Our History

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The Blue Ridge Center for Chinese Medicine opened in June of 2006, providing a cohesive home for the practice of ‘family style’ Chinese Medicine and Internal martial arts. Founded by Jason Redinbo with assistance from his apprentices, the BRCCM site became home to a extended community of people who both benefit from and contribute to the deepening roots of these arts in Floyd county.

For several years the Ancestral Mountain Tuina School (AMTS) trained students in the region in the art of Chinese bodywork. Many graduates of that program have gone on to practice hands-on healthcare throughout the community.

Our martial arts classes meet weekly, with instructors currently teaching Xingyiquan, Baguazhang and Meridian QiGong. We have a dedicated student core, of diverse ages and backgrounds, who continue to enrich our and each others lives as we pursue greater health through these ancient, fun, and challenging practices.

Since 2008, BRCCM has been growing many of our Chinese Medicinal Herbs for in-house use. At the clinic, an established garden provided the practitioners with an herb for nearly every medicinal-action category in Chinese medicine. As we began comparing our recently harvested product with the same product we were getting from China, we realized a significant quality difference in the color, smell, taste, texture, and apparent medicinal potency of the herbs. We then realized that there was a demand for domestically grown, high-quality CMH, and that we were in a place to provide practitioners with the product their patients deserve. Thus the Appalachian Herb Growers Consortium (AHGC) was born.

The BRCCM Herb Gardens now serve as both nursery stock and demonstration gardens for the AHGC. With many herbs already established, more slated to be planted each year, and three greenhouses up and running, most of the seeds and transplants now originate at BRCCM. From here, they are distributed to participating farmers, who take care to grow them with our guidance to harvest. With high standards for quality, we go above and beyond the organic growing guidelines set by the USDA. We are pleased to be able to utilize biodynamic practices in the BRCCM Gardens, as well as on participating farms.