Rich Brown, is a Health Educator and Licensed Massage Practitioner who focuses on integrating Eastern and Western approaches to facilitate students and clients in their journey to optimal health and wellness. He teaches health promotion through qigong, tai chi, yoga, kung fu, physical fitness, weight training, nutrition, and principles of stress-management. Rich holds a Master’s Degree and Certificate in Integral Health from California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where his training centered on Taoist health practice.

In addition to his formal academic training, Rich received his massage certification from San Francisco School of Massage. He has also completed coursework in Acupressure and Tui Na training at the Acupressure Institute in Berkeley and Thai massage techniques at the Wat Po Traditional Medical School in Bangkok, Thailand, as well as at the Massage School of Santa Monica. He currently is the school manager and a teacher at McKinnon Body Therapy Center in Oakland, CA. Rich has worked as a Personal Trainer and athletic coach (football, basketball, track & field, soccer, cross-country) for 9 years in Denver, San Francisco, and Santa Monica, teaches martial arts at Soja Martial Arts in Oakland, and is a certified CrossFit trainer.

Rich studied qigong with qigong Master Sun-Da Jin, the former Assistant Director of the Qigong Institute of Medical Science and Research in Hangchou, China, and has taught his own qigong classes for 8 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has integrated a practice of Hatha yoga and has successfully completed a yoga instructor’s training course from the US Yoga Association.

In addition to his private practice as a Health Educator, Personal Trainer, and Massage Therapist, Rich has been a member of the adjunct faculty of John F. Kennedy University, in Orinda, CA. He has worked with the realm of public and private education as a teacher, program coordinator, principal, and consultant for the past 25 years. Rich was the recipient of the Golden Apple Award for 2001, presented to him by the San Francisco Education Fund, for his development of the Stress Relief and Exercise Program (using Yoga) at Rosa Parks Elementary School in San Francisco.