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School of Natural Healing
Christopher Publications is proud to offer this 25th Anniversary Edition of School of Natural Healing. Over the years, beginners and herbal practiioners have trusted School of Natural Healing to provide expert instruction on herbal therapy. The worldwide distribution and use of Dr. Christopher's formulas confirms the success and safety of his methods. If you have ever used an herbal combination, it was most likely one of Dr. Christophers's. This text combines his methods and famous formulas in an easy-to-use volume for personal and classroom study. Expanded and revised, we present this work, assured that it will enhance your efforts in natural healing. This edition In depth study of over 110
Latin and Common Names
Botanical Descriptions
Medicinal Usage and Therapeutic Action
Preparation, Dosage, and Administration
Multiple Formulations for Each Herb
Case Histories
Horticulture and Storage Information Other features
Symptoms, Causes, and Natural Treatment for Over 80 Disease Conditions
Nutrition and Recipes for Vitality
Internal Cleansing and Purification
Therapeutics for Over 1000 Herbs Simplified and comprehensive index
Latin and Common Names
All Herbal Formulas
Health Conditions, Etc. Features new to this edition
Recipes for All of Dr. Christopher's Formulas
A Bography of Dr. Christopher from An Herbal Legacy of Courage
Quick-To Find Herb and Medicinal Action Heading on Each Page
Latin and Common Names
Botanical Descriptions
Medicinal Usage and Therapeutic Action
Preparation, Dosage, and Administration
Multiple Formulations for Each Herb
Case Histories
Horticulture and Storage Information Other features
Symptoms, Causes, and Natural Treatment for Over 80 Disease Conditions
Nutrition and Recipes for Vitality
Internal Cleansing and Purification
Therapeutics for Over 1000 Herbs Simplified and comprehensive index
Latin and Common Names
All Herbal Formulas
Health Conditions, Etc. Features new to this edition
Recipes for All of Dr. Christopher's Formulas
A Bography of Dr. Christopher from An Herbal Legacy of Courage
Quick-To Find Herb and Medicinal Action Heading on Each Page
672 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1984
About the author
John R. Christopher
33 books34 followersAdopted as a baby and suffering from health problems in his childhood, John Raymond Christopher dedicated his life to the study and practice of herbalism.
Christopher developed over fifty herbal formulas, founded the School of Natural Healing in Springville, Utah, and wrote several books and pamphlets on herbalism and natural healing.
Christopher developed over fifty herbal formulas, founded the School of Natural Healing in Springville, Utah, and wrote several books and pamphlets on herbalism and natural healing.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 29, 2015
(also posted on my site The Paperback Stash)
Dr. Christopher was an amazing pioneer in herbal medicine. The thick, lengthy book will never leave the wondering mind hungry, delving deeply into a variety of herbs with insightful personal usage, history, and formulas. The book begins with paragraphs under different conditions, but the heart of the book is the herbal details, where Christopher clearly expresses his love, admiration, and faith in natural medicine. He cites other herbalists such as Thomson and Shook, following in the same vein of thought as Eclectics before him, stretching it even further with personal opinions and sage advise. While some of the output is slightly dated, most of it is not, still stands as true today, and will always be invaluable information.
If you're ever seeking a reference guide for herbs, this is surely the one, as Christopher goes as far as to describe in a detailed, eye-catching way the habitat, full description from leaf to odor to flower to taste to stem, to properties, dose, preparation, therapeutic action, oral/anal/skin administration of all. So many herbs are covered in such rich detail it's impossible not to use this as a guide when learning a new herb. As many Eclectics were, Christopher was a big fan of the herb Lobelia, devoting here an entire chapter on it alone. However, the old "puke your brains out" use is now considered unsafe and outdated, but some of the herbs recommendations still stand strong today.
After the massive herbal index is read, there's a marvelous chapter on collecting herbs, preparing them in a huge amount of way, from tinctures to compounds to cerates to suppositories to pills to capsules to washes and baths, and much more.
