Kiara specializes in gentle approaches to acupuncture and hands-on treatment which are inspired by her early life experiences with nature, meditation, and yoga. She was born into a family in the automotive industry, one that maintained a strong work ethic and held high regard for cultural diversity in food and friendships. From this foundation, Kiara journeyed into the world of spiritual cultivation and natural healing modalities, encountering her own healing crisis along the way. She studied with numerous spiritual teachers, including Zen Master Thich Nhat Hahn, and taught yoga for 15 years under the mentorship of the renowned yogis Shiva Rea and John Friend.

Kiara received a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Fordham University in 2003, and Master and Doctoral level degrees in Classical Chinese Medicine from the National University of Natural Medicine in 2019 and 2020, respectively. At NUNM, she mentored with Dr. Robert Quinn in Japanese Meridian Therapy, Shakyujyo Therapy, Japanese Moxa techniques, and Yin Sotai (a method that integrates the therapies known as Sotai, Qigong Tuina, and the Trager Method). She studied classical Chinese herbal prescription with Dr. Heiner Fruehauf and abdominal palpation and herbal diagnosis with Dr. Joon Hee Lee. She also pays homage to the following teachers and mentors: David Berkshire in Worsley Five Element Acupuncture; Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, Dr. Laurie Regan, Bill Frazier, and Dr. Tamara Staudt in the Jinjing Gong lineage of Qigong; Michael McMahon and Carol Grey in Cranial Sacral Therapy for adults and babies/small children, respectively; and Tami Lynn Kent, in Holistic Pelvic Care.

Kiara has a profound interest in learning from other cultures. Twice she has traveled to China on the Sacred Mountain Retreat with Heiner Fruehauf and the Heron Institute to receive direct transmission from Prof. Wang Qingyu, lineage holder of the Jinjing Gong School of Qigong; Dr. Liu Lihong, leading classical Chinese medicine scholar-clinician; and herbal masters Drs. Hu Chiangjiang and Deng Zhongjia. She continues to foster ongoing relationships with Indigenous tribes in North and South America.

Kiara specializes in gentle approaches to acupuncture and hands-on treatment which are inspired b... Read More

Heiner Fruehauf is the Founding Professor of the College of Classical Chinese Medicine at National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) in Portland, Oregon, where he has been teaching since 1992. As a practitioner, Dr. Fruehauf focuses on the complementary treatment of difficult and recalcitrant diseases, including cancer, chronic respiratory and digestive disorders, and inflammation of the nervous system. The Healing Order is the manifestation of his belief that 21st-century humans can, and must, support their health in harmony with nature. His dream of bringing together the most effective holistic modalities from all over the world comes to life at The Healing Order.

Dr. Fruehauf comes from a long line of German physicians specializing in holistic healing modalities such as homeopathy, herbalism, and hydrotherapy. His great-grandfather studied with Sebastian Kneipp, one of the fathers of the European nature cure movement. Eager to learn from other cultures, a young Heiner left home to study sinology, philosophy, and comparative literature at Tübingen University, Fudan University (Shanghai), Hamburg University, Waseda University (Tokyo), and the University of Chicago, where he earned a doctoral degree from the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations in 1990.

The experience of a serious health crisis spurred him to supplement his theoretical training in the philosophy of Chinese medicine with the study of its clinical applications. While completing two years of post-doctoral training at Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, he was mentored by the revered Deng Zhongjia, one of China’s primary experts in the fields of formula studies and the classical foundations of Chinese medicine. Dr. Fruehauf continues to publish widely on both the theoretical and clinical aspects of Chinese medicine.

His scholarly endeavors include an ongoing research project on the holistic cosmology of Chinese medicine, in essence a decoding of the ancient symbolism that once correlated the macrocosm of the natural world with the microcosm of the human body. In addition, Dr. Fruehauf is the director of the Heron Institute, a nonprofit institution for the research and preservation of traditional life science. In this capacity, he has been leading the Sacred Mountain Retreat for three decades, a semiannual study tour to the mountains of southwest China that focuses on qigong and other aspects of classical Chinese medicine. He lives in the beautiful Columbia Gorge in Oregon with his wife, Sheron, their kids, 5 goats, 2 cats, and 11 chickens.

Heiner Fruehauf is the Founding Professor of the College of Classical Chinese Medicine at Nationa... Read More

As the son and grandson of chemists in Buffalo, New York, it was almost preordained that Chris Metro complete a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering. His knowledge of chemical systems began with silicate, chlor-alkali, and petroleum-based derivatives, but evolved into the chemistry of people, which led him to study natural medicine, first at the New England School of Homeopathy, then at the College of Classical Chinese Medicine at National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM). He completed a Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine along with a Master of Science in Oriental Medicine in 2004. During his tenure at NUNM, he developed clinical experience in drug treatment and coinfections by completing internship programs at Portland Alternative Health Center, De Paul Treatment Youth Center, Outside In, and Dignity Village. He developed his interest in and experience with difficult and recalcitrant diseases at the Immune Enhancement Project at the Institute for Traditional Medicine in Portland, Oregon.

Dr. Metro has traveled to China and attended the Sacred Mountain Retreat multiple times, where he worked extensively with the respected Daoist elder Prof. Wang Qingyu of the Sichuan Academy of Cultural History and Prof. Liu Lihong of Guangxi University’s Institute for the Clinical Research of Classical Chinese Medicine. He has trained and worked with Dr. Fruehauf since 2006, when he began to focus on the use of Chinese herbs for the treatment of difficult and recalcitrant diseases. Dr. Metro also taught integrated nutrition in the College of Classical Chinese Medicine at NUNM.

Dr. Metro is an avid beekeeper. Spending much of his medical school time working in the medicinal gardens with Dr. Jill Stansbury, he continues to actively cultivate medicinal herbs in his own garden and maintains a small orchard with a variety of fruit and nut trees.

As the son and grandson of chemists in Buffalo, New York, it was almost preordained that Chris Me... Read More

Megan was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Minnesota. She believes that healing takes place through a return to the laws of nature, in body, mind and spirit; and through clearing the blocks that stress one’s innate health and vitality. She has spent time living and learning with traditional healers and teachers in China, Thailand, Brazil, Mongolia, Peru, Indonesia, and Nepal. It is truly her great joy in life to help others find the paths to healing within.

Megan has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Multicultural Psychology and the Health Sciences from The Evergreen State College, and a Masters of Science in Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine from the College of Classical Chinese Medicine at National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM). While at NUNM she completed traditional mentorships with Dr. Fruehauf in Classical Chinese Herbalism, with David Berkshire in Worsley 5 Element Acupuncture, and with Brandt Stickley in Shen Hammer Pulse diagnosis. Additionally she has training in Hari Meridian Therapy, Traditional Thai Massage, and Cranial Sacral Therapy.

Megan was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Minnesota. She believes that healing takes place thr... Read More

Caren is a licensed massage therapist who grew up in a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners. When she was young, her father told her that a therapist should have a calm and caring heart that strives to nurture all life. In her healing work, she aspires to live up to this mandate.

Before coming to Portland, Caren worked as a massage therapist and holistic clinic assistant in China for five years. Her extensive training background includes Tuina, Swedish massage, Thai massage, deep tissue work, myofascial release, structural balancing, and other modalities. In her free time, she likes to drink mountain tea, practice Yoga and Qigong, and teach Taiji Quan. She aspires to help her clients reconnect to nature and find their own nature within by rebalancing body, mind and spirit.

Caren is a licensed massage therapist who grew up in a family of traditional Chinese medicine pra... Read More