What does it take to truly learn something? To not just know it in theory, but to have it live in your hands? Discipline, repetition, and a touch of obsession might be part of it—but so is heart, motivation, and the magnetic force of curiosity that keeps pulling you forward.
In this conversation with Dr. Henry McCann, we talk about what it means to engage deeply with the practice of medicine. Henry reflects on the phase of his life as a musician, how that shaped his sense of discipline, and how that along with decades of clinical work have taught him that mastery often comes through the basics—done over and over with intention.
Listen into this discussion as we talk about cultivating clinical mastery, the hidden risks of over-relying on lineage, how repetition builds intuition, and why stubborn motivation might be one of your most valuable tools.
In This Conversation We Discuss:
- How music education informed Henry’s clinical discipline
- The value of repetition in learning acupuncture
- The interplay between memorization and intuition
- How motivation drives long-term mastery
- The challenge and value of working through boring material
- Cultivation beyond qigong—finding quiet in daily life
- Dangers of relying too heavily on lineage
- Letting the system “teach you” by sticking with it
- The importance of context when using acupuncture points
- How clinical success requires ongoing curiosity
- The illusion of the “secret method”
- Why intuitive practice should be grounded in method
Don’t use too many needles! Also, be sure you have your own cultivation practice of some sort.
Henry McCann, DAOM, L.Ac
It’s hard for me to believe, but I’ve been a professional practitioner of East Asian Medicine now going on 26 years. I’ve been lucky enough to have been asked to teach all over the United States, and around the world from Europe (mostly in Ireland and Germany), to as far as Indonesia and Australia. My main interest in acupuncture is the Tung lineage, but I also equally use Five Phase based treatment systems inspired by the Nan Jing. My initial interest in East Asia was through the practice of martial arts.
For my training in East Asian Medicine, I graduated first from the New England School of Acupuncture, and then finished my advanced practice doctorate at the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine. Prior to that I finished a degree in East Asian Studies at Oberlin, and also a degree in music at Oberlin Conservatory. After Oberlin I lived in Okinawa on a Fulbright where I pursued graduate level studies in modern Japanese history.
Today my clinic is in New Jersey. I also continue my practice of martial arts focusing mostly on Hunyuan Taijiquan and Cheng Baguazhang. I teach Taijiquan and Qigong, and am the resident Taijiquan teacher for the Lung Kong Tin Yee Association 龍岡親義公所 in New York Chinatown.
Links and Resources
Visit Henry’s clinic website,
He has written clinically useful books on Tung style acupuncture and Bloodletting.
Henry also has a library of classes at eLotus.
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