2025 Lecture Information

Tai Chi: 6 PDA points (PE-CW)

Day 1 (10am - 12pm), 7 (9am - 10am) & 11 (8am - 12pm) with Kyung Shin, DAOM, L.Ac.

Course Description

In this physical and meditative course, Dr. Kyung Shin will guide students through the 24-Form Yang Style Tai Chi, focusing on breath, balance, and body awareness. Rooted in the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tai Chi enhances qi circulation, promotes relaxation, and strengthens mind-body harmony. Students will learn step-by-step movements, postural alignment, and internal focus to cultivate both personal health and clinical insight into movement-based therapy.

Eye Needling: 8 PDA points (AOM-AC)

Day 9: 8am - 5pm with Kyung Shin, DAOM, L.Ac.

Course Description

Dr. Shin will discuss how to diagnose TCM terms by using pulse and tongue examinations.  Students will check the tongues and pulses of patients in Himalayan Eye Hospital and make diagnoses of eye illnesses. We will discuss the reasoning based on the Chinese medicine theory and point selections. Students will learn needling techniques around the eye, in a way that minimizes possible bruising to the delicate tissues. The teacher will show how to make practitioners and patients relax before performing needling and will demonstrate the needling techniques. After that, students will practice needling on the patient’s eyes. 

Biography

Dr. Shin earned both a master’s and a doctoral degree from Bastyr University. She started providing free acupuncture services to local Nepali and Tibetan refugees in Nepal since 2015. With a special interest in eye problems, she completed her doctoral preceptorship with Dr. Harimaya Gurung in Himalaya Eye Hospital and with Dr. Paul Chung, M.D. at Evergreen Eye Clinic in the U.S. She has treated a high number of patients in Nepal during her numerous trips and provides daily treatments at her own clinic in the U.S. 

She also taught tai chi at the Pema T’sal Sakya Monastery in 2018. Since then, whenever she visits the monastery for her Nepal projects, she continues to teach tai chi to the boys. 

Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis (SHAPU): 16 PDA points (AOM-BIO)

Day 4: 8am - 5pm with Eliya Shrestha, M.D.

Course Description

Dr. Shrestha will introduce clinical features and classification of SHAPU.  According to her, SHAPU occurs on only odd years in the Fall to winter and affects mostly young children. Due to limited access to healthcare and a lack of education about the disease, many young children lose their eyesight within a week of the onset. In addition to losing their eyesight, some children may also suffer from permanent disfigurement. We will be visiting the region in the Fall during an odd year (2023), so we should expect to see many cases of SHAPU. Currently, conventional medicine offers limited treatment options and there are no studies evaluating the efficacy of acupuncture treatment in the treatment of SHAPU. Therefore, our best diagnosis assessment and treatment skills will be needed in this important endeavor.

Biography

Professor Shrestha, ophthalmologist and Medical Director of Himalaya Eye Hospital, graduated from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu and had fellowships in oculoplasty and ocular oncology at Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. She has participated in multiple research projects about a variety of eye conditions including SHAPU.

Research

Dr Eliya Shrestha, Dr Hara Maya Gurung, Dr Indra Man Maharjan, Dr Babita Gurung, Dr Hari Bikram Adhikari. Empty Sella Turcica and Papilloedema : Two cases reports. Global Journal of Medical Research. Vol 21 issue 1 version 1: ISSN 2249-4618 & Print ISSN:0975-5888.

  1. Maharjan IM, Shrestha E, Gurung B, Gurung HM, Adhikari HB, Baral P*, 2021. Pain perception in cataract surgery: topical versus peribulbar anaesthesia. Nepal J Ophthalmol; 13 (25): 50-58. Doi https://doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v13i1.30574 

  2. Shrestha E, Banstola L, Man I, Gurung B, Gurung H, Adhikari HB. Assessing Profile and Treatment Outcome in Patients of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia (OSSN). Nepal J Ophthalmol; 2019 Jul; 11(22):181-188. doi: 10.3126/nepjoph.v11i2.27825. PMID: 32792695.

  3. Shrestha E, Adhikari HB, Maharjan IM, Gurung B. Co morbidities among cataract- operated patients in Rural Nepal. Nepal J Ophthalmol. 2017 Jul; 9(18):156-159. doi: 10.3126/nepjoph.v9i2.19260. PMID: 29634705.

