Join Us for a Weekend Exploring the Extraordinary Channels
StartTime: Sat 25 April 2026 9:00 am
Location: Auckland
25th - 26th April 2026 | Auckland, New Zealand
Location: 183b Onehunga Mall, Onehunga, Auckland (entry via Waller St)
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM each day
Tuition: $475
Lunch: BYO lunch; tea provided
Parking: Paid & free street parking available
CPD: 14 hours
https://acupuncturesanctuary.co.nz/workshops/ - to book
An Invitation
I’d like to invite you to a weekend exploring the Extraordinary channels from the context of the classics.
For a very long time in history, the extraordinary channels were considered sacrosanct. Who are we to even consider interfering with the blueprint in its divine perfection?
It wasn’t until much later, in the spirit of Song dynasty thinkers such as Su Shi, that the question was asked— “Can we not hold agency over our own destiny? Shouldn’t we be able to reckon with our own destiny? Shouldn’t we be able to needle these channels?” And from there, we began to be able to access these channels.
Much later still in the Ming dynasty, Li Shizhen added points to the trajectories, including the opening points and the coupled pairs.
But that was millennia after the channels were first understood.
There is something in that history that asks for respect. For care. For humility and reverence in how we approach them.
The Extraordinary Channels
The extraordinary channels comprise:
Chong Mai
Allows the whole digestive tract to be infused with our divine blueprint as it ascends from ST30 — The Sea of Food and Grain up to the Mysterious Gate KI21.
It wakes up the digestive tract to engage with the Earth—grains, and water—but also derives an appetite for life itself.
Ren Mai
Comes online as the baby is brought to the mother’s breast. Skin-to-skin contact activates Ren Mai, the channel of connection.
The meaning of nourishment is anchored into the act of feeding—whatever shape that may take.
Du Mai
As baby begins to lift its head, extend the spine, crawl, and rise from the ground, Du Mai is activated—turning outward into the world.
The Qiao Channels
As we stand upright, the Qiao channels give us our way of seeing: Yin Qiao Mai — an appreciation of who we are, and Yang Qiao Mai — an appreciation of where we are.
The Wei Channels
“The Yin Wei Channel is the cloth that demonstrates how the physical, the Yin, the structure, the material body has changed over time.
Yang Wei reflects the activities, the movements that, given those physical structures, you’re able to do, over time.” — Jeffrey Yuen
These are truly extraordinary channels.
What We Will Explore
This weekend, we will go deep into:
• The classical understanding of the extraordinary channels
• What happens when these channels are not fully expressed. Stymied by trauma or beliefs.
• How we can support them in our clinical work
• How pathology is laid down in the early years (from birth to around 7–8)
Practice & Embodiment
On Sunday, there will be an opportunity to practice on each other, to get an embodied sense of these channels.
Supervised peer practice will allow you to feel, the resonance of the channels.
By the end of the weekend, you will not only understand the framework—you will have experienced it, and be ready to begin using this work with your patients on Monday back in clinic. (Tuesday actually, after the ANZAC Day long weekend.)
Who This Is For
This workshop is for practitioners who:
• Work with tangata whaiora who may have had conditions since birth, or that began in the first 7 years of life
• Want to work more confidently with the extraordinary channels
• Are curious about more than just Chong, Ren, and Du
What You Will Take Away
• Clarity on which channel to choose
• The ability to identify signs and symptoms linked to each extraordinary channel
• Confidence to treat the extraordinary channels
I look forward to seeing you there.
About Your Instructor
Ada Sobieszczuk is an acupuncturist with a BSc (Hons) in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Middlesex University, London, and Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.
Early in her training she was drawn to the Classical texts. A formative moment came when she attended a workshop with Master Jeffrey Yuen, where she encountered
complex Western medical theory expressed through the elegant simplicity of the Classical lens.
Although the language was unfamiliar at the time, she recognised its coherence and depth.
The publication of Ann Cecil-Sterman’s Advanced Acupuncture: A Clinical Manual later provided the language and clinical framework through which Ada could fully understand and apply these teachings. This lineage shaped her approach to medicine as a way of seeing through multiple lenses at once — like light moving through a prism — allowing different perspectives to coexist and inform clinical practice. Integrating the extraordinary channels into practice means being able to work with deep, often unconscious material—things not always named, but experienced, sensed, and felt.
About the Series
This weekend is the final in a four-part training series exploring the Complement Channels – the Sinews, Luo, Divergents and the Extraordinary Vessels.
Together, these channels form the complete system beyond the Primary channels, offering a clear and effective way to understand and treat every person who walks through your door. Taken together, they create a coherent, comprehensive map for clinical work.
https://acupuncturesanctuary.co.nz/workshops/ - to book
Workshops are held on the following dates in Auckland, New Zealand:
- 22–23 November 2025 – Sinews Channels
- 28–29 February 2026 – Luo Channels
- 28–29 March 2026 – Divergent Channels
- 25-26 April 2026 – Extraordinary Channels
Follow Ada on Instagram @acupuncturesanctuary