What is flower essence therapy?
When you first hear the term “Flower Therapy,” it conjures up an image of someone providing therapy to a flower. Ironically enough, it is the exact opposite. It is an ancient botanical healing modality that remedies emotional imbalances and provides emotional healing. Unlike traditional medicine, which focuses on suppressing emotions, flower essence therapy naturally brings an individual into emotional equilibrium. It remedies the root of the issue that caused the emotional disarray. Some common misconceptions are that flower essences are the same as essential oils or herbal tinctures. While you can certainly find all 3 of these in the same section of the health food shop, they have fundamental differences. Herbs and essential oils rely on physical substances extracted from the plant as their active ingredient. Flower essences do not contain biological substances of plant material. Flower essences have the vibrational frequency of the flowering portion of the plant. So the active ingredient is its plant consciousness. And unlike essential oils, flower essences contain no scent. So, for example, rose flower essence will not smell like roses. And unlike herbal tinctures commonly grouped with other alternative therapies, flower essence therapy is known as a complementary therapy. You can use flower essences alongside any other form of medicine because flower essences have no contraindications, and they are not known to trigger allergies.
What are flower essences?
Flower essences are a vibrational infusion of flowers stabilized in natural spring water. Every flower has a vibrational frequency that carries healing properties & information about a specific theme, such as anxiety, confidence, jealousy, feelings of abandonment, and more. Heat can imprint a flower’s healing information into the spring water. When ingested regularly in the form of flower essence, one can achieve emotional healing from the root of the issue. Flower essences work similarly to the law of resonance. The universe is in a constant vibratory state, and everything has a vibrational frequency. When two objects or two people come together, they will influence and affect the vibration of the other. Think of when you walk into a room and get a bad feeling about someone, or the energy in a room feels tense or uncomfortable. You are picking up on the vibration in the room. Things like love and joy will have a higher frequency than things like hate or fear. As a result, love will be more “contagious” than hate. Flowers are high-frequency living beings. Suppose you expose yourself to the healing vibration of a flower long enough. In that case, you will begin to resonate at the same unique frequency as that flower. The flowers’ high vibrational state will be contagious to you, so to speak. Indigenous Australians had an interesting practice that describes this concept well. If someone had an emotional imbalance that needed healing, as a part of a healing ritual, they would dig a large hole in the ground and fill it with specific flowers related to their emotional issue. They would then put the person in the hole, using heat and water to create a sauna-like effect. The person would stay in the hole overnight to be constantly exposed to the flowers. The heat and water would activate the flower’s healing potential and infuse the person in the hole with healing for their emotions.
Dr. Edward Bach
While flower essences have been around since the times of the Ancient Egyptians, they were popularized by a notable British Physician from the 1900s named Dr. Edward Bach. He is the father of modern-day flower essence therapy. Bach flower therapy is alive and well to this day. Dr. Bach discovered what we now know as the Bach Flower Remedies, of which Rescue Remedy is the most famous. Crisis Intervention in The Flower Apothecary Range works similarly to Rescue Remedy. Dr. Bach believed all flowers have healing qualities that could be used to help people who have fallen out of alignment with their highest potential. Dr. Bach has said, “Health depends on being in harmony with our soul.” Dr. Bach further advocated that disease is a product of the personality and the soul being in conflict. This internal struggle leads to emotional imbalances and disharmony, which leads to physical disease.
This leads to a commonly asked question: Does flower essence therapy treat physical pain or disease like carpal tunnel syndrome? Does it treat cancer? It is widely accepted that flower essences do not directly remedy physical pain or physical disease. However, they do help remedy feelings and emotions that arise as a result of physical ailments. They also help support the immune system by lowering stress levels.
When do you take flower essences?
Flower essences work their best when you are at your worst. Take flower essences when you feel stressed, anxious, or sad. You can also take them after a break-up, during therapy, or as a part of any healing journey. However, you do not need to be sick or feel inadequate to take flower essences. Flower essences have a place in everyone’s self-care routine. Just as you brush your take, take your flower essences! One of the best times to use flower essences is during pregnancy and postpartum. Since they are all-natural, they are safe to use when pregnant and breastfeeding. In fact, midwives in England have been using flower essences to help women in the birthing process for over 100 years. They are also helpful for postpartum blues. They are also safe for use by children.
