Natural Therapies - Flower Remedies

Bach Flower Advisor Del Eagle has trained with the well-known author and flower essence expert Julian Barnard at his centre near Abergavenny, South Wales. She has held workshops and private consultations, helping many individuals discover the subtle but powerful ways that flower essences work.

Bach Flower Essences are a very simple method of healing. They work in a gentle and subtle way to help us cope with the emotional states encountered in our daily lives. Anxiety, fear, guilt, insecurity and many other emotional issues can be greatly helped with this gentle method of healing.

A flower essence or remedy is the energy of the flower captured in water. It is not a herbal tincture or a homeopathic remedy. The energy of the sun transfers the life force of the flower to the water, the water receives the life force of the flower.

The essences, individually or in combination, act on the emotional levels, which Dr Edward Bach (1886-1936) considered to be the place where problems, either emotional or physical, originate. Each of the remedy states that Dr Bach described has a positive and a negative aspect – he saw the negative conditions as the true cause of illness and disease. The flowers embody the positive state – their natural vibrations help us to be happy and to return to health.

Edward Bach was born in Birmingham in 1886. He trained as a doctor and bacteriologist, and developed an interest in investigating the role of chronic disease. His research led him to believe that there are clear personality types that relate to various patterns of ill-health, irrespective of the physical symptoms being presented by the patient.

Bach gave up his successful medical practice in London to search for a simpler method of healing. Near Abergavenny in South Wales, he found his first three plants, Impatience, Mimulus and Clematis. He subsequently found 38 remedies in all from 1928-1935. He died at the age of 50 on 27 November 27 1936.

Stock bottles of Bach flower essences are available in good health stores nationwide. It is important to ask your health store assistant, for a ‘stock bottle’, as some brands are not sold in this form, and may be already diluted.

Put two drops from your chosen stock bottle into a small glass of water, and sip frequently, at least four times per day. Two drops in a 30ml dropper bottle can be carried in a pocket or bag. Up to six remedies can be mixed together.

Some health stores offer a pre-mixing service, which is less expensive for short-term use than buying a separate stock bottle of each remedy. However stock bottles are themselves extremely good value, lasting for a number of years.

The original ‘Rescue Remedy’ (also known as Five Flower) contains Star of Bethlehem, Rock Rose, Impatiens, Cherry Plum, Clematis, and is the most well-known of the remedies.

It is useful for many stressful situations encountered in modern life. Visits to the dentist, fear of flying, job interviews, and of course exams are examples of times when people take Rescue Remedy. Pre-exam nerves are helped by combining four drops of Five Flower with two drops of Larch (lack of confidence) in a glass of water sipped throughout the day. Five Flower remedy, Exam mixture, Stress and Sleep mixtures are currently also available in spray and pillule form from your local independent health store. The remedies in pillule form are especially useful for those who need to avoid alcohol.

Five Flower Cream is really useful for minor skin irritations, nappy rash and soreness.

The remedies can be used internally, externally and for babies, small children, animals and even plants. Many pet owners have found them particularly useful for timid, injured or traumatised pets. These simple and gentle essences will help you to help yourself, to bring harmony, happiness and health.

CASE CONFIDENTIAL: Flower essences are good for my mind

‘Anna’ is 31 and lives in Dublin

I like using flower essences because they are good for helping me to recover from some difficult emotional experiences I had in the past with my parents. My past was difficult, but since I started using flower essences I am able to keep my emotions under control.

I decided to look for something more natural to treat general hormone inbalance problems. In general I think it’s better to use natural ways to get your hormones into a more balanced state.

I get bad PMS and it can make me irritable, sensitive and moody during that time in the month. So I take five drops of rock rose or cherry plum in 5ml of water three times a day until I feel better.

I use rock rose because it’s helpful if you are lacking confidence and fearful. It gives natural support to people facing challenges in their life and boosts their courage and inner strength. Cherry plum is good for helping to keep the mind in a positive and calm state and promoting peace and balance.

I also use milk thistle in a tincture because it cleans the liver and is linked to hormones in the body. And I take a reishi mushroom powder which is good for the immune system and hormone balance. I find that natural remedies such as these keep me more balanced.

Del Eagle can be contacted at deleagle1@eircom.net

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