As we enter 2026, we pause to honor a meaningful milestone: 50 years of healing in America. For our family and for the College of Tao community, this moment is not simply an anniversary. It is a living point within a much longer river of transmission, one that spans over a thousand years of Taoist medicine, cultivation, and service.

This is not a story of institutions alone, but of lineage: wisdom carried through generations, tested by history, and renewed through practice.

Roots in China: Yo San Ni and the Old World Tradition

 

                           Our story begins in China with our grandfather, Yo San Ni, born in 1870. He was a classical                             Chinese physician and Taoist teacher shaped by an era in which medicine, philosophy,                                     spirituality, and daily life were inseparable. Healing was not a profession, it was a way of being. From him came not only medical knowledge passed down through many generations of physicians in our family, but also a deeper understanding: that true healing must address the whole human being: body, mind, relationships, purpose, and spirit. These principles would later be articulated as the Five Healths of the Integral Way.

 

This tradition endured through extraordinary upheaval. As China entered periods of war, political instability, and cultural rupture, many ancient lineages were fractured or lost. Yet within our family, the essence of Taoist medicine survived through its respect for nature, its emphasis on prevention, and its focus on inner cultivation quietly preserved through live transmission.

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Taiwan: Preservation, Integration, and Preparation



                           That transmission found refuge and renewal in Taiwan, where our father, Hua-Ching Ni                                     known to many as Master Ni or OmNi—became both a guardian and innovator of the                                       Tradition. Our father was more than a healer. He was a scholar, teacher, translator and 

                           spiritual guide. Through deep study and life-long practice, he articulated the Integral Way,

a Taoist tradition integrating medicine, philosophy, meditation, movement, nutrition, and healthy living into a coherent whole. Today, as a centenarian, he stands as a living embodiment of that path.

 

The question he carried was simple and enduring: How can the Tao serve humanity in the modern world?

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1976: Arrival in America and the Birth of a New Chapter

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​                           In 1976, OmNi arrived in Los Angeles with little more than his lineage, his healing skills,                                   and a vision. From a modest home-based clinic in Los Angeles, he began treating patients                               and teaching Taoist principles to a generation largely unfamiliar with acupuncture, Qi, or the                             Tao.

​​​At the same time, he carried forward the College of Tao, originally founded by his father, Yo San Ni—a school rooted not in trend or technique, but in lineage, service, and spiritual cultivation.

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These were early and uncertain days for Chinese medicine in America. There were few laws, few schools, and little understanding. Patients often came as a last resort. Yet the results of healing spoke louder than explanation. During these years, our father translated and elucidated classical Taoist texts such as the Tao

Te Ching, the I Ching, and other foundational works as living manuals for modern life. His writing preserved ancient wisdom while preparing it to cross cultures. This early work became the foundation for Tao of Wellness.

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                           The Second Generation: Carrying the Lineage Forward​​​

                                          In the mid-1980s, our father stepped back from clinical practice, responsibility

                                              of care and stewardship to us. We were raised inside this tradition, not only learning                                 acupuncture, Chinese medicine, Tai Chi, and meditation, but absorbing Taoist                                                 principles through daily life: observation, restraint, humility, discipline, and

                                             responsibility.

             Together, we expanded the family mission by:

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• Growing Tao of Wellness into a respected center of integrative healing with multiple offices

• Founding Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine to train future doctors

• Continuing the College of Tao as a home for spiritual cultivation and Integral Way teachings

• Writing and teaching to make Taoist wisdom accessible without diluting its depth.

 

From the outset, education and clinical practice were inseparable. What we practiced in the clinic informed what we taught; what we taught shaped how we served. Our guiding question has remained the same: How do we keep the Tao alive—not frozen in the past, but responsive to the needs of the present?

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Tested, Renewed, and Rooted

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The past decade tested this lineage profoundly. During the COVID pandemic, Tao of

Wellness and Yo San Blount Community clinics remained open while many practices

closed. We pivoted quickly—expanding telemedicine, delivering herbal formulas, and

supporting thousands of patients as they navigated illness, fear, and uncertainty. 

Like all living systems, we were tested—and we adapted.

 

We shed what no longer served, strengthened what mattered most, and returned to first principles: cultivating Zheng Qi or Righteous Energy, supporting resilience, and aligning with natural law. It was in this context that the opening of our newest Santa Monica clinic became especially meaningful. Created at a time when many clinics were closing and countless physicians stopped practicing, it affirmed our commitment to carry this lineage forward—grounded in responsibility, care, and confidence in the healing powers of Chinese medicine.​​

 

                  The Third Generation: Continuity and Renewal

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                                                                   Now, as we enter our sixth decade in America, the Tao continues its journey                                                                                   through the next generation. Dr. Yu-Ming Ni, MD practices integrative and                                                                                       preventive cardiology in collaboration with Tao of Wellness doctors in                                                                                                 bridging modern cardiovascular medicine with Chinese medicine and lifestyle-                                                                             based care. 

 

Yu-Shien Ni joins the work, as the first female doctor in the lineage with a focus on women’s health and functional medicine, guided by the same understanding that healing must honor both physiology and the rhythms of life.

 

Together with our dedicated colleagues and teachers, they represent the natural evolution of a living lineage that is rooted in the past, responsive to the present, and responsible to the future.



A Living Transmission



This anniversary is about honoring a living transmission—the roots of Tao transplanted by our family from China to Taiwan to America, and now carried forward through each student, practitioner, and community member who studies and embodies these teachings.



As we step into 2026, we do so with gratitude for the past and trust in what is unfolding. We invite you to walk with us in this year of reflection and celebration.



With gratitude,

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