We are excited to offer IN-PERSON classes this year. We have implemented careful COVID protocols with your safety in mind, with classes held outdoors in the mountains north of Asheville, surrounded by trees and next to a flowing creek. Come join us for a hands-on learning experience!
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Reconnect with your Earthy roots, and learn to live in harmony with Mother Nature!
What Sets Us Apart
Community
Creating community in the classroom is a big advantage of doing an in-person versus an online class. The direct connection with teachers and fellow students throughout school will create a time in your life that you’ll remember.
Experience
CoreyPine and the other core teachers have years of clinical experience seeing clients and an intimate knowledge of the wild plants that we will study. CoreyPine was voted #1 Herbalist in Western NC by Mountain Xpress readers!
Longevity
Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine was started in 1999 and has been running for over 20 years. Several hundred people have graduated over that time.
Location
The Asheville, NC area is a forward-thinking town, famous for its abundance of organic foods, permaculture, and herbal medicine. The Blue Ridge Mountains have remarkable plant diversity, some say the most diversity of any temperate area in the world. It has also been an epicenter of wild herbs for centuries, dating back to the Cherokee use of wild plants. Classes are held at CoreyPine’s beautiful property, nestled in a cove in Barnardsville, NC, just 20 minutes north of Asheville.
Tradition
We teach a sensory approach to the basics of Chinese medicine, with an emphasis on how to integrate these introductory concepts into a western herbal practices. The principles of Chinese medicine help us understand the body better and start thinking in terms of patterns of imbalances so that we can better choose what plants to use for whom. While we implement basic Chinese Medicine principles into our understanding of herbs, we are still a Western Herbalism school.
Holism
The school has a body-centered approach to learning herbalism so that, in addition to textbook information, students learn to experience how the herbs affect them through trying different formulas, spending time in the woods learning wild plants, hand-on medicine making classes in small groups, and developing relationships with the plants in order to honor the land and tradition.
Our Programs
Essentials of Herbalism Program
This practical class will give you a strong introduction to the culturally rich world of alternative medicine and directly engage you with the herbs. Each weekend includes lectures and hands-on medicine making, along with plant walks in herb gardens and richly diverse local forests.
Holistic Herbalism Program
This program is for anyone who wants to be self-sufficient for their health or a community healer. We will focus on constitutional diagnosis and holistic treatment through tonic herbs, food and lifestyle. You’ll learn how to identify and gather plants and make high-quality preparations.
Wild Medicine Internships
These internships offer deep dives into seasonal herbalism. Meeting once a week with CoreyPine, you’ll go on plant walks where you’ll meet the plants and herbs, learn how to make medicine with them, dive into wild foods, all while enjoying the incredible abundance of Appalachian Mountains. Class is limited to 10 interns.
Our Mission
A new way of looking at life.
The mission of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine is to help students heartfully connect with nature, the collective, and themselves through an awareness of body and ecology to promote healing in the world.
The goal of the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine is to teach students how to identify, harvest and use the abundance of plants that grow all around us. By understanding Earth’s natural medicine, students will grasp how they can work to harmonize imbalances and improve health.
Blue Ridge School is a
member of:
American Herbalists Guild
NC Herb Association
United Plant Savers
Botanical Gardens of Asheville
Rainforest Action Network
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