Bach Flower Remedies

Dr Mansoor Ali
Govt. Homeopathic Medical College. Calicut.Kerala

Dr. Edward Bach , MRCS , LRCP qualified at university college hospital London. He became the causality medical officer and the bacteriologist in Harley street. There after he studied Homoeopathy and practiced it .

Due to its laborious and time consuming process for finding the similimum, due to the problem of potency, repetition, potency etc he discarded Homoeopathy practice , he wandered in to the forests, hills, woods in search of herbals . Between the year 1930-1936 he founded perfected and put in to use a system of medicine as simple as it has proved effective.

In this system there are only 38 remedies .
There is no potency problem or repetition problem.

                                           A COMPARATIVE STUDY
  Homoeopathy                                                               Flower remedies
1. Thousands of medicines in various potencies scales                            Only 38 remedies
2. Elaborate reportorisation
3. Side effects are produced if wrong medicines or higher potencies are used    No potencies
4.Mixing of medicines not allowed . No elaborate study
5.There are warning for repetitions of certain medicines and potencies required. No question of overdosing and side effects.
Very simple & easy to Understand No side effects

Dosage and repetition
There is no diet or other restrictions.
No contra indications
No need of swallow the pills with water just to be chewed.
Those who refuse medicines dissolve the pills in their drinking water or liquor.
There is expiry date.
Medicines are available in tincture of liquid form.
This can be taken while you are taking medicine or treatment from other system.
These do not interfere or clash with the action of other drugs or treatment.
Non habit forming and absolutely with out any side effects even if wrongly used or taken in over dosed.

Repetition
In acute diseased, one single dose ( 2 pills ) give the desired results in few seconds. If there is relief but not complete you can repeat several times.
If there is no relief in the first dose, the selection is wrong , there is no question of the remedy showing the effect only after a few doses. Repetition of each dose should give more relief.
In chronic diseases one to three doses per day is sufficient and proportionate to the improvement we may gradually increase the duration between the doses. We may repeat until complete cure is obtained.
As soon as the patient get complete relief stop the remedy and tell him to take again if there is relapse.
In acute diseases after giving a dose of the indicated remedy , if there is a change in the picture , then select a new remedy to suit the present new set of symptoms and so on until a complete cure , such as cases are very rare.

Bach flower therapy in homoeopathy
Bach remedies are being applied to the field of Homoeopathy , psychiatry and psychosomatic medicines. He saw the imbalance in the personality as the core element of diseased ,thus the diseased from the inner life of psyche to the outward manifestations of physical illness.
From close observations of the cases , a unique catalytic effect of Bach remedies in Homoeopathic treatment could be determined. Bach remedies are applied to almost all major categories of mental illness, as classifies by American Psychiatric Association.

Homoeopathy is prescribed upon totality of symptoms of mind or emotions and body, the Bach remedies are indicated according to the specific mental or emotional symptoms and aim directly at healing those mental or emotional imbalances that underlie illness and hinder the progress go healing 38 remedies are taken from flowers and , bushes and trees and a special source of water aim all emotional imbalance possibly experienced by man.

The foremost contribution of Bach remedies during homoeopathic treatment is the deepening of mental & emotional healing which of vital importance during the process of cure. This remedies given during homoeopathic treatment help to release the mental or emotional imbalance that triggered the illness in the beginning.

Not only chronic diseases but also acute diseases are greatly helped by the added use of Bach remedies. Once healing is established , these remedies if taken for temporary imbalance safe guard mental health and emotional happiness and they render previous Homoeopathic cure more lasting and effective.
Bach remedies serve as catalyst. They open the case and set in motion the unrevealing of the innate health disturbances or layers.
Possible short term initial aggravation of the symptoms after the high dose of the homoeopathic medicines is also greatly diminished when Bach remedies are given simultaneous.

Bach’s identification
He integrated seven type of personality that he had identified initially to his new perspective and used those 12 basic states of minds or type of personality as building blocks of his new system of healing. This major states and their respective healing remedies , the later which he had found and identified through his extensive researches in the out doors and the laboratory works.
Fear and shyness ( mimulus)
Terror ( rock rose)
Mental torture or worry ( agrimony)
Indecision.
Indifference or boredom( climatis)
Doubt or discouragement ( gentian)
Over concern of welfare of others (chicory)
Weakness , too willing servitor (centanury)
Self distrust (cerrato)
Impatience ( impatience)
Overenthusiasm ( vervain)
Pride or alloffiness ( water violet)

These 12 remedies are called HEALERS

After years of further study and personal experience of mental & emotional states served him to identify 26 additional states of mind which were gradually complimented with healing plants from the nature . initially this 12 remedies are complimented with 7 adjuvant remedies or helpers. These healers are not only prescribed for chronic states of mind. But temporary upset also.