  4. Kinderan, Y., Shrestha, E., Maharjan, I., & Karmacharya, S. (1). Pattern of ocular trauma in the Western Region of Nepal. Nepal J Ophthalmol. 2012; 4(1), 5-9. https://doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v4i1.5843

  5. Shrestha, E., Shrestha, J., Shayami, G., & Chaudhary, M. (1). The conjunctival impression cytology between the diagnosed cases of dry eye and normal individuals. Nepal J Ophthalmol. 2011; 3(1), 39-44. https://doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v3i1.4277

  6. Shrestha, E. A profile and treatment outcome of seasonal hyper-acute panuveitis. Nepal Journal Ophthalmol. 2010; 2(1), 35-38. https://doi.org/10.3126/nepjoph.v2i1.3702 

Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis (SHAPU): 16 PDA points (AOM-BIO)

Day 5: 8am - 5pm with Harimaya Gurung, M.D.

Course Description

Dr. Gurung will discuss SHAPU complications and disease management. Participants will be expected to collaborate on comprehensive TCM treatment strategies including point selections and herbal formulas.  

Biography

An assistant professor at Himalaya Eye Hospital, Dr. Gurung has treated a large number of SHAPU cases as well as other eye diseases.

Research

  1. Hara Maya Gurung, Eliya Shrestha, Babita Gurung, Hari Bikram Adhikari and Pawan Baral. Retinal Vein Occlusion: Demography, Types and Risk Factors – A Cross-Sectional Hospital based Study. Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 4.5 (2021):128-131.
    DOI: 10.31080/ASOP.2021.04.0305

  2. Hara Maya Gurung, Eliya Shrestha, Babita Gurung, Hari Bikram Adhikari and Pawan Baral. Endophthalmitis Following Intravitreal Injection Bevacizumab in an Operation Room Setting of Nepal. Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 4.9 (2021):17-21.  

 Case report 

  1. Haramaya Gurung, Ranju Kharel Sitaula, Pratap Karki, Anadi Khatri, Sagun Narayan Joshi, Indraman Maharjan and Madan Prasad Upadhyay.  Sporadic summer outbreak of SHAPU in even years: Does the pattern match with the usual autumn outbreak? Am J Ophthalmol Case Reports 24 (2021) 101198. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2021.101198

  2. Hara Maya Gurung, Dr. Krishna Gurung, Dr. Anju Gurung, et al. Choroidal Tuberculoma in a healthy, immunocompetent patient. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2021 

Co-Author (Research)

  1. Gurung B, Shrestha E, Gurung H M, Adhikari H B, Gurung A, Gurung K, Baral P, 2021. Intravitreal Injection Bevacizumab: Main Indications. Acta Scientific Ophthalmology 4.8 (2021): 37-39. DOI https://doi.org/10.31080/asop.2021.04.0360

  2. Gurung B, Gurung A, Gurung H M, Shrestha E, Adhikari H B, Gurung K, Baral P, 2021. Ocular trauma during COVID-19 lockdown 2020 at Himalaya Eye Hospital. Acta Scientific Ophthalmology. 4.8 (2021): 40-43. DOI https://doi.org/10.31080/asop.2021.04.0361

  3. Indraman Maharjhan, Eliya Shrestha, Babita Gurung, Hara Maya Gurung, Hari Bikram Adhikari, Pawan Baral. Pain Perception in Cataract Surgery: Topical versus Peribulbar Anaesthesia. Nepal J Ophthalmol 2021; 13(25): 50-58. DOI: 10.3126/nepjoph.v13i1.30574

  4. Arjun Shrestha, Chunu Shrestha, Pratap Karki, Hara Maya Gurung and Takeshi Naito. Strengthening retina eye care services in Nepal: Retina eye care of Nepal project. BMC Health Services Research 2020; 20:986. DOI: 10.1186/s12913-020-05850-x

  5. Madan Prasad Upadhyay, Ranju Kharel Sitaula, Anu Manadhar, Emily W.Gower, Pratap Karki, Hara Maya Gurung, Indraman Maharjan, Sameul Reuben, Biraj Man Karmacharya and Sagun Narayan Joshi. The Risk Factors of Seasonal Hyperacute Panuveitis. Ophthalmic Epidemiology 2020; 1-8. DOI: 10.1080/09286586.2020.1820533

  6. Eliya Shrestha, Laxman Bastola, Indra Man Maharjhan, Babita Gurung, Hari Maya Gurung, Hari Bikram Adhikari and Isha Karmacharya. Assessing Profile and treatment outcome in patients of Ocular Surface Squamous Neoplasia (OSSN). Nepal J Ophthalmol 2019; 11(22): 181-188. DOI: 10.3126/nepjoph.v11i2.27825