The monastery in China where we practiced qigong
What she brings to the practice
Dr. Rowan balances intellectual rigor with intuitive perception.
She has extensive training in hands-on healing (cranialsacral therapy, myofascial release therapy, visceral manipulation, and fascial counterstrain). She blends these techniques together seamlessly to assess and treat all types of pain and dysfunction. Dr. Rowan has cultivated an approach that is less about applying force to achieve a result, and more about gently listening to the flow in the body so that she precisely locate the problem areas and release them. She often describes this process as being similar to tugging on a sheet that has a heavy book on it. Even with your eyes closed, when you pull on the sheet you can feel the weight of the book and locate it. If you pull the sheet in the right direction, you can move the book. The connective tissue in the body is entirely connected from the tip of the toe to the top of the head and from the center of each cell to the surface of the skin. In this way, her trained hands can perceive areas of inflammation and blockage in the body and she can help the body heal. Using this approach, she has witnessed the dissolution of 20 year old pain in one treatment.
Education and Lineage
Dr. Rowan is part of a distinguished lineage of scholar physicians dedicated to practicing Classical Chinese medicine in all its complexity. She earned her Master’s degree and Clinical Doctorate from the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon, completing an intensive five-year program that focused extensively on both Eastern and Western internal medicine.
Her comprehensive training sets her apart from typical acupuncture education, which often spans only 2-3 years, or the brief weekend workshop training that some physicians receive. Dr. Rowan’s rigorous academic foundation has enabled her to work alongside many highly acclaimed clinicians throughout her career.
As a disciple of the Jin Jing Gong lineage, Dr. Rowan continues her studies under the mentorship of Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, an internationally renowned Chinese herbal master. Her expertise in Chinese herbalism led to her appointment as faculty at NUNM, where she taught the next generation of practitioners, having assumed teaching responsibilities when Dr. Fruehauf stepped away from the classroom.
Dr. Rowan’s commitment to scholarly excellence and traditional practice ensures that her patients receive the highest level of care rooted in authentic Chinese medical tradition.
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She has traveled to China and Taiwan multiple times to study Chinese medicine, qigong, and internal cultivation with tea. Her doctoral work focused on healing the physical and psycho-emotional aspects of traumatic injury. This topic is compelling because everyone has had some degree of traumatic experience, yet the conventional medical model offers little support for healing these deep wounds. She has learned how to recognize the imprints of trauma on the body and soul and has developed an approach that helps people move past the pain.
Dr. Rowan with her teacher, Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, and his teacher, Master Wang QingYe, lineage holder of the Jin Jing Gong.
Classical Chinese Medicine Oath
"I promise to follow the way of the Great Physician.
I will strive to live in harmony with nature, and teach my patients to do the same.
I will stay calm,
and completely committed when treating disease.
I will not give way to personal wishes and desires, but above all else
hold and nurture a deep feeling of compassion.
I will be devoted to the task of saving the sacred spark of life in every creature that still carries it.
I will strive to maintain a clear mind, 
and am willing to hold myself to the highest standards.
It will be my duty to diagnose sufferings and treat disease.
I will not be boastful about my skills, nor driven by greed for material things.
Above all,
 I will keep an open heart.
As I move on the right path, 
I will receive great happiness as a reward, without asking for anything in return."
Adapted from The Great Physician by Sun Simiao (581-682).
Background
Over the years, she has been an architect, early childhood teacher, and organic farmer. Immersion in these professions has allowed her to follow a golden thread toward healing and nurturing all aspects of the human being. She understands how we are impacted by our environment, our upbringing, and the ways we nourish ourselves.
She loves learning and making new connections and continue to apprentice herself to the body and the natural world. There is a forest near the McKenzie River that helped raise her and she considers regular time in the woods an essential aspect of her self-care. She is the mother of three children and enjoys having much of her extended family in the Pacific Northwest.
Our garden this spring
Practicing calligraphy during a trip to Mt Emei, Sichuan, China
Bodhi is in training to be a certified therapy dog and will be available to support treatments several days each week.
She is a Master Organic Gardener, certified through Oregon State University, and she has studied and implemented the principles of Permaculture design on her small farm near Forest Grove, OR.
Inspiration and Gratitude
When she was in preschool, her grandfather gave her one of his old white doctor coats because he knew that she wanted to follow in his footsteps. As she grew, he told her stories of his life, including saving limbs with battlefield surgery during the Korean War and volunteering at hospitals around the world. His compassion, generosity, and innovation made a deep impression. When he was 95 years old, she asked him what he thought was the most important thing about practicing medicine, he looked into her eyes with piercing clarity and said, “People need to feel that you care about them. You must genuinely care.” She took this to heart and feels that he is with her in the clinic helping support patient care.
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She understands that an essential element of this practice is about recognizing the spark of life in everyone and attending to the needs of each being - with unwavering compassion and warmth. By carefully observing plants in the forests and gardens of her childhood, she learned a deep reverence for life and an ability to perceive imbalances as they arise in all living systems. She knows that by listening deeply and being present, we can support the body's innate healing power and profound healing occurs as if by magic. She is immeasurably grateful to her teachers for showing her how to practice this art.
Practicing calligraphy during a trip to Mt. Emei, Sichuan, China