This category is for courses that are part of several certification programs or designed as independent courses.

This class covers medicines three primary weaknesses and how traditional Chinese medicine helps us overcome them.

  • It is reductionist, not holistic, meaning it tends to see individual symptoms as diseases without regard to overall health.
  • It is mechanist, not vitalistic, meaning it tends to view the body as a machine and fails to take into account the mental and emotional state of the person and how it is affecting their physical health.
  • It is also treatment-oriented, rather than prevention-oriented, meaning we treat people after they get sick, rather than trying to help them get healthy and stay healthy.

Traditional systems of medicine, like traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) have much to teach us because they tend to be more holisitc, vitalistic and prevention-oriented, as we'll show you in this course. In it, you'll learn six healing principles from TCM:

  • Life and health are based on energy
  • Balance is the key to health.
  • In order to be effective, a therapy must balance the body's energies.
  • Treatment should focus on the person, not the disease.
  • Your constitution influences the types of illnesses you are prone to.
  • Balancing constitution is the long term solution to maintaining health.

As we cover the basic concepts of TCM, I'll demystify the concepts of qi, yin and yang, shen, jing, blood and the five elements, making them clear and easy to understand. We'll talk about the  body's energy channels or meridians and how they relate to the five elements and other TCM concepts. You'll learn about how to balance the energy of the meridians using herbs and lifestyle changes, something that can be done to bring your body back into balance when you are sick, but can also be used to help keep you healthy by balancing your inherent constitution.

We'll also discuss why people feel worse at some times of the day and better at others and how understanding the functions of the various meridians function can help.. They are also more active at different times of the year.

At the end of the class, you'll understand:

  • The meridian channels of the body and the primary organ systems they affect
  • How to identify which meridian channels are out of balance and what to do to balance them for healing and prevention
  • How to use the times of day and seasons of the year to determine how your body is out of balance, and what to do to fix this
  • How to identify your basic constitutional imbalance and strengthen your constitution to keep you healthy
  • Seventeen Chinese formulas and a number of single Chinese herbs you can use to restore and maintain your health.

Traditional approaches to aromatherapy rely on memorizing long lists of oils and the various problems for which they can be used. Steven's energetic approach frees you from this dogmatic method by focusing on the eight basic actions of essential oils and 16 basic aromas that provide these actions. Understanding these help you apply essential oils in new and exciting ways.

To do this Steven will share his 30+ years of experience with essential oils explaining how to energetically balance the body physically, mentally and emotionally. He'll cover the aromas and energetics of 50 different essential oils and fragrances. He'll also discuss their healing properties (antidepressant, antispasmodic, cicatrisant, nervine, etc.). The specific effects of various oils will also be discussed in detail, along with their safe use for topical, internal and emotional applications.

In this class, I discuss the dynamic balance between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system responses and how to use herbs and essential oils to bring the nervous system into balance. I discuss pupil tonus (the size and shape of the pupil in the eye) as a completely dependable way to access nervous system balance so you know exactly the right kinds of herbs and essential oils to use for each person.

I explain how you tell the difference between a child (or adult) who is just stressed (sympathetic dominance) and one who is truly ADHD (parasympathetic dominance) and what to do about each imbalance. This is extremely powerful and useful information. It will help you become more effective in helping children and adults who have nervous system problems like hyperactivity, ADHD, anxiety, and depression.

In this three-part webinar, Steven Horne is going to show you how to work with a person to identify root causes and develop effective natural healing strategies for that person, using ten chronic health problems as examples. Here is what you'll learn in each of the sessions: 

In session one you'll learn why developing a healing strategy is so important and how to formulate one. We'll cover three problems related to the respiratory and immune systems: allergies, autoimmune disorders, asthma and COPD.

In session two you'll learn about four important health issues related to the nervous system: anxiety, depression, stress and headaches, including migraines.

In session three you'll learn about three more chronic health problems: arthritis, hypertension and low thyroid. We'll also summarize what we've learn and discuss how you apply this information to diseases you've never heard of and you can't find in any natural healing books.


In this class, Steven Horne is going to focus on some of the hidden gems in NSP's product line. Products Steven doesn't want people to forget about in their excitement over what's new. As a supplier of independent, third-party educational materials about NSP for nearly 30 years, Steven is very familiar with what these products do and how they can help people, which makes him well qualified to reintroduce them to new NSP Managers and to refresh the excitement around them to NSP Managers who have been around for a while.

An Introduction to Field Botany

Many years ago, while hiking in the mountains of Utah I ran into a family with a little girl who had been stung by a bee above her left eye. The eye was nearly swollen shut and we were about a mile and half away from the trail head. I told the parents I was an herbalist and offered to help, which they allowed. I was able to pick one of the plants growing nearby and make a quick fresh-plant poultice which took the swelling down very rapidly.

I don't remember what plant I used, but I've done this with several different plants on various occasions. It's a wonderful feeling to know that you are surrounded by numerous plants that can be used to treat various health problems in an emergency situation where medical help is not readily available.

While I don't have time to harvest all my own herbs and make all my own herbal preparations, it's comforting to know that if I had to, I could. In fact, it was studying outdoor survival and emergency preparedness that initially lead me into herbs.

Which is why I'm going to offer an updated version of a class we offered several years ago, An Introduction to Field Botany. I want other people to have the security of knowing how to find local plants they can use as medicine, too.

Even if you primarily use commercial herbal products in helping others, like I do, there are two reasons why you should consider this class.

First, you acquire a deeper appreciation for and understanding of herbal medicine when you come to know herbs as living plants, not just names on a bottle. You develop a greater intuitive feel for when it's appropriate to use them and why they work.

Second, think of how good it will feel knowing that you can never be shut off from your supply of herbal medicines. If health care costs continue to rise or there is any kind of emergency situation where help is not readily available, think of how wonderful it will be to know what herbs you can collect from your local area to help yourselves and others.

In the eight lessons in this course, you'll learn skills of basic plant identification and how to recognize and use numerous plants in all the major botanical families. You'll not only receive about 90-120 minutes of webinar instruction in each class, you'll also have access to online quizzes and learning activities to help you master the material. Plus, I'll keep adding new materials and resources to the course, which you can access as they become available.

This course guides a person through the basics of running a natural health consulting business. It is recommended for the Certified Herbal Consultant program, the Certified Emotional Healing Coach program and the IIPA Iridology program.