Formulas are here in every chapter, from older ones passed down from other great herbalists to lesser knowns, from Christopher himself and what he used in his personal practice, and from general herbal combinations that go under each herb in its own section. He wraps up the book with two great glossaries, and a chapter exclusively discussing his 'mucusless diet', an eating regimen still followed actively to this day. Of course the preceeding chapter brings up the regenerative diet, dietary recommendations on certain food substances, proper ways of living besides herbal therapy, and some deliciously appealing culinary recipes to whip up in the kitchen for a healthful treat.
Out of the dozens of herbal books I own, this is one of those I turn to the most, for the knowledge in here is thrilling, and the knowledge almost overwhelming since it covers so much. Well worth the price, Dr. Christopher's name is a household one among herbalists for a good reason.
Dr. Christopher was an amazing pioneer in herbal medicine. The thick, lengthy book will never leave the wondering mind hungry, delving deeply into a variety of herbs with insightful personal usage, history, and formulas. The book begins with paragraphs under different conditions, but the heart of the book is the herbal details, where Christopher clearly expresses his love, admiration, and faith in natural medicine. He cites other herbalists such as Thomson and Shook, following in the same vein of thought as Eclectics before him, stretching it even further with personal opinions and sage advise. While some of the output is slightly dated, most of it is not, still stands as true today, and will always be invaluable information.
If you're ever seeking a reference guide for herbs, this is surely the one, as Christopher goes as far as to describe in a detailed, eye-catching way the habitat, full description from leaf to odor to flower to taste to stem, to properties, dose, preparation, therapeutic action, oral/anal/skin administration of all. So many herbs are covered in such rich detail it's impossible not to use this as a guide when learning a new herb. As many Eclectics were, Christopher was a big fan of the herb Lobelia, devoting here an entire chapter on it alone. However, the old "puke your brains out" use is now considered unsafe and outdated, but some of the herbs recommendations still stand strong today.
After the massive herbal index is read, there's a marvelous chapter on collecting herbs, preparing them in a huge amount of way, from tinctures to compounds to cerates to suppositories to pills to capsules to washes and baths, and much more.
Formulas are here in every chapter, from older ones passed down from other great herbalists to lesser knowns, from Christopher himself and what he used in his personal practice, and from general herbal combinations that go under each herb in its own section. He wraps up the book with two great glossaries, and a chapter exclusively discussing his 'mucusless diet', an eating regimen still followed actively to this day. Of course the preceeding chapter brings up the regenerative diet, dietary recommendations on certain food substances, proper ways of living besides herbal therapy, and some deliciously appealing culinary recipes to whip up in the kitchen for a healthful treat.
Out of the dozens of herbal books I own, this is one of those I turn to the most, for the knowledge in here is thrilling, and the knowledge almost overwhelming since it covers so much. Well worth the price, Dr. Christopher's name is a household one among herbalists for a good reason.
March 2, 2013
Library collector's book.
January 12, 2009
This is an amazing book. Sort of an Encyclopedia for herbal medicine. Dr. Christopher believed in DIET FIRST!! Everything else second. I trust this book. It's the first book I grab when researching anything or finding a way to help my family. All of Dr. Christopher's formulas are in here - along with the parts. For that alone, this thing is worth it's weight. A great thing for everyone to have.
August 13, 2012
This is one of those rare formula books for herbalists and home medicine makers that is just a treasure trove. You may not use everything in here, but there are some really wonderful and effective formulations that give people an option to take care of themselves, rather than simply running to the doctor for every little thing. All of my teachers and mentors, from Rosemary Gladstar to Michael Tierra have all touted Dr. Christopher and this book! I have even found in the company library of the natural products cooperative where I worked a few years back. The School of Natural Healing by John R Christopher really brings home herbal medicine and formulation. If you have ever used the Dr. John R. Christopher formulas that are available in health food stores, you know how good they are. All of the formulas are contained within this book and many more that are certain to find use in every home interested in empowering themselves through herbal medicine.
