We offer 700 hour certification programs in Shiatsu and Tuina that will enable you to become nationally certified through the NCCAOM and ultimately licensed to practice. In addition to these trainings, we offer a range of Qi-development (Taiji, qigong, yoga, meditation) & continuing education classes open to everyone. Wellness practitioners are available for individual appointments. Come by and experience our school!

“Training a new generation of Qi practitioners”

Welcome to Charles River Institute for Healing and Inner Arts! We opened on October 27, 2000, and were founded in the Chinese Year of the Dragon by Patricia E. Carusone. We are a private vocational institute located in the heart of Cambridge within Central Square. The institute is licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Education and is a continuing education provider for some workshops with the NCCAOM. Charles River Institute is a member of the American Organization for Bodywork Therapies of Asia (AOBTA) Council of Schools and Programs (COSP). A COSP school provides professional training that meets the AOBTA eligibility criteria. Graduates of COSP schools are automatically granted AOBTA membership upon receipt of their application form.

The vision, mission, and values of Charles River Institute for Healing and Inner Arts are:

Vision

To teach, practice and perpetuate the healing arts as an integrated process of body, mind and spirit, to reflect the principle that life seeks to maintain the integrity of its own wholeness, and to organize and manage ourselves consistent with this understanding. Our intention is to inspire a self-cultivation practice for individual and professional health, well-being, and effectiveness, to increase awareness of the physical, emotional and spiritual nature of illness and healing, and to provide hope, enthusiasm and a place for harmonious integration, renewal and regeneration of body, mind and spirit.

Mission

To provide the highest quality instruction and development in integrated healing practices through both Eastern and Western body and mind based modalities to healthcare, emphasizing the importance of treating the whole person with attention to inner awareness as an essential aspect of healing, to provide Shiatsu and Tuina professional certification programs, and to graduate highly competent, ethical and professional practitioners.

Community Values

To share knowledge, value and experience in responsible and compassionate service to and co-creation with the community for the healing upliftment, renewal, and benefit of the larger collective whole; to provide holistic service to individuals, families and community, and to create and promote public awareness of the traditional Asian healing arts and universal inner healing arts.

Zen Shiatsu

Patricia CarusoneDipl. ABT (NCCAOM)AOBTA & NCBTMB Certified

Mondays 8am-2pm

Tuesdays 8am – 2pm

Wednesdays 1pm-5pm

617-868-4585 info@CharlesRiverInstitute.com

Tui-Na & Qi Gong Therapist

Jeffrey Cote, AOBTA Certified, NCCAOM Reg. Instructor,

Wu Tang Chuan Gong Assoc. Certified

Mondays 12pm – 5pm

Fridays 9am – 3 pm

508-414-8568 taoistarts@earthlink.net

Five Element Shiatsu

Su Cousineau Dipl. ABT (NCCAOM)AOBTA Certified

Thursday 2pm-8 pm

Friday 12pm-6pm

Saturday 8am–2pm

781-929-8677

Zen Shiatsu

David Sergel

Tuesdays 10am-9pm 1x/mo

Wednesdays 11am-8pm 1x/mo

203-254-1795, 888-880-4325

Zen Shiatsu offers a natural path to a healthier life. Based on the oldest continuing system of healthcare in the history of civilization, Chinese medicine developed acupuncture and moxabustion, herbal medicine, bone-setting, Anma and Tuina (the predecessors of Shiatsu). These modalities share the common 5000 year old heritage rooted in Taoist philosophy and theories of energy known as Qi, but differ in their applications and concentration of study. Shiatsu uses gentle hand pressure along the meridians to adjust and balance the flow of Qi, to harmonize the body, mind and spirit, whereas acupuncture adjusts the Qi in the human body by stimulating the acupoints with needles. Herbal medicine warrants the ingestion of plant substances to restore equilibrium by regulating Qi. In view of these inter- relationships, it can be said that acupuncture, herbal medicine, and Shiatsu share the same root and are unified. Shiatsu scope of practice does not include recommending internal Chinese herbal medicine nor do we penetrate the skin with needles. External Chinese herbal liniments may be applied. There are separate certification exams which exist for Asian bodywork, acupuncture and for herbal medicine offered nationally by the NCCAOM.

The Tuina Program provides an intensive study of the Chinese holistic health model applied to a tradition of Asian bodywork dating back five-thousand years. The curriculum is designed based on year long tracks with core requirements in common with the Zen Shiatsu program such as semester courses in Anatomy & Physiology, Meridian Review, and Traditional Chinese Medicine and then diverges into Tuina Program specific courses such as Tuina hand techniques and TCM-II. The core curriculum consists of weekend intensive modules offered three or four times a year. Elective options offer the students exciting opportunities for 1-2 week summer intensives in the US and at Chinese Medical facilities in Shanghai, China and courses in Chinese Medical Language.

WHAT IS QI? AND WHERE DOES IT FLOW?

Asian tradition describes Qi as the dynamic life force which moves, inhabits and drives us and the cosmos. Qi energy flows through our bodies along paths called meridians. In Asian medicine, all sickness is related to an imbalance, either excess or deficiency, of Qi. The flow of Qi is disrupted by stress, imbalanced diet or lifestyle, climate, repressed.or excessive emotions, lack of exercise or a weak constitution. Harmony of Qi is essential to health. Shiatsu treatment can assess the flow of Qi, identify any imbalance or blockage and harmonize them so we may live a fuller life.

An integral aspect of the programs at Charles River Institute is our emphasis on Qi classes as part of developing a well-rounded, health minded student and practitioner. Classes include Tai Chi, Qi Gong, Yoga, and Meditation. Qi classes provide students with a base knowledge in internal and external exercise systems for the benefit of their own health and longevity as a Shiatsu and Tuina therapist as well as providing exercise protocols for their clients.

CRI is a community-oriented resource that not only trains students for the practice of Shiatsu and Tuina, but also offers a broad array of services to the community at large. These range from Qi classes to personal Shiatsu, Tuina and acupuncture treatments to workshops. We also provide a bookstore available to students and the community. Our student Shiatsu Clinic opened in April 2003 and Tuina in 2005.

Elective courses offered may include the following: Transformational Nourishment, Tonic Herbalism, Sotai-Ho, Pulse and Tongue Assessment, Pregnancy and Shiatsu, Taiko Drumming, Tuina for Internal and Muscular Disorders, and Medical Chinese Language and Literature.