The initial 7 helpers are……..

• hopelessness( gorse)
• despondency from over work (oak)
• self centered talkativeness (heather)
• hard master on to oneself, with urge to inspire others ( rock water)
• lack of motivation & incentive (wild oat)
• mental emotional & physical weariness (olive)
• domination on others (vine)

The remaining 19 remedies discovered were concerned with mostly temporary states of mind /emotions that arise due to the circumstantial experience of lift. This remedies were mostly gained from bushed and trees.

• fear of loosing mental balance( cherry plum)
• vague fears or foreboding (aspen)
• fear of others welfare ( red chest nut)
• mental fatigue (hornbee)
• longing for past happiness , nostalgia ( honey suckle)
• feeling of powerlessness (wild rose)
• lack of mental tranquility( white chest nut)
• depressive & gloomy (mustard)
• immaturity of mind / emotions , failure to learn from mistakes (chest nut bud)
• vexatio & jealousy (holly)
• easy impresionalbility (walnut)
• shame or feeling of uncleanness (crab apple)
• resentment of bitterness (willow)
• sadness ,grief or shock ( * of bethlehem)
• despair or faithlessness (sweat chest nut)
• being overwhelmed (elm)
• guilt or selfblame (pine)
• loss of self confidence ( larch )
• intolerance & criticism( beech)

According to Bach this 38 remedies span the whole arena of the mental & emotional sufferings experienced by the man. He derived this remedies into 7 groups , which represent 7 major area of consciousness , where mental and emotional imbalance occur. Each group except for the group of despondency or despair contained one or two of the basic type of remedies.

For those who have fear :    Rock rose, Mimulus , Cherry plum, Aspen , Red chest nut.
For those who suffer uncertainity :  Cerato, Sckeranthus, Gentian, Gorse, Hornbeen, Wild oat.
Not sufficient interest in present circumstances :   Clematis , Honey suckle, Wild rose, Olive.
Loneliness :   Water violet , impatience, Heather.
Over sensitiveness to influences & ideas :   Agrimony, Centaury, Walnut, Holly
Despondency or despair  :  Larch , pine , Sweet, chest nut, Star of bethlehem, Willow , Oak,
Overcare for walfare of others  Chicory,vervaine,vine,beech,rock water

All Back remedies are obtained from plants ,except for Rock water which Bach drew from a well in England that he knew to carry medicinal healing power.

Rescue remedies
Bach also discovered a unique combination of 5 remedies which aim at restoring calm to a person in acute emergency situation. They are of great value immediately after accident or similar situations of shock and panic, where there is faintness, trembling or failing of normal physical functioning.

Rock rose : To counter act terror and panic
Cherry plam : To balance intense tension and fear
Clematis : To reduce faintness or coma
Impatiens : To counteract inner turmoil & tension
Bethlehem : To reduce shock, trauma, sadness
Rescue remedy can also be used as a daily remedy in acute situations of intense nervousness & tension when the vital force need to recharge    & recuperate.

Method Of Preparation
According to Bach the highest purest healing energy was stored in the delicate petals and corresponded with the subtle higher vibrations of the Man’s consciousness.
20 of the remedies are prepared by sun method of preparation of petals, remaining 18 were prepared by boiling the whole plant, bush or tree including the flower heads
Most remedies gained from trees were prepared by boiling the whole tigs so that the healing power stored in the wood also be extracted along with the healing power of flower heads.
In both these method of preparation ,water and heat wave combined to extract highest healing potential.

#. Place the fleshly puckered flowers in to a bowl of sunlit water and leave it for several hours to sun’s action. The potential loss of power that occur due to lengthy transportation was avoided. The water imbibed with healing power was then brought to laboratory preserved with alcohol and stored in to a stock bottles.

They are
Agrimony, Centaury, Heather, Impatients, Crrato, Mimulus, Oak, Olive, Rockrose, Rock water, scleranthus, Wild oat, Vervain, Vine, Water violet &White chest nut.
# The water obtained from boiling plants and twigs strained and like wise preserved and stored , resulting in the 28 remedies.
Only 2 drops from the stock bottle along with fresh water one teaspoon of brandy or vinegar are necessary for each one ounce( 30 ml) bottle of prepared medicine, from which 4 drops are taken 4 times daily.

