Flower Remedies Therapy, What is Flower Remedy?, Principles, Effectiveness

Among the various alternative medicines being widely used in the world today, the flower remedies have a special place. These remedies are not as popular as their nearest rivals, like homeopathy or Ayurveda, but they are distinct in their own way. This article sheds more light on what flower remedies are.

Flower remedies are natural extracts of flowers that can be used for the treatment of various ailments in human beings. These extracts are not used in concentrated form. Their amount in solution is just enough to have the desired effects. For this reason, the preparation of flower remedies is not an easy job. A lot of skill and knowledge is required to prepare an effective flower remedy.

Flower remedy is very similar to homeopathy. However, the methods of preparation are markedly different. Flower remedies are prepared in a more stringent manner than homeopathic preparations. This is done in a bid to make the flower remedies more effective than the homeopathic ones.

The original flower remedies were discovered and perfected by Dr. Edward Bach, the prominent English botanist. Dr. Edward Bach was a homeopathic practitioner till he discovered the power of flower essences in treatment of several human problems. This led him to devote the rest of his life in the development of flower remedies. Dr. Bach prepared thirty-eight flower remedies. Today, these are known as the Bach Flower Remedies. However, with the passage of time, herbalists and botanists from all over the world have found out the potencies of several other flowers and made their own remedies. Generally, the extracts developed by the people other than Dr. Bach are called as Flower Essences.

The principle behind the development of flower remedies was put forward by Dr. Bach himself. The principle incorporates the theory of positive and negative energies that influence the human body. Diseases in the body are caused due to negative energies that conflict with the human soul. A healthy person’s soul will be able to channel itself in such a manner that it will keep all the negative energies at bay. In a diseased person, the flower remedies can achieve the same task. The extracts have the potency to convert the negative energies into positive energies, so that the diseases can be prevented.

Thus, it can be said that flower remedies work more at a mental than at a physical level. Flower remedies will not be effective in removing the external symptoms directly. But it will work at the root of the disease and treat the condition. Thus, flower remedies will be a slow method of treatment, but the effects would be more lasting.

There are two methods of preparing flower remedies, both of which were developed by Dr. Bach himself. Both the methods can be collectively called as potentization. It is in the method of preparation of flower remedies that the basic difference lies with homeopathy.

(1) Sun Method – Dr. Bach was sure that the curative properties of plants are localized in the flower-heads. Expanding this principle, he felt sure that the dew that collects on the flowers also possesses some of the curative properties. In order to give veracity to his thoughts, he actually collected the dew of several flowers and tested them. He found that the essence of the flowers was present in the dewdrops also; but it was more potent in the dewdrops that were exposed to the sun.

But it is not practically possible to collect so many dewdrops. Hence, the practical method is to place the flowers in a jar containing clear water of streams and keep it standing in the sun. After a few hours, the extracts of the flowers pass out into the water.

(2) Boiling Method – Boiling is a variation of the sun method. Here the flower is placed in a jar containing clear water and it is boiled. The extracts of the flowers pass out into the waters. The boiling method is used for the flowers that are not very sensitive to heat.

The thirty eight remedies developed by Dr. Bach are still in very common use; but new remedies are being developed with great rapidity. Flower remedies are supposed to be very effective in the treatment of mental disorders that could manifest themselves in physical symptoms. There are flower remedies for almost all kinds of problems with the human mind.

The following table lists the names of some popular flower remedies and shows how they are effective in the treatment of several ailments in the human body.