October 16, 2007
This is my absolute first choice for herbal remedies. It is a very thorough and complete work, and I believe it belongs on every family's bookshelf :-)
November 17, 2012
Learn to take care of your health. This book contains acres of diamonds.
August 25, 2025
I keep seeing this book referenced, so I thought I would check it out to better understand what people are talking about. This is a reference book, so I didn't read through all the hundreds of pages of lists of remedies, but I did read the information at the front and back.
I really don't know what to think. I know herbs do have healing properties, but some of the anecdotes near the beginning of the book are really hard to believe. And even if these miraculous cures took place, surely there were times when the cures did not work, or did not have the desired effect? There were no references in any of the text I read, and just one page of references at the back of the book, not nearly enough, in my opinion, for a 700-page volume. I just don't understand how the author could be so confident in telling people what to do without backing up his claims, and I especially don't understand how people could follow his instructions without further corroboration.
I'm still not sure what to think about all of this. I want to believe it can work. But this book did not give me a compelling argument that it will. I guess I would want to see his remedies put to the test in a scientific setting before I could be convinced. Also, if these herbs are as powerful as the anecdotes suggest, then I would imagine that there could be negative side effects and adverse reactions between herbs, and I would want a lot more information on that before I would be brave enough to try any of the suggested remedies.
But if I were trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, I would probably want this book in my library!
I really don't know what to think. I know herbs do have healing properties, but some of the anecdotes near the beginning of the book are really hard to believe. And even if these miraculous cures took place, surely there were times when the cures did not work, or did not have the desired effect? There were no references in any of the text I read, and just one page of references at the back of the book, not nearly enough, in my opinion, for a 700-page volume. I just don't understand how the author could be so confident in telling people what to do without backing up his claims, and I especially don't understand how people could follow his instructions without further corroboration.
I'm still not sure what to think about all of this. I want to believe it can work. But this book did not give me a compelling argument that it will. I guess I would want to see his remedies put to the test in a scientific setting before I could be convinced. Also, if these herbs are as powerful as the anecdotes suggest, then I would imagine that there could be negative side effects and adverse reactions between herbs, and I would want a lot more information on that before I would be brave enough to try any of the suggested remedies.
But if I were trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, I would probably want this book in my library!
December 28, 2022
I used this fabulous reference to complete Rosemary Gladstar’s course The Art and Science of Herbalism. While I didn’t read this cover-to-cover, as it’s an encyclopedia, I referenced around 100 herbs and took copious notes. Amazing book that represents the older schools of herbal thought. Many if most references and recipes still relevant today, with a few herbs that aren’t used as frequently anymore. Wonderful book.
January 31, 2019
Not the most amazing of all reference books and contains lots of anecdotal stories, but still has a lot of good, valuable information. The reason I gave it 3 stars instead of 4, is that it contains lots of herbs that aren't commonly found or aren't as commonly in use today, which makes it hard to find them and put them in use.
October 7, 2019
This book will not only change your life but save it.
July 17, 2022
A traditional cornerstone to our herbal tradition and practice. We will be updating what Christopher puts forward with updated empiricism and evidence.
December 27, 2009
It was quite interesting. I really enjoyed his testimony.
He is definitely correct that it takes a wile to adapt your self to a healthy state and to wing your self off of bad things.
Going form a really low point of unhealthy to a high point of really good health can be dangerous if done too quickly. I agree with the scripture that says "we learn line up on line" are body learns how to adapt the same way with weight, tastes, strength, and endurance. this is what I have learned in my Studies and Experiments.
Currently Reading
June 9, 2008excellent information
August 4, 2009
I have enjoyed reading about Dr. Christopher's life and how he got started with using herbs to heal. This book has so much information that I don't think I will ever be finished reading it. ;)
February 18, 2011
Good index. Easy to read.
Read
December 11, 2014On my book shelf good for beginners
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews