This course offers an integrative foundation in classical medicine through the lens of both Ibn Sīnā’s Canon of Medicineand the Huangdi Neijing. Students will explore the philosophical and cosmological principles that underlie health, including the four causes, mizāj (temperament), tawḥīd, Yin-Yang, and Wu Xing. They will learn how to assess the human being as a microcosm of the cosmos, understand internal and external causes of illness—including emotions, lifestyle, climate, and spiritual imbalance—and apply diagnostic techniques such as pulse taking, visual observation, and constitutional analysis. Treatments covered will include herbal medicine, dietary therapy, hijāmah, moxibustion, acupuncture, lifestyle regulation, and body-mind-spirit alignment.
By the end of the course, students will be able to apply classical diagnostic and therapeutic principles to real-life cases, compare the epistemologies of Chinese and Islamic medicine, and offer holistic, spiritually grounded care. They will gain the ability to identify patterns of disharmony, design tailored treatment plans, and counsel patients on living in rhythm with nature and divine order. Graduates will leave with a strong grasp of both technical competencies and the deeper wisdom traditions of healing rooted in revelation and resonance.
Month 1: Nature, Balance & First Principles
Canon: Medicine as a rational art; the soul, spirit, and faculties; four causes (material, efficient, formal, final)
Neijing: Dao, Yin-Yang, the Way of Heaven and Earth, Bianhua (transformation)
Focus: Unity of nature, medicine as alignment with the order of creation
Month 2: Elements, Temperaments & the Cosmos
Canon: Four elements (earth, water, fire, air), four qualities (hot, cold, moist, dry), temperaments (mizāj)
Neijing: Five phases (Wu Xing), seasonal cycles, cosmic motion
Focus: The body as a microcosm, living in harmony with time and space
Month 3: Soul, Spirit & the Purpose of Healing
Canon: The soul’s relation to the body; natural, vital, and psychic spirits; hikma (wisdom) in healing
Neijing: Shen (spirit), Jing-Qi-Shen relationship; cultivating harmony between heart-mind and body
Focus: Medicine as care of the soul through the body
Month 4: Internal Causes — Emotions & Habits
Canon: Psychic causes, passions of the soul (anger, fear, sadness), sleep, movement, retention, elimination
Neijing: Emotions as internal winds, the five Zang and emotional expression, stress and Shen disturbance
Focus: The emotional and behavioral roots of illness
Month 5: External Causes — Climate, Environment, Lifestyle
Canon: Environmental imbalance (air, location, weather), diet, activity
Neijing: Six climatic influences (wind, heat, cold, damp, dryness, fire), external Xie Qi
Focus: Adaptation to nature and protection of the body
Month 6: Non-Natural Causes & Divine Trials
Canon: Accidents, poisons, wounds, divine decree (Qadar), fate vs. lifestyle
Neijing: Pathogenic invasions, Shen disturbance, constitutional weaknesses
Focus: Understanding affliction — between destiny and prevention
Month 7: Observation & Pulse
Canon: Visual signs, urine and stool, breathing, complexion
Neijing: Pulse qualities, seasonal pulses, facial diagnosis, tongue
Focus: Reading the body’s subtle language
Month 8: Constitution, Humors, and Organs
Canon: Humoral excess/deficiency, organ-based analysis, temperament types
Neijing: Zang-Fu patterns, Qi dynamics, five element organ correspondences
Focus: Internal terrain and individual patterning
Month 9: Pattern Differentiation & Prognosis
Canon: Crisis, critical signs, prognostic signs (e.g. pulse, fever)
Neijing: Syndrome differentiation (Bian Zheng), trajectory of disease
Focus: Matching treatment to the root cause (al-ʿilla/al-asbāb vs. Bian Zheng)
Month 10: Diet, Movement, and Lifestyle
Canon: Regimen of health (ḥifẓ al-ṣiḥḥa), daily habits, exercise, sleep
Neijing: Yangsheng (nourishing life), seasonal alignment, Daoyin practices
Focus: Preventive medicine and restoring balance through daily life
Month 11: Simple & Compound Treatments
Canon: Materia medica, compound prescriptions, hot/cold drug classification
Neijing: Qi flavor theory, regional medicine (Du Yao, Jiu Zhen), nature of substances
Focus: Pharmacology and herbal energetics from both traditions
Month 12: Interventions & Energetic Therapies
Canon: Bloodletting, cupping, enemas, manual therapies
Neijing: Acupuncture, moxibustion, bleeding, stone probes, harmonizing Shen
Focus: Restoring flow — Qi, blood, spirit, and motion
Course information
Name of Course: Foundations of Classical Medicine: Integrating the Canon of Medicine and the Huangdi Neijing
Days and Timings: Sundays, 9 am-10 am Mountain Standard Time
Duration: One Year From August 2025 to July 2026