Courses
Learn with Sharon Weizenbaum
Classical Wisdom, Clinical Insight, and Mentorship
Sharon Weizenbaum brings decades of experience, deep scholarship, and heartfelt clinical insight to the study and practice of Chinese medicine. Through her renowned programs and mentorship opportunities, students are invited into a rich learning environment rooted in classical texts, case-based learning, and a spirit of reverence for the healing tradition. Whether you are expanding your diagnostic skills, refining your herbal knowledge, or seeking guidance from a seasoned teacher, Sharon's courses offer a rare opportunity to deepen your clinical efficacy and reconnect with the heart of the medicine.
Explore upcoming classes, online study, and in-depth mentorship with one of the field's most respected educators.
Healthy Seminars Courses | 2026
All Healthy Seminars Courses start with a free lecture on a Friday at 12:30pm EST and are followed by two 2-hour Saturday classes from 9:30am to 11:30am.
Course 1: The Importance of Blood in Your Obstetric Practice
January 9, 2026
If you have had patients who suffer from habitual miscarriage, or issues in pregnancy such as preeclampsia, hyperemesis, premature labor, intrauterine growth retardation, or abdominal pain, this course is for you. In this five-hour course, Sharon will draw from her 40 years' experience and her in-depth translations to help practitioners understand the physiology of blood in relation to a healthy pregnancy. From physiology, Sharon will give explicit instructions for diagnosing and treating blood pathology in pregnancy, based on classical texts. Zhāng Zhòngjǐng gives us clear instructions on how to see the early warning signs of problems to come so that they may never arise. As practitioners, being confident in our ability to address such issues is part of what makes practice a joy.
Course 2: Key Intake Skills for Accurate Diagnosis
February 13, 2026
When a patient walks into our clinic, we have the power to shape the encounter so that we can generate a rapport, express our compassion, AND get the information we need to do our work well. Often, efficiency and warmth feel mutually at odds with each other. We think that if I am efficient, I might be cold, but if I take the time to connect with people warmly, it will take way too much time. After 40-plus years of practice, Sharon has honed these skills so that the intake process is streamlined, efficient, and warmly connected. If we consider efficiency and warmth a yīn-yáng pair, then we know that they are mutually dependent on each other.
In this course, Sharon will help resolve the unnecessary separation of yīn-yáng that divides efficiency and warmth.
Additionally, Sharon will help practitioners understand what questions and explorations are essential, how to ask them, and how they guide our final diagnosis.
In particular, she will address the following critical areas:
- The foundational role of looking for diagnosis according to Zhāng Zhòngjǐng
- The importance of understanding the subtleties of thirst, why it is sometimes difficult to get clear information about thirst, and how to get this information.
- The vital importance of digging into urination beyond "how is your urination?" What questions do we need to ask to understand a patient's fluid metabolism fully? How are thirst and urination intimately intertwined?
- Asking about poops, knowing what helps you diagnose, and details you can ignore.
- Asking about the experience of eating, what it feels like to people, and how this can guide your diagnosis. Asking about cravings, sensitivities, fullness, and the nature of discomfort.
- And much more! (sleep, emotions, etc.)
Course 3: Bridging Nèijīng Theory and Classical Shānghán lùn Therapeutics into Clinical Results
March 13, 2026
Sharon has been studying and applying the relationship between the Huángdì nèijīng and the Shánghān zábìng lùn (Shānghán lùn and Jīnguì yàolüè) for many years. When Zhāng Zhòngjǐng's Shánghān lùn is seen through the eyes of the yellow emperor, the logic of the text shines out unmistakably, which is very exciting! Zhāng Zhòngjǐng himself mentions the Nèijīng as one of the sources of his inspiration.
In this course, Sharon will show the basic circular dynamic physiology that is expressed in the Nèijīng, giving examples from the text. She will then describe how the structure of the Shānghán lùn evolves from this physiology. These dynamics are the dynamics of nature and are very beautiful. However, beyond that, this view and understanding not only illuminates and clarifies Zhāng Zhòngjǐng's lists of signs and symptoms, but they also reveal the logic of his ingenious formulas.
Course 4: Learning Through Cases: In-depth study of cases for clinical effectiveness
APRIL 10, 2026
There are many lessons case studies can teach us, and doctors have been recording their cases as well as their thoughts on the cases for hundreds of years. In this course, Sharon will take students through case records she has translated and discuss the clinical lessons she has learned through them. These include lessons on dosages, combining formulas, herb safety, forbidden herbs, diagnosis, and mistaken treatment.
Sharon will share some of her favorite translated texts on case records as well as a book of her case record translations. She hopes that students can see such works as an essential clinical reference.
