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ABOUT US
College of Tao and Integral Health was founded in China by Dr. Yo San Ni to educate physicians in his village, including his son, Hua-Ching Ni. It was brought to Taiwan before the Communist take over and then to the US by Hua Ching Ni (aka OmNi) in the mid 70s. OmNi retired from the College of Tao and active teaching and returned to live in seclusion in China thereafter for many years. Since the mid 1980’s College of Tao has been continued by the next generation, Drs. Mao Shing Ni and Daoshing Ni to transmit the teaching of the Integral Way.
The term "Integral Way" describes the original self-cultivation tradition of Taoism, which originated in China and is far older than the later development of religious Taoism (e.g., the Celestial Master sect). It is this self-cultivation form of Taoism that is first evidenced in the Nei Yeh (perhaps the earliest written Taoist work according to Western scholars), elucidated in the teaching of Lao Tzu's book The Tao Teh Ching, and continued to be transmitted through such immortals as Ge Hong, the Shangqing School, the Zhong-Lu School, and the internal alchemical traditions of the various branches of the Complete Reality (Quanzhen) School.
The northern branch of Complete Reality Taoism became a monastic tradition and is more well-known in the West today (e.g., the Dragon Gate sect). The southern branch remained non-monastic and its teachings were passed on from master to student and within certain Taoist families. The Ni Family is one such family within the southern branch. The teachings of the northern and southern branches are largely the same, with some minor differences.
DR. MAO SHING NI, D.O.M., PH.D, ABAAHP
COLLEGE OF TAO
CO-CHANCELLOR,
ORDAINED MINISTER,
MASTER TEACHER
Mao Shing Ni or Dr. Mao has been studying the Eight Pillars of taoist studies since he was a small child starting with tai chi, ba gua, qi gong and meditation and later, the I Ching, fengshui and the spiritual arts and finally culminating in achieving doctorate degrees in Chinese medicine and nutrition. Dr. Mao co-founded Yo San University of traditional Chinese medicine as well as the Tao Of Wellness. He is the author of over 20 books including the best selling Secrets of Longevity, an authoritative translation the Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine as well as many video and audio learning programs on qi gong, Tai chi and Taoist meditation. Dr. Mao has been interviewed extensively in the media and teaches retreats around the world. Besides his medical practice at the Tao Wellness in Santa Monica, Dr. Mao also makes himself available for online telemedicine consultation so that patients can still receive care from him no matter where they live. You can reach him at www.taoofwellness.com and
DR. DAOSHING NI, D.O.M., PH.D, MBA
COLLEGE OF TAO
CO-CHANCELLOR
ORDAINED MINISTER,
MASTER TEACHER
Daoshing Ni, or Dr. Dao, like his brother Mao Shing Ni, has received intensive training in Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Taoist tradition since his early childhood. He brings this wealth of knowledge into his medical practice, his teaching and his everyday life. He is a co-founder of Tao of Wellness, a Traditional Chinese Medical practice, where he specializes in reproductive and gynecological medicine. Dr. Dao is the co-author of Tao of Fertility and Sitting Moon: A Guide to Rejuvenation after Pregnancy. He is also the cofounder of Yo San University where he served as its president for many years. Dr. Dao and his brother, Dr. Mao are co-chancellors and create a balanced energy in this small yet deeply rooted family-like study environment where students make up the 39th generation of the Ni family healing legacy. Dr. Dao believes that to help achieve world peace, we must first be able to build a peaceful family and to build a peaceful family, we first need to cultivate ourselves. The real work takes place inside ourselves.
You can also find Dr. Dao at www.taoofwellness.com and www.yosan.edu
OUR HISTORY
The College of Tao and Integral Health was founded during the 1920s in China by Yo San Ni, a Chinese physician and Taoist master, in order to provide a classical education for his son, Hua-Ching Ni, and other students. The college was re-established in Taiwan by Hua-Ching Ni to continue the mission of his father.
In the mid-1970s, the College of Tao was brought to America by Hua-Ching Ni (now known as “OmNi”) and was established in Los Angeles, California. Its mission is to preserve and to promulgate the teachings of the Integral Way Taoist Tradition of China, as transmitted by the Ni Family to the Western world.
The College of Tao initially offered a program of studies in acupuncture and Chinese medicine. Later, it also offered self-study and correspondence courses in the Integral Way Tradition. However, in order to effectively convey the vast body of knowledge and practice of the Integral Way Tradition, it became necessary to develop specialized institutes, which focused on particular fields of studies. Some of these institutes became independent while others remained within the College of Tao.
Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, located in Los Angeles, California, was the first institute to branch out from the College of Tao and to become independent. It was founded in 1989 to provide professional medical training in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Two more institutes, Chi Health Institute and InfiniChi Energy Healing Institute, were founded in 1998. These institutes remain within the College of Tao & Integral Health. The Chi Health Institute oversees training and certification in the Ni Family movement and meditation arts. The InfiniChi Energy Healing Institute oversees training and certification in professional energy healing practices.
The Universal Society of the Integral Way (USIW) has worked closely with the various institutes. It was founded in 1993 with OmNi's guidance, as a community of students and mentors of the Integral Way working together to support personal and social development. Since then, the USIW (a.k.a., the Integral Way Community) has undergone various transformations in its form, name, and structure. Today, it remains the community of friends (i.e., “Friends of the Integral Way”) that surround and support the College of Tao and the Integral Way Tradition.
As of 2022, the College of Tao & Integral Health consists of departments, institutes, and programs. The College offers educational and training programs in the Integral Way Taoist Tradition and Chinese Health for the public and for health professionals. Many of its programs are correspondence or distance-learning courses for self-paced learning while some are held onsite in Los Angeles and other parts of the United States.
The teaching of the Integral Way Tradition, as transmitted by the Ni Family, is based on the works of the various Ni family members. For information about these books, click here.
GREAT GRANDMASTER
YO SAN NI
COLLEGE OF TAO FOUNDER (CHINA)
When Master Yo San Ni was born in China in 1879, the Ni family lineage had passed down a Taoist spiritual legacy and knowledge of Traditional Chinese Medicine for many generations. At the age of sixteen, Yo San went on a quest to rebuild his family's healing wisdom, as his father, a pediatrician, had perished during an epidemic outbreak while saving many villager’s kids. Yo San sought out relatives, friends, and patients, but most of all, the spiritual leaders and masters of Taoism and Traditional Chinese Medicine who had fled political oppression and lived as hermits in the mountains. In his thirties, Yo San began practicing medicine and then founded The College of Tao and Traditional Chinese Healing which offered instruction for both academic and spiritual growth.
ENCOURAGER OF GREAT HARMONY
MADAME YO SAN NI
In China in the late 1800s, there was a young woman who, like all females at that time, faced a challenging life due to the heavy limitations imposed by the tense male dominated culture. Despite the unnatural restrictions, she steadfastly focused on her spiritual growth and educated herself in various esoteric traditions, including the original ancient teachings of Tao. She was also the spiritual heir to the teachings of Mother Chern, the Mother of the Yellow Altar. After answering an inner call she met
Yo San Ni and became his wife. Yo San already had a family and had assumed that his child rearing days were over, but the young woman knew that she and Yo San had a shared destiny. That woman was the mother of Hua Ching Ni (Omni), and grandmother of Omni’s sons, Dr. Daoshing Ni and Dr. Mao Shing Ni.
All her life, she presented and embodied the natural truth that it is the feminine virtues of softness, receptivity and unconditional love that move one closer to the Universal Nature of Balance and Harmony, and that Universal Harmony is the subtle truth and reality of all human life. We can, therefore, know this inspiring woman as “The Great Encourager of Universal Harmony.” As such, she helped mold a rambunctious young Omni into an inspiring embodiment of the Integral Way, but she was not able to see her son grow into a man, or meet her grandchildren, due to the catastrophic events of the cultural and communist revolutions in China at that time. Instead, she and Yo San encouraged Omni to leave home when he was a teenager, and after various experiences during his wanderings in China, he eventually found a safe haven in Taiwan.
When the darkness continued to grow in China, the Great Encourager of Universal
Harmony realized her life’s main objective had come to a close. So, at 60 years of age, she naturally exuviated her body and returned to the subtle realm.
GRANDMASTER
HUA CHING NI (AKA OMNI)
COLLEGE OF TAO (TAIWAN, US)
Hua Ching Ni or OmNi brought his family’s teaching from China to Taiwan and then to the US in the 1975. He preserved the Integral Way Taoist teaching through the many books he has written. In 1985, he officially retired from his medical practice, which were continued by his sons, Drs. Mao Shing and Daoshing Ni as well as any active teaching through College of Tao which has been overseen by Dr. Mao Shing Ni. OmNi moved back to Asia in early 1990s and has been in seclusion and retreat ever since, even from his own family living a life of quietude and simplicity.