The practice formulary
The 43 formulas the practice keeps on the shelf, organized by pattern: from the classical formula to the jar you hand to the patient.
How it starts
So far the course has worked with classical formulas: the theoretical pattern, the architecture, the reason for each herb. This lesson goes down to the cabinet. The platform has a formulary of 43 ready-made formulas—the ones you keep on the shelf and hand to the patient—and learning to move around it is what turns a repertoire into a practice that works on a Tuesday morning.
The rest of the lesson opens with Chinese Herbal Medicine.
In this lesson you will learn
- Tell a classical formula from a commercial one and know what you gain and what you lose.
- Walk through the practice formulary, organized by pattern.
- Pick the formula from the cabinet that matches a specific pattern.
- Know what to do when none of them fits perfectly.
- Avoid the particular risk of this way of working: prescribing out of habit.
What is inside
- 1Exterior patterns and Heat
- 2Tonics
- 3Liver and Shen
- 4Digestion, Dampness, and bowel movements
- 5Blood, Bi, and respiratory
- 6How to choose from the cabinet
- 7Managing it on the platform
One of the 33 lessons in
Chinese Herbal MedicineMateria Medica and Formulas
“The needle moves; the herb replenishes.”
The other half of Chinese medicine. How a plant is described in the language of Chinese medicine (the four Qi, the five flavors, channel tropism), the nine major categories of the materia medica, the Jun-Chen-Zuo-Shi architecture of a formula, the twenty classical formulas that anchor practice, and real-world safety: interactions, hepatotoxicity, pregnancy, and product quality.
By the end of the course, you will know how to
- Read the profile of any Chinese herb and know what it does and where it acts.
- Recognize the nine categories of the materia medica and their leading herbs.
- Break down a classical formula into emperor, minister, assistant, and envoy.
- Modify a base formula to fit a specific patient.
- Spot the interactions and risks that mean you should not prescribe.
- Divide the work between needle and herb in the same case.
What you will study
Module 1 · 5 lessons
The language of herbs
Before the first herb: how Chinese medicine describes what a remedy does.
- What Chinese herbal medicine is (and what it isn't)
- The four Qi and the five flavors
- Channel tropism, direction, and tendency
- Toxicity, processing (Pao Zhi), and quality
- Dosage forms: from decoction to granules
Module 2 · 8 lessons
The materia medica
The nine major categories, with the key herbs of each and their full profile.
- Releasing the exterior (Jie Biao Yao)
- Clearing Heat (Qing Re Yao)
- Purging and warming the interior
- Dampness, water, and Bi pattern
- Phlegm, cough, and dyspnea
- Regulating Qi and resolving food stagnation
- Moving Blood and stopping bleeding
- Calming the Shen, pacifying the Liver, and opening the orifices
Module 3 · 3 lessons
The tonics
Bu Xu Yao: the star category of modern herbal medicine, and the one most often misprescribed.
- Tonifying Qi and Yang
- Nourishing Blood and Yin
- Astringents and antiparasitics
Module 4 · 5 lessons
Building a formula
From the single herb to the prescription: the part that truly sets Chinese herbal medicine apart.
- Jun, Chen, Zuo, and Shi: the architecture
- The classical formulas you need to know
- The practice formularyYou are here
- Modifying a formula
- Prescribing: dose, preparation, and regimen
Module 5 · 3 lessons
Beyond the decoction
The other three ways a plant enters treatment: the plate, the skin and the local herbalist.
- Chinese dietetics (Shi Liao)
- External use: washes, compresses, and plasters
- A bridge to Western herbalism
Module 6 · 9 lessons
Safety and clinical practice
The part that separates a professional from someone selling herbal teas.
- Interactions, liver, and kidney
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood, and older adults
- Clinic I: digestive and respiratory
- Clinic II: gynecology, Shen, and pain
- Clinic III: dermatology
- Supportive care in oncology
- Integrating needle and herb (and using Fitoki)
- Integrated clinical case
- Final exam · Chinese Herbal Medicine
Requirements
Acupuncture I, or equivalent knowledge of Yin-Yang, Wu Xing, the vital substances, and Zang-Fu.
How it works
Specialties
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Read “The practice formulary” today
This lesson and the rest of the course: 33 lessons, 10 hours, quizzes and exercises. You pay once and it is yours for life, with one year of Atlas Pro as a gift (if you already have it, it adds to the time you have left).
Chinese Herbal Medicine
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