	Flower Remedy	Flower Extract is Beneficial for
	Agrimony	People who have hidden worries in their mind. These internal tensions could be the root cause of some disease.
	Aspen	Removing fear of unknown things from a person’s mind.
	Beech	People who are intolerant of changes in their surroundings.
	Bleeding Heart	People who are reconciling themselves with the loss of someone near and dear.
	Centaury	People who cannot refuse others. This could lead them to abuse their own bodies.
	Cerato	Makes people more confident which enables them to make decisions.
	Cherry Plum	Acts like an antidepressant for people who suspect their mind is giving away.
	Chestnut Buds	People using chestnut bud flowers remedies gain the innate capacity to learn from their own failings.
	Chicory	People who are too possessive of people and things.
	Clematis	People who dream too much about their future, but don’t act in the present.
	Crab Apple	Frees the body of internal toxins.
	Elm	People who are scared of taking responsibilities.
	Gentian	People who are not confident about their own abilities.
	Gorse	People who are always depressed about their position in life, and are shrouded with hopelessness.
	Heather	People who always wish to be with company can learn to live better with the flower remedy of heather.
	Holly	People who bear too much hatred against others.
	Honeysuckle	People who do not wish to let go of their pasts.
	Hornbeam	People who are too tired and always in the habit of procrastinating.
	Impatiens	People who are too dynamic for their own good.
	Larch	People who are timid can overcome their shyness with this remedy.
	Mimulus	People who are unreasonably scared of natural phenomena.
	Mustard	People who become temperamental and gloomy for no apparent reason.
	Oak	People who exert themselves more than their capacities.
	Olive	People who are recuperating from a long illness.
	Pine	People who have a perpetual guilty conscience.
	Pink Yarrow	People who are coming to terms with some kind of loss in their lives.
	Rock Rose	People who are petrified of seemingly harmless things.
	Rock Water	People who are too staunch in dealing with themselves.
	Scleranthus	People who are at a loss when it comes to dealing with options.
	Star of Bethlehem	People who have suffered from very serious trauma.
	Sweet Chestnut	People who think they have done everything and still nothing seems to work.
	Tiger Lily	People who are extremely aggressive.
	Vervain	People who are hyperactive.
	Water Violet	People who are very proud and therefore not quite friendly with others.
	Walnut	People who are undergoing some transition in their lives.
	White Chestnut	People who harbor unwanted thoughts in their minds.
	Wild Oats	People who are like the proverbial rolling stones and are never settling down.
	Willow	People who are bearing grudges against someone.

Despite the fact that flower remedies are not substantiated by any clinical studies, they have become extremely popular, especially in the western world. Several Hollywood personalities like Salma Hayek and Cate Blanchett use these remedies regularly, and they swear as to their effectiveness.

Today, there are several institutions all over the world that are preparing and developing flower remedies constantly. At a rough estimate, there are about four hundred such institutions all over the world. These institutions are spread all over the world, but the notable countries of their presence are Great Britain, America, Brazil and India. Great Britain has the largest number of flower remedy institutions. For every eight flower remedy institutions worldwide, one is located in Great Britain.

The development of new flower remedies takes place mainly through a ‘find and develop’ kind of approach. That is, someone may claim the curative properties of a particular flower remedy, and then other people would venture to prove the claim. Due to this, most claims that are lacking scientific grounding are also verified. Sometimes, the results may prove an affirmative answer even though the flower remedy may actually not be beneficial in general.

The medical fraternity is still dubious as to the effectiveness of these flower remedies, though they were discovered more than a century ago and are in use ever since. The medical professionals feel that the flower remedies work mostly as a placebo effect. That is, people using them want them to be effective and so these remedies work. There is no medical justification to the effectiveness.

No discussion on flower remedies can be complete without a mention of the Rescue Remedy - , which is the most popular flower remedy in the world today. This preparation is a carefully prepared blend of five flowers – cherry plum, clematis, impatiens, rock rose and the star of Bethlehem. Hence, it possesses the curative properties of all these five flower remedies. The Rescue Remedy - is like taking the benefits of five flower essences and packaging them inside a single bottle.

Manufacturers of Rescue Remedy - claim that it can be used in the following situations:-

Rescue Remedy - is generally available in a bottle form. This is quite convenient and is very popularly used worldwide. However, it is also available in the form of creams and sprays.

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