Red Thread International Qigong Institute
Who is Red Thread?
Red Thread Institute is a 501(c)(3) Public Benefit Organization offering education and trainings that enrich the human experience.
Utilizing the perspective of Traditional Medicine, we advance a holistic approach to wellness and vitality by means of self-reliance.
Through exceptional training programs and integrity of practice, we support individual healing, accountability, and promote the aid of others.
The Meaning Behind The Moniker
The Red Thread is a concept found in mythologies from around the world. Culturally, it may point to lineage, family, tradition, history, or relationship—overwhelmingly, a sense of connection. Whether viewed as a filament, or web of interconnections, it is a universal and iconic representation of the notion that “we are all in this together.”
The Vision
The goal is to help all people live full and healthful lives. Inspired and oriented from innate virtue, we assist people in waking up to the course of their own journey.
The Mission Is Simple:
Cultivate the knowledge and wisdom that has been imparted by those before us, and utilize it in a practical and meaningful way.
We are real people, really helping people, and are focused on assisting anyone interested in actualizing positive health of body, mind, and spirit.
The Methodology
We are clear in all our courses—what we offer is a path, not THE path.
Our curriculum, however, is complete enough that you could spend a lifetime with it and nothing else.
We offer a structure and depth of training that is altogether a rarity. The employed pedagogy embraces the esoteric and arcane nature of the material—and makes it both practical and immediately applicable.
Our programs were born out of a desire to see training with integrity.
Grounded in reality, we utilize arcane scholarship and earnest discipline to push perceived limitations and become the best versions of ourselves possible—with the intent to pass that knowledge along to future generations.
Students positively remark on both the amount that is given, and that which is expected of them in return.
This approach is creating new leaders within the field of Holistic Medicine.
If you spend some time searching (which we suggest you do), you will find a number of programs that appear similar. Rest assured, they are not the same. Integrity of practice and quality of instruction cannot be plagiarized.
If you haven’t already, visit our Professional Certification and Personal Cultivation curriculum pages, the Insight Qigong™ program page, or contact us for more information about the how, and why, of what we do.
The Instructor
Dr. Michael Sweeney DTCM, DMQ, LAc. | Dàozhǎng Lǐ Zhèng 道长理正
A Practicing Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Medical Qigong Doctor (PRC), licensed acupuncturist, and Chinese Medicine consultant, Dr. Sweeney is also Dàoshi 道士 (ordained Daoist) in two ancestral Dàoist lineages of China.
Practicing within the Quánzhēn 全真 Dàoist lineage (Lóng ménpài 龙门派), he is head abbot of the Temple of the Luminous Heart (明心宫).
An International teacher of Medical Qigong, Chinese Medicine Theory, and Dàoism, Dr. Sweeney is known for blending deep knowledge and insight with levity and playfulness.
He is currently Director of Academics and Master Instructor at Red Thread International Qigong Institute in the U.S.A.
Dr. Sweeney is also Director of Communications for the United States Daoist Association, and has served as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Qigong Association (NQA).
Dr. Sweeney can be found teaching Qigong and Chinese Medicine internationally to both Medical professionals and inspired individuals looking for personal health & wellbeing.
Dr. Sweeney’s credentials include:
Dàozhǎng (Abbot) 道长 | 明心宫 Temple of the Luminous Heart, Carbondale, CO. United States.
22nd Generation | Dàoshì (Ordained Priest) 道士 Lóngmén Pài, 龍門派 (Dragon Gate Sect), Qīngchéng Shān 青城山; Sichuan, China.
67th generation | Dàoshì (Ordained Priest) 道士 Tiān Shī Pài
天师派 (Celestial Masters Sect), Lónghǔ Shān 龙虎山; Jiangxi, China.Doctor of Medical Qigong (DMQ) 医生氣功, Peoples Republic of China.
Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (DTCM) 中醫医生, Peoples Republic of China.
Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine (DTCM), Five Branches University, USA.
Diplomate of Oriental Medicine (Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, & Biomedicine), National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (NCCAOM), USA.
Licensed Acupuncturist, (LAc) California, USA
Certified Asian Bodywork Practitioner, Five Branches University, USA.