Welcome
Please feel welcome to stroll about my class website. Since 2004 I’ve been a professor at the Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine College (AIMC) in Berkeley, CA, a graduate level master’s degree program for acupuncture, herbology and integrative medicine. This site provides information about handouts, activities and resources that are part of the classes and workshops that I teach. I give various weekend workshops at the Well-Balanced Center in Lafayette, CA.
Studying Oriental medicine is both fun and challenging. The more enjoyable we make it, the less daunting it becomes. The same goes for your studies: the more time you spend, the more you will appreciate the medicine and the more you gain. These gains will help both you and your clients stay healthy, and will make passing your medical licensing exams easier.
I hope you become as captivated with this medicine as I am. It is a marvelous path with many rich rewards!
About Lana
I began studying Western herbal medicine in the Bay Area in high school and initially became interested in making creams and shampoos using herbs and without harsh ingredients. In 1988 I became a dedicated student of Iyengar yoga and began to learn about hands on healing of the body through energy work and massage. In 1992 I completed my undergraduate work at UCSD, attending Eleanor Roosevelt International College where I was fascinated by world cultures, foreign languages and biology. Japanese and Chinese language classes were intriguing and fun. Eastern philosophy just made sense to me. These areas came together when I discovered the field of Oriental medicine in 1991. I was amazed that all my favorite topics could be combined into one, the life-sustaining field of Eastern healing.
After completing my undergraduate degree I came back to the Bay Area, got my feet wet through volunteer work at Quan Yin Healing Arts and studied with various Chinese teachers in their private acupuncture clinics. During this time, I also spent a few years working full time in the area of FDA drug approval at Genentech, Inc. It was that experience that gave me the final nudge to jump into the field of Eastern healing with both feet. In 1993 I started studying Tai Chi and Qi Gong, which felt to me like magic in the palm of my hands. A few years later I completed pre-med classes and began a master’s degree at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, which I completed in 1999. I have maintained an private practice in the East Bay since that time, currently located at the Well-Balanced Center in Lafayette, CA.