Michael Givens is a licensed acupuncturist with an MS in Oriental Medicine from National College of Natural Medicine (now NUNM). He also holds an MA in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College, where he focused on classical Chinese language, the Yijing (Classic of Change), other Daoist and Confucian texts, and classical texts from India and Japan. In addition, Michael studied directly in a traditional clinical discipleship with Dr. Heiner Fruehauf.

He began teaching at NUNM upon graduation in 2009 and continues to teach classical Chinese herbal and formulas medicine through the College of Classical Chinese Medicine. Michael has self-published three books/translations and established the Shen Ming Press with two other colleagues, through which he annually publishes the Classical Almanac for each year.

Michael has been in private practice since 2009, and is the co-founder (with his wife, Dr. Allison Givens, ND) of Radiant Heart Center for Wholeness, LLC. He has also been a classical herbal clinical consultant with the Anatara Group in San Francisco, California, since their opening in 2012. He and his wife live in the windy woods of the Columbia River Gorge, where they are raising their two children, Kai and Umi in the Waldorf tradition.