NYC In-Person Class · April 13, 2026
Understanding Herbs Through
Pulse Positions (& Vice Versa)
Pulse diagnosis is taught in every program. What the classics knew — and most schools skip — is how directly it points to the herb.
Taught by David Foster, L.Ac. · Classical Diagnostics & Herbal Medicine
The Clinical Gap
What School Taught You.
What the Clinic Demands.
Most clinicians have experienced the moment: a formula feels right, but something is still unresolved. You're looking for one more sign to confirm the prescription. That moment of hesitation is not a failure of knowledge — it's a gap in the diagnostic framework you were given.
Pulse diagnosis receives formal attention in academic training, but the weight given to it rarely reflects the importance classical physicians assigned it for pattern determination. The relationship between pulse qualities and specific herbs was not incidental in the classics — it was central.
This class restores that relationship. Pulse-to-herb correspondence is not a shortcut or a reduction of the medicine. Used correctly, it is an additional layer of discernment — one that makes your holistic diagnosis more precise, more confident, and more clinically defensible.
The Core Problem
"You already know the pulse. You already know the herbs. This class teaches you that you've been looking at the same conversation twice."
- Pulse diagnosis is undertaught relative to its classical weight — most programs treat it as confirmatory, not primary.
- The connection between specific pulse qualities and specific herbs is documented in the classics and largely absent from modern curricula.
- Without this framework, formula selection relies heavily on symptomology alone — leaving a significant diagnostic tool on the table.
Clinical Outcomes
What You Will Walk Away With
The Classical Pulse-Herb Framework
How specific pulse qualities correspond to specific herbs and formulas — sourced directly from classical texts, not modern simplifications.
Confirmation at the Table
A method for using pulse findings to corroborate and refine your herbal prescription in real time — removing hesitation from the clinical decision.
Precision Without Reductionism
How to integrate pulse-to-herb correspondence into a complete holistic diagnosis — additive precision that sharpens your existing framework without replacing it.
Live. In-person. · 118 W 72nd Street, Upper West Side, Manhattan · April 13, 2026
The Details
Class Information
| Date | Monday, April 13, 2026 |
| Time | 6:15 PM – 8:45 PM |
| Location |
American Acupuncture Guild 118 W 72nd Street New York, NY 10023 |
| Neighborhood | Upper West Side, Manhattan |
| Format | Live Clinical Mentorship |
| Capacity | Strictly 9 students |
| Investment | $39 Per class · No subscription required |
Reserve Your Seat
9 seats.
One night.
Our Manhattan classes are capped at 9 students to ensure direct mentorship and real clinical dialogue. When these seats fill, they're gone. Topics rotate based on clinical demand — this exact session will not repeat.
American Acupuncture Guild · (315) 915-2534 · info@americanacupunctureguild.com
Your Instructor
David Foster, L.Ac.
Classical Diagnostics & Herbal Medicine
"A perpetual student and teacher of Classical Chinese Medicine — his mission is to restore the discipline's academic depth and return the medicine to its rigorous roots."
David Foster began his clinical career at a community clinic in the Bronx, where high patient volume and limited resources demanded precision over protocol. He currently maintains a private practice in Manhattan, supervises at school clinics, and lectures virtually. His driving conviction: Chinese medicine's reputation in the scientific community depends on practitioners who take the classics seriously — not as historical artifacts, but as living diagnostic tools.
Clinical Focus
- Classical Herbal Medicine Contemporary applications of Shang Han Za Bing Lun formulas for modern clinical presentations.
- Six Systems Diagnosis Translating and filtering symptomology through the six levels of disease with precision and rigor.
- Tongue & Pulse Diagnosis As classically interpreted and directly correlated with particular herbs and herbal formulas.
Why David Is Teaching This Class
This is the connection that changed how I practice. Once you see pulse qualities and herbal indications as part of the same diagnostic conversation, you can't unsee it — and your prescriptions become measurably more precise.
Is This Class For You?
This Class Is Built For You If…
This is a single-session, advanced clinical seminar. It is designed for licensed practitioners and advanced students who are already working with herbs or diagnostics in a clinical context — not an introduction to either.
You know the pulse — but lose it at the formula
You can identify pulse qualities but struggle to translate them directly into formula selection. The diagnostic bridge is missing.
You prescribe herbs but want more diagnostic precision
You're already working with formulas clinically and want a sharper, classically-grounded method for confirming your prescriptions at the pulse level.
Your training separated diagnostics from materia medica
You were taught pulse diagnosis and herbal medicine in different courses, different semesters — and you've felt that disconnect at the table ever since.
You want a framework you can use Monday morning
You're not looking for another theoretical model to shelve. You want a classically-sourced, immediately applicable system for your next patient.
This is not the right class if you are…
- New to pulse diagnosis entirely
- Looking for a beginner herbology intro
- Seeking NCCAOM PDA credits
- Expecting a passive lecture
- Not yet in clinical practice
NYC In-Person · April 13, 2026
9 Seats.
One Night.
Pulse-to-herb correspondence is documented, classical, and clinically actionable. One session. Bring your questions.