There are so many ways to use and make flower essences. Flower remedies can be used topically via skin cream or mist, or they can be added to a bath. The most popular way is the take 4 drops 4 times a day directly in your mouth or in a beverage of choice. It doesn’t matter if the beverage is cold or hot. An easy way to get the 16 drops daily is to add them to a water bottle you carry all day long. The two most important doses are the morning dose and the evening dose. So if 4 drops 4 times a day seems too tedious or is something you will likely forget. Put them by your bedside and take 4 drops right when you wake up and 4 drops right before bed.
Do you need professional advice on which flower essences to take?
There are two approaches available to take. Firstly, many flower essences can be purchased that have been created by professional flower essence therapists. The Flower Apothecary line is formulated by a psychologist and certified flower essence therapist. These ready-to-go products will remedy common problems like low self-esteem, stress, fears, etc. The second option is to get a consultation from a flower essence therapist. These consultations will look a lot like therapy sessions. Only the end goal will be to develop a custom flower remedy that will address the issues specific to your personal situation. It’s nice to have options; you should see which option you are most comfortable with.
How long does it take for them to work?
Generally, you will start noticing a difference in how you feel from 1-3 days. However, seeing noticeable results can sometimes take 3-4 weeks. The rule of thumb is that you should take a flower essence 1 month for every year you have had the problem. So the longer you have had the problem, the longer it is recommended you stay on the flower essence. To gauge how the flower essence works, pay attention to how you react to people and situations. You will notice that you will begin reacting differently than usual. So, for example, if you usually get angry with someone who seems to be working slowly, you will notice you don’t get angry with them anymore. Or, if you typically feel panicked by deadlines, you may see that you are calm around a deadline. The most exciting aspect of your changed behavior is that you don’t have to try to change yourself. The dysfunction will just gradually dissipate.
A Story of a boy who worried about sharks coming up the bathtub drain
Sometimes it’s helpful to hear a flower essence success story. There was once a 7-year-old boy afraid of taking baths because he was convinced sharks could come up the bathtub drain. No matter how much his parents reassured him this was impossible, he was still fearful. His mother gave him Fearless by The Flower Apothecary. She reported that after 3 weeks, his fear of the bathtub disappeared. He no longer worried sharks would come up the drain.
Randomized clinical trial
Several studies have been published on flower essence therapy.
Effects of Bach Rescue remedy on cardiac autonomic balance in healthy women
S Yang, Y Wang* From International Research Congress on Integrative Medicine and Health 2012 Portland, Oregon, USA. 15-18 May 2012
Conclusion: “This is the first study using a double-blind, randomized crossover design to evaluate the effect of Bach Rescue remedy on heart rate variability in healthy women. Increased parasympathetic activity and decreased sympathetic activity were observed in individuals receiving the Bach Rescue remedy. These changes may explain the stress relieving effect of Bach Rescue remedy.”
ADHD and children’s study
ORAL FLOWER ESSENCES FOR ADHD
Mehta, Satwant Kaur B.S.
Penn State Hershey Medical Center
Monroeville, PA
A pilot study on the use of flower essences in children with a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder showed them effective in reducing inattention and hyperactivity as measured by 2 Attention Rating Scales. The flower essences used were: rescue remedy (a combination of impatiens, clematis, star of Bethlehem, cherry plum, and rock rose), vervain, crab apple, and walnut. They randomly administered these flower essences or a placebo to 10 children aged 5 to 12 years who were being admitted to partial hospitalization at Penn State Hershey Medical Center. After 3 months on the flower essences, three of the five children in the placebo group had moved to inpatient hospitalization. In contrast, three of the five children were functioning well and off all medication in the flower essence group. The remaining four children in the study (two in the placebo group and two in the flower essence group) were at intermediate levels of functioning, taking medication as outpatients.
Flower essence therapy is gaining more popularity as people look to remedy their emotional issues naturally and less invasively. Flowers have energetic qualities, and these qualities have the potential to heal emotions naturally. Flower essence therapy has been around since ancient times and is not something new and fleeting. At The Flower Apothecary, we love flower essences and believe flowers can heal.