Dr. Bryan Watrous
Bryan is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, with 19 years in private medical practice, specializing in pain relief and the treatment of chronic disease and mental health. He is a California Licensed and Nationally Board Certified Acupuncturist and expert of acupuncture, East Asian botanical medicine, moxibustion, cupping, massage, medical qigong, and diet and lifestyle therapy.
Bryan holds a doctorate, from the prestigious Pacific College of Health & Science, in San Diego, which has specifically prepared him in an integrative, evidence-based, whole-person, patient-centered approach. After receiving his bachelors in Psychology from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1998, Bryan worked as a mental health counselor and behavior specialist in Chicago, Illinois. In 2000, he completed over 750 hours of training in Clinical Massage therapy at the Soma Institute. In 2005, Bryan graduated from Five Branches Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine, in Santa Cruz, California, completing over 3,400 hours of training upon entering into private practice.
In 2008, Bryan started mentorship under Dr. Wei-chieh Young, one of the world’s foremost authority’s in acupuncture and inheritor of the Master Tung system, completing advanced training for rapid results. In addition to these skills, Bryan has Advanced Constitutional Facial Renewal Acupuncture certification from Mary Elizabeth Wakefield, advanced medical qigong training, extensive Eastern botanical medicine prescriptive experience, and experience practicing acupuncture in a women’s health center and oncology setting.
Bryan is a student of Tibetan Buddhist Vajrayana meditation of 25 years and was formally introduced to Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan Medicine) in 2002. Since 2019 Bryan has been a full-time student of Sowa Rigpa and guides new students of the Sowa Rigpa Institute as a mentor and tutor. Bryan works with Dr. Nida Chenagtsang as his clinical assistant and helps manage the Pure Land Farms Clinic in Topanga, also supporting practitioners in group or private retreat.
Bryan’s approach to healing, informed by both Sowa Rigpa (Tibetan Medicine) and Chinese Medicine, addresses imbalance at the level of the body, energy, and mind, through diet and lifestyle therapy, herbal medicine and external therapies, such as acupuncture, moxibustion, cupping, bodywork, Mongolian moxibustion (hormé), and stick therapy (tapping/vibration therapy, called yukchö). When appropriate or requested Bryan may include spiritual approaches in his work as well, such as Tibetan mantra healing (ngakchö rigpa), energy healing (Yuthok’s Healing activities), lunar (la) therapy, and guided visualization and meditation. Bryan sees his work as a catalyst to empower our own inner infinite healing potential.
Services Offered
Sowa Rigpa Consultations (Pure Land Farms Clinic and Online)
External Therapies (Pure Land Farms Clinic)
Sowa Rigpa Institute Tutoring (Online)