White Pine Circle Courses | 2026
White Pine Circle offers in-depth courses that bring classical Chinese medicine to life through careful study of the texts, clinical application, and rich community learning. Sharon's teachings at White Pine Circle are known for their clarity, warmth, and practicality, guiding practitioners to deepen both their knowledge and confidence in the clinic.
Lónggǔ & Mùlí
October 13, 2025 (12:00-1:00pm EST)
Lónggǔ (龙骨 os draconis) and mùlí 牡蛎 concha ostreae) are used very frequently in the practices of East Asian herbalism. When I have asked my students what these herbs do, the most common answer is that they calm the spirit. Though this is true, it is also true that the spirit can be disturbed in many ways that don't call for lónggǔ and mùlí. Under which circumstances are they used to calm the spirit? Additionally, the range of use for these two herbs is much broader than simply calming the spirit.
In this episode of the single herb series, Sharon will go in-depth into the nature of these herbs and how this nature explains their use for stopping excessive sweating, leukorrhea, bleeding, and urination, supplementing kidney Qi, and joining separated yīn and yáng. Sharon will share some enlightening commentary from previously untranslated material. Lónggǔ and mùlí are not the same. What are their differences? Sharon will explain, based on Zhāng Zhòngjǐng's use of these herbs, how practitioners can differentiate when to use one over the other and when to use them both. This information will help practitioners understand other heavy herbs such as zǐshīyíng (紫⽯英 amethyst fluoritum), yángqǐshí (阳起⽯ actinolite), císhí (磁石 magnetitum), shíjuéming (石決明 concha haloitidis), and others.
Finally, Sharon will show how these two herbal allies help in a variety of situations by looking at classical formulas in which they appear.
This course will include sections on:
- How does the appearance, the part of the plant, the time it is harvested, and how it behaves influence the function of the herb?
- What do different classical texts say about its flavor, nature, and application
- How does this herb's strengths get brought out or changed depending on the herbs it is combined with?
- How does the dosage of this herb influence its use?
- What herbs are similar to this herb?
- How is this herb placed on the circle depending on how it is combined and dosed?
- What are cautions and contraindications for this herb?
- How has the teacher thought of and used this herb clinically?
- How have other doctors thought of an used this herb?
Through each class, you will gain a deep familiarity with the herb and leave empowered to apply it in your clinic. By doing the whole series, you will gain 25 CEUs.
The first two classes are free to all White Pine Circle Members and the entire course is free to Inner Circle Members.
In-Person Clinical Rounds Teaching Clinic
January 16-18, 2026 | Portland, Oregon
Join Sharon Weizenbaum for a Free Friday Night Lecture from 2:00-4:00pm, followed by a two-day Teaching Clinic, which consists of a day with Sharon seeing patients and workshopping their cases in a small group.
Practitioners will observe Sharon through her intake process as she explains how and why she gathers and sorts through the key information and have the opportunity to participate by asking questions and checking their own palpation skills.
Diagnosis is the Key
In Zhāng Zhongjing's Píng Mài Fǎ, Balancing the Pulse Methods, he wrote:
上工望而知之，中工問而知之，下工脈而知之.
The first work of the physician is to know through observation.
Next, there is knowing through asking.
Finally, there is knowing through touching the vessels.
Hence, the intake involves:
- Looking diagnosis, in which we observe and note the patient's demeanor, complexion, eye contact, posture, responsiveness, tongue, etc.
- Asking diagnosis, in which we inquire in a focused way to obtain the information we need.
- Touching diagnosis, in which we all palpate the pulses and abdomen
- Listening and smelling diagnosis is often considered the fourth pillar of diagnosis, in which we listen to our patients while listening to resonances, inquiring into ourselves about our impressions and responses to the patient.
9:30am - 5:30pm MT with a midday lunch break.
7.5 Live CEUs (Pending) NCCAOM
From Diagnosis to Method to Formula
After gathering information, Sharon will demonstrate her approach to sorting the information to arrive at and articulate a succinct, reliable diagnosis encompassing the entirety of the patient's presentation. The diagnostic process is based on the physiology as expressed in the Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic and as brought to life by Zhāng Zhongjing in his Shānghán Zábìng Lùn. Sharon will demonstrate how a clear diagnosis, when perceived through classical physiology, reveals the formula pattern that will suit the patient's pattern. Students will see and participate in Sharon's entire process from diagnosis to formula writing. Sharon is skilled at deconstructing her process for optimum learning.
Throughout this clinical day, there will be plenty of time for all students to ask questions and get feedback from Sharon on palpation of the pulses and abdomen.
We designed these teaching clinic days for practitioners familiar with the basic materia medica and formulary, especially the primary classic formulas of the Shang Han Za Bing Lun. Preference is given to students and graduates of the Graduate Mentorship Program.