Complementary therapies - Bach flower remedies

Monday's health tip for this week is a short introduction to Bach flower remedies which is a complementary therapy used alongside homeopathy.

Bach flower remedies are 38 flower essences that were originally discovered as a natural method of healing by Dr. Edward Bach, around 1930, in England. These remedies are made from wildflowers. The essence is extracted either by boiling in water or by steeping in sunlight. Bach flower remedies work by removing negative emotions and they are mostly used for emotional issues like fear, nervousness, panic attacks, grief, stress, worry, indecision etc, which disturb the equilibrium of the vital energy in the body. Once the equilibrium is maintained, the vital energy is able to take care of itself and progress into healing. Bach flower remedies are safe to take at any stage of life, including pregnancy and delivery, when a woman goes through many emotions at once. They are also useful for children, who often express fear of new things, shyness, tantrums, or difficulty with adjusting to a new sibling or a new school. Animals also express many emotions, and Bach flower remedies are useful with animals too. They fall into three groups:

1. The 12 healers - These are the remedies that describe the kind of person you are.The remedies are - Agrimony, Centaury, Cerato, Chicory, Clematis, Gentian, Impatiens, Mimulus, Rock rose, Scleranthus, Vervain, Water violet.

Impatiens 

 2. The 7 helpers - These are remedies for chronic conditions, which describe how you have become accustomed to dealing with life. Gorse, Heather, Oak, Olive, Rock water, Vine, Wild oat.

3. The 2nd 19 - These remedies correspond to emotional issues of everyday life, and each remedy has a positive and negative aspect. The natural vibrations of the flowers are the positive state, and in illness, the negative state is seen. An ill person is given a particular flower remedy by matching his symptoms with that of the flower. This concept is very similar to the homeopathic concept of 'Like cures like', but one or up to five flower remedies may be used (unlike in homeopathy where only a single remedy is recommended at one time). Remedies in the 2nd 19 are Aspen, Beech, Cherry plum, Chestnut bud, Crab apple, Elm, Holly, Honeysuckle, Hornbeam, Larch, Mustard, Pine, Red chestnut, Star of Bethlehem, Sweet chestnut, Walnut, White chestnut, Wild rose, Willow. 

4. First aid - A combination of five flower remedies is called Rescue Remedy and is useful in any kind of stressful situation ranging from nervousness before an exam to shock upon hearing bad news. The five remedies used are Cherry Plum, Clematis, Impatiens, Rock rose, and Star of Bethlehem. This is a very good remedy to have on hand for everyday stressful situations. It can also be given to children when they have slight anxiety like on the first day of school or to help them adjust to a new place.

Update - I'm updating this post because a reader sent me a question - "How are Bach flower remedies given?' It is a very good question and I'm sorry I did not post that information here earlier.

Bach flower remedies are available as liquids. They do not have any potency number next to their names, like homeopathic remedies have. Bach flower remedies are taken by mixing 4 drops of the liquid in 4 oz (around 100 ml) water and sipping this water 4-6 times a day. The solution is to be discarded at the end of the day and a new solution has to be made for the next day. Repetition of the doses depends on the person's response to a remedy. In general, when a positive response is observed, the remedy is to be stopped. If symptoms return, the same procedure is followed until a positive change is seen.



Image courtesy: ggalice CC license