4 BASIC WAYS OF USING THESE REMEDIES
Prevention
Stop illness at onset
Help during illness
Character traits that bring unhappiness

The scientific medicinal community didn’t accept Bach’s teachings readily ,since no active medicinal ingredient, except simple herbal content could be isolated .In correspond to homoeopathic remedies aims at more specifically at delicately distinguishable state of consciousness which they cure by more subtle delicate method of preparation.

Bach remedies vibrate with and stimulate the higher minds positive potential which is then released to counter balance and cure the specific unbalanced mental or emotional state.
The Bach remedies if given initially actually highlight the affected tissues and prepare them for release. So that indicated Homoeopathic remedies are easily distinguishable and work most effectively. The same effect hold true when Bach remedies and Homoeopathic remedies are given concurrently.

Important aspects of flower remedies…
Agrimony : Put on a smiling face inspite of mental or physical torture that the patient is undergoing.
Aspen : Perspiration with fever, internal trembling with no cause. Fear indoors but no fear at out doors and in open air
Beech  : Intolerance, want of exactness, order and discipline every were
Centaury  : Circulatory troubles as anaemia or child having weakness after illness
Cerato  : Imitate ways, expression and mannerism of those with whom they come in contact. Constantly changing from one treatment to another.
Cherry plum : Desire to stretch and twist which he cannot resist , running about
Chest nut bed : Escapist mentality
Chicory : Making big fuss even for trivial matters or ailments. Greedy want others on hios needs ,cannot go alone in the dark or sleep.Fera of death alone so want company always.
Clematis : Coma, fainting, dreamy .absent minded ,lack of interest in every day life fear of cancer. Always living in future
Crab apple : Feekls always unclean about himself. Wart Trochlear infections.
Elm : Suitable to ministers, teachers, doctors etc.
Gentian ; Depression set even for a slight set back
Gorse : Always think on the dark side of everything with out any hope.
Heather : Fast talkers, Never ending conversation to the extend of boredom to others
Holly : When selection of remedy difficult and confusing give Holly to active person ( wild oats to old persons) Full hatred jealousy and suspicions.
Honey suckle ; Always talk about past events or of his younger days
Horn beam : Vericose vein due to functional disturbance of liver.
Impatients  : Pain in general
Larch : Praises and admires of others success without envy, but lack of confidence to do the same even though they have the capacity.
Mimulus : Stage fright, stammering and short breath.
Mustard ; Sudden depression while living well for no reason
Oak : Living always in hope in spite of repeated failures.
Olive : Mental or physical exhaustion.
Oak & Olive : Visible twitching and movements
Pine : Feeling guilty about themselves
Red chest nut : Fearing that some calamity may happen to their dear ones
Rock rose : Night mares. Sleep walking
Rock water : Inflexible and adamant
Scleranthus : Swinging temperature, unsteady gait, quickly changing positions.
* of bethhelem : After effect of mental or physical shock, for those who resist consolation
Sweet chest nut : As if life has come to an end, for those who feel they cannot endure any more.
Vervain : Strain and tension
Vine ; Tension with high Bp , migrane
Walnut ; Change of life such as teething, puberty, menopause, change in religion break the old ties and habits, either acquired or hereditary.
Water violet : Prefers solitude
White chest nut : talking to himself, counting continually, stopes when watched and atart unnoticed.
Wild oat : Dabbling in to many things
Wild rock : Surrenders to struggle of life without complaining .
Willow ; Blame others or God for his failures, resent others success.
Theses remedies are highly useful in infants, childrens, during pregnancy, external applications for sprain and injuries (lotions), for plnts animals etc.

Advantages of flower remedies
Can be used in conjunction with any other forms of treatment
No side effects without any complications
In doubtful cases when the selection difficult ,flower remedies can bring out the symptoms and clear the path.
Easily available and easy to prepare.
Cost effective

Limitations
Simple herbal content, no active medicinal ingredient could be isolated
No scientific basis or philosophical back grounds
Method of preparation is obsolete
Not well proved, but only clinically verified.

New flower remedies
Apollo, Asoon, Blue mount, Bobby, Diang, Gaya, Gemini, Germane, Indana, Kola, Kuruva, Night queen, Oligo, Rupa, Siaspara, Sophi, soyous, Star treck, Victor, Yasoda

Remarks :
Various repertories are available in the market as “ Repertory to Bach flower remedies”
One week personal training classes are available at Kodambakum Chennai for those who wish to get a complete and comprehensive knowledge about Bach flower remedies.

References :
Boedler cornelia : Bach flower therapy for Homoeopathic profession
Krishnamurthy : Bach flower remedies
Vohra : Bach flower remedies for all

Dr Mansoor Ali
Govt. Homeopathic Medical College. Calicut.Kerala