Classes
Medical Application of Essential Oils
Aromatherapy is so much more than a pleasant scent. In this in-depth class, Dr. Browne shares insights from decades of clinical practice, where essential oils have been used hand in hand with Traditional Chinese Medicine. You’ll explore how specific oils relate to the organ systems, the Five Elements, and the energetic qualities of warming, cooling, moving, and calming. Learn how oils can be applied to acupuncture points, blended thoughtfully, and used safely and effectively. Whether you’re a longtime oil enthusiast or a practitioner looking to deepen your work, you’ll leave seeing your essential oil collection in a whole new light.
A rare opportunity to learn directly from a clinician with a lifetime of hands-on experience.
Introduction to Mushroom Cultivation
There’s something magical about watching mushrooms emerge, seemingly overnight, from a block on your kitchen counter. In this hands-on introduction, you’ll step into the fascinating world of fungi right here on our working mushroom farm. Learn the mushroom life cycle, the basics of substrate, spawn, humidity, and fruiting conditions, and the simple care that turns a block into a harvest. We’ll also talk about the culinary and functional mushrooms we grow and why they’ve been treasured for centuries. Curious beginners are especially welcome.
You’ll take home your own mushroom grow block, along with instructions to harvest fresh mushrooms at home.
Banking Jing: Building Qi and Essence for Aging Well
In Chinese medicine, Jing is your deepest reserve, the essence that shapes your vitality, resilience, and how gracefully you age. Your 50s and 60s are a powerful window to protect and replenish it. In this class, you’ll learn the time-tested secrets for building Qi and Essence: nourishing foods and herbs, functional mushrooms, restorative daily habits, and the lifestyle choices that drain your reserves versus those that fill them back up. Think of it as a savings plan for your body, so you can enter your senior years with energy, strength, and a clear mind.
Leave with practical, everyday strategies to invest in your health now and for decades to come.
Natural Remedies for Aging Skin
For centuries, Chinese empresses guarded their beauty secrets closely. In this class, we’ll open the imperial apothecary and share the herbs traditionally treasured for radiant, youthful skin. You’ll learn how facial cupping can support circulation, tone, and a natural glow, and how essential oils and herbal topicals can nourish skin from the outside in. We’ll also explore the inner side of beauty, because in Chinese medicine, healthy skin reflects what’s happening within. Come away with a gentle, natural routine you’ll actually look forward to.
Discover time-honored beauty rituals you can bring into your own self-care practice.
Chinese Medicine for Maintaining Cognition
A sharp memory and clear focus are among the most precious things we hope to keep as we age. Chinese medicine has long offered ways to nourish the mind, connecting cognition to the Heart, Kidneys, and the essence we carry through life. In this class, you’ll learn the traditional view of how the brain is nourished, along with herbs, functional mushrooms like Lion’s Mane, acupressure points, and daily habits that support mental clarity. It’s an empowering, hopeful look at caring for your mind with the same attention you give your body.
Leave with simple, practical tools to support focus, memory, and mental vitality.
Self-Care for Pain Management and Mobility
Aches, stiffness, and old injuries don’t have to set the pace of your days. In this practical, hands-on class, you’ll learn self-care tools from Chinese medicine to ease discomfort and keep you moving freely. We’ll cover acupressure points you can use anytime, herbal remedies traditionally used for joints and muscles, and topical treasures like liniments, plasters, and Dit Da Jow, the time-honored “hit medicine” of the martial arts. You’ll learn what to use, when, and how, so you can feel more in charge of your own comfort.
Leave with a personal self-care toolkit for everyday aches, stiffness, and mobility.
Chinese Medicine for Perimenopausal Symptom Relief
Hot flashes, night sweats, dryness, irregular cycles, restless sleep, mood swings: perimenopause can feel like your body has changed the rules without warning. Chinese medicine has offered women gentle, natural support through this transition for centuries. In this class, you’ll learn how Chinese medicine understands perimenopause, and explore herbs, foods, acupressure points, and essential oils traditionally used to cool, calm, and restore balance. Come for answers, stay for the reassurance that you’re not alone, and leave feeling more at home in your body.
Gain practical, natural tools to move through this season of life with greater comfort and ease.
(Coming in 2028) Workshops
Making Flower Essences
Some of the most gentle remedies start with nothing more than sunlight, spring water, and a blossom at its peak. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll learn the time-honored art of making flower essences: how to choose and gather blooms, the sun and moon methods, and how to preserve and store what you make. We’ll talk about the traditions behind essences, what each flower is said to carry, and how people have used them for emotional balance and everyday calm. Slow down, breathe in the garden, and leave with a new way of working with the plants around you.
You’ll take home three mother essences you made yourself, ready to dilute into your own dosage bottles for months of use.
Making a Dried Flower Wreath
Gather everlasting blooms, fragrant herbs, and seasonal grasses, then turn them into something beautiful that lasts long after the season ends. In this relaxed, creative workshop, we’ll walk you through choosing a color palette, layering textures, and securing each bundle so your wreath stays full and lovely for years. No experience or “artistic eye” required. Just bring your curiosity, and we’ll provide the flowers, tools, and plenty of guidance. It’s a peaceful afternoon of making, with good company and the scent of dried lavender and herbs all around you.
You’ll take home your own handcrafted dried flower wreath, ready to hang on your door, mantel, or give as a one-of-a-kind gift.
Seasoning Blending 101
Store-bought spice jars can’t compete with a blend you mixed by hand from fresh, fragrant herbs. In this flavorful workshop, you’ll learn the building blocks of a great seasoning: balancing savory, bright, warm, and earthy notes, and how to adjust for heat, salt, and your own taste. We’ll smell, taste, and mix our way through five distinct blends, with tips on how to use each one in everyday cooking, from roasted vegetables and soups to grilled meats and popcorn. You’ll leave with the confidence to create your own signature blends at home.
You’ll take home five custom seasoning blends, beautifully packaged for your pantry or ready to give as homemade holiday gifts.
Using Acupressure and Aroma-Acu-Therapy for Self-Care
What if a few minutes and a small stick of essential oils could become your daily ritual for calm, comfort, and balance? This workshop introduces the foundations of acupressure, drawn from Traditional Chinese Medicine, and pairs them with aromatherapy through Swan Creek Farm’s own Aroma Acu-Sticks®. You’ll learn how to locate key acupoints on your own body, how to apply gentle pressure and essential oils together, and how to build simple routines for stress, tension, rest, and emotional wellbeing. It’s practical, empowering, and something you can use for the rest of your life, at home, at work, or on the go.
You’ll take home five Aroma Acu-Sticks® along with the know-how to use them for everyday self-care.