Supporting Women's Health and Happiness with Flower Essences

Many folks have heard of the famous 'Rescue Remedy', a blend of flower essences designed to reduce the stress of the user in tense or traumatic situations - and this formula works wonders for many people. Beyond this remedy, popular knowledge of flower essences is somewhat limited. The scope of flower essence therapy is actually extremely wide, with remedies addressing a great variety of psychological, emotional and spiritual states. Here we'll have a look at flower essences addressing 'conditions' shared by many women - remedies that may help you become more comfortable with your feminine 'power' and help you truly shine within and without!

First, a little primer on flower essences - What are they and how do they work? Imagine the brilliance of a fresh flower in bloom; it's lovely colors and vibrancy. Each flower has it own vibration, so to speak. The size, the shape, the color, the season in which it blooms, how often and for how long, etc. (Here, to get a little more esoteric, western science and eastern philosophy consider that all matter is pure energy - we simply perceive it as solid. One form of matter is distinguished from another by the vibrational pattern of the energy, which holds true when comparing one flower to another). A flower essence is really specially prepared sun flower tea. Water, it turns out, is very 'imprintable' with vibration, and thus can store the vibrational pattern of a flower. What does this mean for us humans? Well, each emotional or psychological pattern has a unique vibration, too. Flower essences have the ability to help us transform emotional or psychological patterns that may be holding us back or making us unhappy, into new, healthy patterns of living by infusing our energy with the beauty and energy of a particular flower (or flowers) suited to our condition. Here are a few essences which may help the divine feminine in reaching it's potential within you.

Alpine Lily Flower Essence: This remedy can support the acceptance of the female body, allowing the spirited female soul to truly inhabit their earthly body. Through signals from our culture or from their family, women may be uncomfortable with their bodies, perhaps rejecting the strictly feminine aspects as 'wrong' or 'bad'. This can lead to inner conflict, emotional distress, and eventually in the physical manifestation of a disease. Alpine Lily strengthens the confidence of the feminine spirit in the female body, allowing a blossoming of feminine radiance in this earthly incarnation.

Pomegranate Flower Essence: This remedy supports the expression of warm hearted feminine creativity at home or in the world. It has been used as an important remedy for nearly all 'women's issues', clearing negative emotions. This clearing can have dramatic effects where health issues are involved, as we now know the emotional state is closely tied to physical health. Pomegranate is also used as an aphrodisiac for women, alleviating insecurity related to one's sexual self. This allows confident connection to the sexual chakra, allowing freedom of expression through this channel. Pomegranate is thought to accentuate all aspects of femininity; visualizing feminine confidence may be useful when taking the essence to reveal it's full effect.

Hibiscus Flower Essence: Hibiscus can support return to a healthy state of heart and mind for women who have been sexually traumatized. It may also be of great benefit to the modern woman who has consciously or unconsciously absorbed the negative impressions of dehumanized sexuality. The flower is a great expression of beauty - the essence brings a flowing warmth through the body and soul, particularly healing to repressed or damaged sexual psychology.

Beech Flower Essence: One of the original 38 flower essences developed by Dr. Edward Bach in the 1930's, Beech supports tolerance and acceptance of others by allowing one's own self-confidence to unfold. Often, if one has grown up in an environment of criticism and harsh expectation they feel inwardly vulnerable and insecure. This is often expressed later in life through harsh speech and critism of others. Beech can also lessen the oversensitivity someone growing up in such an environment may have, tending to continue being overcritical of themselves - as above, this in turn will lessen reflecting this onto others.

Sunflower Flower Essence: Sunflower may bring a bright, strong sense of individuality, and allow this individual persona to shine forth in the world. It is often used as a remedy where the relationship with the father figure in one's life has been difficult, resulting in a repression of one's joy and light. Sunflower will also bring balance where insecurity instead manifests through self-glory and aggrandizement. Here, sunflower brings out the quality of warmth and loving compassion. In general, sunflower heals a woman's distortion's or disturbances in their relationship to the masculine, often associated with a conflicted relationship with their father in childhood.

While these essences are some of those often used by women for their healing, there are many others. Guides are available on the internet and in print to help you find other flower remedies that may support your particular condition. Flower essences are safe, and not contraindicated with any medical treatment, and may be an effective adjunct by healing one's emotions or psyche. This can support the most important component of natural health and wellness - the power of a positive mind and happy heart.

Misty Rae Cech, ND is a degreed naturopath with a professional practice in Boulder, Colorado, with a focus on women's health. She is the owner of the The Ananda Apothecary, a resource for a wide range of flower essences, essential oils, therapeutic blends and aromatherapy supplies.