Nigel Dawes M.A. L.Ac.
Biography
Nigel Dawes has been practicing and teaching East Asian Medicine for 40 years. He lived and studied in Japan for 5 years followed by hospital internships in China in the 1980’s. Prior to moving to the United States, he founded the London College of Shiatsu in 1987, and in addition to acting as director and lead instructor, began lecturing at various Oriental Medicine (OM) schools in England, France, Israel and the U.S. Since 1994, New York City has been his home, where he has continued his involvement in undergraduate and graduate OM education and administration, political work in the field, clinical practice, research and publishing. In 1999 he founded the NY Kampo Institute whose mission is the dissemination of traditional Japanese medicine through teaching and practice.
These days Nigel divides his time between clinical practice, teaching, and publication & research. He is currently considered one of the leading experts in the practice and teaching of Kampo, lecturing widely throughout the US and abroad including Canada, Europe, Israel and Australia, He is a regular contributor to various peer-reviewed journals in the field and has published 4 books including a translation of a modern Japanese Kampo classic Kampo Igaku by Otsuka Keisetsu. His fourth book, Fukushin and Kampo, on the topic of Abdominal Diagnosis in East Asian Medicine, was published in October 2020. He has been on the faculty of both Tristate College of Acupuncture and Pacific College of Oriental Medicine where he taught courses in both Kampo and Japanese Acupuncture as well as supervising in clinic. In the field of research, Nigel has served for the past 18 years as clinical acupuncture consultant on several NIH funded clinical trials conducted at NYU (and formerly Columbia University) at the Division of Special Studies in Symptom Management. He is co-author of several peer-reviewed acupuncture and moxibustion publications in the field of HIV and AIDS.
Nigel's private practice is located in New York City and incorporates Acupuncture, Shiatsu massage and Kampo herbal medicine. He lives in Brooklyn.
Background
Nigel lived both in Tokyo and in Kamakura between 1982 and 1987. During this period he attended Acupuncture school where he also began his Kampo studies. In parallel to this formal education he pursued an apprenticeship-style training with his main Zen Shiatsu teacher, Suzuki Takeo, originally at the IOKAI center and later privately. After graduating Acupuncture school,, Nigel interned and assisted at a busy downtown acupuncture clinic in Tokyo all the while pursuing his Zen Practice at San Un Zendo in Kamakura with Yamada Koun Roshi.
In 1987, Nigel spent 6 months in China, including intensive advanced acupuncture training at the International Acupuncture Training Center on the campus of the Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in Beijing and as an intern at Guang An Men hospital under the mentorship of Prof. Gao Li Shan before returning to the UK.
Nigel founded and directed the London College of Shiatsu in 1987 and until 1993 acted as its director and principal faculty offering a three-year accredited professional Zen Shiatsu training. During that time, in addition to teaching, Nigel was very active in the Shiatsu community, serving in various roles on the executive committee of the Shiatsu Society of Great Britain, helping develop standards for education and assessment and contributing frequently to Shiatsu publications including 2 books: Massage Cures; Publ. Thorsons, 1990, ISBN: 0-7225-2180-4 and The Shiatsu Workbook, A Beginner's Guide; Publ. Piatkus Books, 1991, ISBN: 0-7499-1073-9 (later published in the US as: Shiatsu For Beginners, A Step by Step Guide; Prima Books, 1995, ISBN: 0761501320).
In 1993, Nigel moved to the US. He settled in New York where for 8 years he was Dean Of the Oriental Medicine Department at the New York College for Wholistic Medicine. In addition to his administrative responsibilities he also taught and maintained a faculty and private practice on campus. Since founding the NY Kampo Institute in 1999, he has focused his energies on directing the institute’s activities including his private practice in New York City as well as part-time faculty positions at both Tristate College of Acupuncture and Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. In addition, he has served on various committees of the Council for Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and as site visitor for the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. He has also continued to publish, including articles in peer reviewed journals nationally and internationally as well as a translation of a seminal modern Japanese text on Kampo: Kampo: A Clinical Guide to Theory and Practice; Churchill Livingstone, 2010; ISBN: 0443100934. His latest book, Fukushin and Kampo: Abdominal Diagnosis in Traditional Japanese and Chinese Medicine; Singing Dragon, 2020; ISBN:9781848193673 explores the often overlooked role of the abdomen in diagnosis and treatment within the field of East Asian Medicine from both an historical, theoretical and practical perspective.