This is a list of people in alternative medicine who are notable for developing, founding, inventing, promoting, practicing, marketing, commentating or researching on alternative medicine.

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A

  • Albert Abrams – inventor of Electronic Reactions of Abrams "technology", dynomizer, oscilloclast and radioclast.
  • F. Matthias Alexander – founder of the Alexander Technique, a movement retraining process.
  • C. A. Ansar – Indian alternative medical practitioner
  • Guillermo Arévalo Valera – Shipibo writer, vegetalista, and exponent of Amazonian traditional medicine

B

  • Edward Bach – Founder of flower essence therapy and the Bach flower remedies.
  • William Horatio Bates – Founder of the Bates method alternative approach to eyesight improvement.
  • Henry G. Bieler – American physician and author of Food is Your Best Medicine, known for diet-based healing and treatment of Hollywood celebrities.
  • Ty Bollinger - Co-founder of The Truth About Cancer, promoter of ineffective cancer cures.
  • Paul Bragg – Known for the Bragg Health Crusades, the Bragg Healthy Lifestyle, deep breathing, water fasts, organic foods, juicing and listening to one's body.

C

  • Charaka – One of the founders of Ayurveda.
  • Deepak Chopra – Endocrinologist and Ayurvedic Medicine Practitioner, author of popular books on health and spirituality.
  • Nicholas Culpeper – English physician, author of the early seventeenth century Culpeper's Herbal.

E

  • Mary Baker Eddy – Founder of Christian Science, which advocates Christian healing.

F

  • Moshé Feldenkrais – Inventor of the Feldenkrais method.

G

  • Irene Gauthier – One of the founders of the field of Myomassology.
  • Sylvester Graham – Known for Graham Crackers and founded Grahamism.
  • Stanislav Grof – One of the founders of the field of transpersonal psychology and founder of Holotropic Breathwork.

H

  • Samuel Hahnemann – Founded homeopathy.
  • Michael Harner – Synthesized shamanic beliefs and practices from all over the world into a system now known as neoshamanism.
  • Gustav Hemwall – Prolotherapy injection proponent.

J

  • Stan Jones – Promoter of colloidal silver, which has permanently turned his skin a blue-gray color.
  • Adolf Just – Late 19th/Early 20th century German naturopath. Advocate for the "Nature Cure" movement.

K

  • John Harvey Kellogg – Promoter of colon therapy at the Battle Creek Sanatorium in Battle Creek, Michigan.
  • Will Keith Kellogg – Inventor of corn flakes in 1894 and manager of the Battle Creek Sanitarium.
  • Sebastian Kneipp – Bavarian priest who began the Nature Cure movement (1890s). Chiefly known for his contributions to hydrotherapy.
  • Louis Kuhne – Promoter of hydrotherapy, especially hip and sitz baths.

L

  • George Lewith – UK advocate for alternative medicine and professor at Southampton University.
  • Pehr Henrik Ling – Swedish pioneer of physical education. Falsely credited as the Father of Swedish Massage (that credit goes to Johann Georg Mezger).
  • Benedict Lust – Founder of naturopathic medicine in the United States. Purchased the rights to the term "naturopathy" from John Scheel.

M

  • Maria Sabina – Mexican healer, mystic leader of Mazatec people, curandero specializing in the native psilocybe mushrooms.
  • Caroline Myss – American medical intuitive, mystic and author.

N

  • Devi Nambudripad – Founder of NAET, controversial allergy treatment.

O

  • Leonard Orr – Developed Rebirthing.
  • David Orme-Johnson – Researcher and proponent of Transcendental Meditation technique.

P

  • Daniel Palmer – Founder of chiropractic.
  • B. J. Palmer – Son of D.D. Palmer and known as the "developer" of chiropractic.
  • Linus Pauling – Coined the term "orthomolecular medicine," the controversial use of Vitamin C and other megavitamin therapies. Pauling was however not a general supporter of alternative medicine.
  • Fritz Perls – Founder of Gestalt Therapy.
  • Vincent Priessnitz – One of the founders of hydrotherapy.

R

  • Wilhelm Reich – Founder of Orgonomy.
  • Ida P. Rolf – Founder of Rolfing Structural Integration, the first bodywork that attempted to change posture.

S

  • Charlotte Selver – Introduced the concept of sensory awareness for movement education and healing, which influenced many health disciplines during the Human Potential Movement.
  • Herbert Shelton – Founded the Natural Hygiene movement.
  • Bernie Siegel – American MD and author who promotes cultivating one's attitude toward healing.
  • Rudolf Steiner – Founded anthroposophical medicine.
  • David Stephan - Speaker at health and wellness expos where he promotes Truehope Nutritional Support supplements.
  • Andrew Taylor Still – Founded osteopathy, a manual therapy practice.

T

  • Samuel Thomson – 19th century herbalist, founded Thomsonian Medicine.
  • Mabel Todd – Founded Ideokinesis, a form of somatic education, in the 1930s.
  • Mohammad Ali Taheri – founder of two complementary medicines Faradarmani and Psymentology.

U

  • Mikao Usui – Founded Reiki during the early twentieth century in Japan.

W

  • Andrew Weil – Founder of Integrative Medicine and author.
  • Darrell Wolfe – Founder of The Wolfe Clinic
  • J. R. Worsley – Founder of Five Elements school of acupuncture.
  • Frances Wright – Active in the American Popular Health Movement of the 1830s and 40s.
  • P. K. Warrier – Indian Ayurvedic physician who received Padma Bhushan in 2010.

Y

  • Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) – Historically credited as the founder of traditional Chinese medicine.
  • Maharishi Mahesh Yogi – Founder of Transcendental Meditation.

References