Introduction:

Are you interested in learning more about alternative medicine and wholistic healing? It is our experience that if you are learning about wholistic healing for your own benefit or to help others or to become a professional, if you are going to be effective, you must be well read and well versed in the philosophy and practice of what you are interested in. This is especially if you are going to study herbal healing, herbal medicine or practice in an integrative style that includes herbs.

The following is a list of basic books for the study of wholistic healing and energy medicine.Many of them are considered classics and core knowledge in their various fields. Some reflect my [Laurence Layne's] own healing and learning journey. Other practitioners might make other choices but I feel that overall the books listed here will provide the student with a solid foundation in the principles and practice of healing.The number of potential choices is staggering in such fields as nutrition, herbalism, energy healing, etc. and there is perhaps no way to nail down what is "definitive" or "exhaustive." This is a good place to begin to build your library.

Wholistic Health and Alternative Medicine

These books reflect an overview of a number of modalities, techniques and philosophies:

Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide,compiled by the Burton Goldberg Group, Future Medicine Publishing.

A Visual Encyclopedia of Unconventional Medicine edited by Ann Hill, Crown Publishers.

World Medicineby Tom Monte and the editors ofEastWest NaturalHealth.

Hands-On Healingby the editors ofPrevention Magazine.

The Complete Family Guide to Alterntive Medicine,consultant editor C. Norman Shealy, M.D., Phd., general editor Richard Thomas.

Wholistic Nutrition

Nutrition is vital factor in healing. There are many differing philosphies of nutrition and healthy eating. You should establish your philosophy through a clear rationale and personal experience, not based on an idea that is simply adopted without examination.

Diet and Nutrition by Rudolph Ballentine, M.D.

Food and Healing by AnnemarieColbin

Food is Your Best Medicine by Henry G. Bieler,M.D.

The Tao of Nutrition by Maoshing Ni,Phd., C.A.

Fats That Heal, FatsThat Kill by Udo Erasmus

Spiritual Nutrition and The Rainbow Diet by Gabriel Cousens, M.D.

The Immune System

These books helped tune me into the Immune System. Here is where we can see the oriental concept of yin and yang begin to make sense in terms of the Western endocrine model.

Natural Immunity by Noboru Muramoto.

AIDS, Macrobiotics and Natural Immunity by Michio Kushi and Martha Cotrell, M.D.

And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts.

Mind-Body Interactions and Disease edited by Nicholas Hall, Phd., proceedings of a NIH conference.

The Stress of Life by Hans Selye, M.D.

How to Reverse Immune Dysfunction by Mark Konlee.

Full Catastrophe Living by John Kabat-Zinn.

Wholistic Herbalism

Here are some of the cream of the crop. The question was what to leave out...this is a good starting place.

The Way of Herbs by Michael Tierra, C.A.,N.D.

The New Holistic Herbal by David Hoffman.

The Healing Herbs by Michael Castleman.

Foundations of Health by Christopher Hobbs.

Green Pharmacy by Barbara Griggs.

The Essential Book of Herbal Medicine by Simon Mills.

The School of Natural Healing by Dr. John Christopher.

The Yoga of Herbs by David Frawley, O.M.D. and Dr. Vasant Lad.

Chinese and Taoist Medicine

Chinese Medicine, acupuncture, herbs, chi kung, folk healing, philosophy, art, language and other Chinese cultural and healing knowledge is dependent on a system of understanding Nature and the Universe. This system has many components and no matter what door you walk through you need to become aquainted with this philosophical landscape.

The Complete Book of Chinese Health and Healing by Daniel Reid.

The Way of Qi Gong by Kenneth Cohen.

The Web That Has No Weaver by Ted Kaptchuk,O.M.D.

Between Heaven and Earth by Harriet Beinfield, L.Ac.and Efrem Korngold, L.Ac., O.M.D.

The Foundations of Chinese Medicine by Giovanni Maciocia.

Ayurveda and Yoga

These are good introductions to this subject.

Ayurvedic Healing by David Frawley,O.M.D.

Ayurveda, The Science of Self Healing by Dr. Vasant Lad

The Complete Illustrated Book ofYoga by Swami Vishnudevananda

Traditional Western Medicine

Many do not realize that like China and India, the West had a traditonal system of healing handed down from the dim mists of time. Ours came through Egypt, Greece, Rome and Arabia but was lost during the Scientific Revolution through a misunderstandingby early scientists of how its symbolism translated into reality.

Culpepper's Medicine, A Practice of Western Holistic Medicine by Graeme Tobyn

The Traditional Healer by Hakim G.M. Chishti, N.D.

Macrobiotics

Macrobiotics is the most accessible oriental dietary therapy available to us in the West. It deserves study and practice-it is about far more than food.

Essential Ohsawa by George Ohsawa

Philosophy of Oriental Medicine by George Ohsawa

Macrobiotics, the Way of Healing by George Ohsawa

Aveline Kushi's Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking by Aveline Kushi with Alex Jack

The Self-Healing Cookbook by Kristina Turner

Anatomy and Phisiology

A currently incomplete list of A & P books.

Gray's Anatomy

Guyton's Textbook of Physiology

Job's Body by Deane Juhan

The Anatomy Coloring Book by Wynn Kapit and Lawrence M.Elson

The Physiology Coloring Book by Wynn Kapit, Robert I.Macey and Esmail Meisami

The Human Brain Coloring Book by M.C. Diamond, A.B Scheibeland L.M. Elson

Bodywork

Massage, hands-on healing, touch therapy:

Healing Massage Techniques by Frances Tappan

Mosby's Fundamentals ofTherapeutic Massage by Sandy Fritz

Pain Erasure by Bonnie Prudden

Rolfing by Ida Rolf, Phd.

Soft Tissue Maniuplation by Leon Chaitow, D.O.

Women's Health

Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom by Christiane Northrup,M.D.

Natural Healing in Gynecology by Rina Nissim

The Wise Woman Herbal by Susan Weed

Energy Healing

An introduction to different ways of looking at the human energy field and its role in healing.

Vibrational Medicine by Richard Gerber,M.D.

Subtle Energy by John Davidson

Joy's Way by W. Brugh Joy, M.D.

The Therapeutic Touch by Dolores Krieger, Phd.,R.N.

Hands of Light by Barbara Ann Brennan

Essential Reiki by Diane Stein

Esoteric Healing by Alice A. Bailey

Attunement

Inner knowing, stillness, meditation, being present: attunement.

Attunement, Love Made Visible by Chris Jorgensen

Attunement, The Sacred Landscape by Laurence Layne

The Healing Power of Attunement Therapy by Jaclyn Stein Henderson

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