Herb IV (Formula I) (syllabus attached below)

This course, the first of three in the herbal formulas series, introduces the ideas behind the formulas and the first four categories of formulas from Bensky and Barolet’s Chinese Herbal Medicine: Formulas & Strategies.  The classical formulas that have gained their reputation through generations of clinical practice are still among the most clinically accepted and useful even today.  Learning about their history and understanding how they are constructed and related to each other is essential as students prepare for future study and clinical practice.The herbalists who wrote the formulas in the TCM pharmacopoeia that have passed the test of time and clinical practice were also the most brilliant of medical theorists and diagnosticians.  Students are encouraged to study these formulas carefully, deepening their understanding of the properties of the individual ingredients and how they are used together, striving to understand the original diagnosis and indications for which the formulas were intended, and creating a synthesis of medical theory, symptomatology, diagnosis, and clinical practice.  The ultimate goal is to create a connection between abstract medical theory and practical indications, following a mental path that leads skillfully from signs and symptoms to diagnosis to treatment and herbal formula prescription.