health care practitioners, and educators are invited to submit abstracts for oral and poster research presentations by June 29. To submit an abstract, please click here.
Book of the Month The third edition of Close to the Bone by David Legge is a revised version of this popular text on the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders with acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The book outlines diagnosis from both TCM and anatomical perspectives and provides detailed acupuncture therapeutics and useful diagrams. David Legge has been a practicing osteopath and acupuncturist with more than 30 years of experience. This book is available from the PRC Bookstore for $85.95.
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