Like many people, I have long been aware of Bach Rescue Remedy and had used it once or twice, although it wasn’t really on my radar.  It wasn’t until I began working at Neal’s Yard Remedies Bath in August 2018 that I became more aware of the whole range of flower remedies and their potential to play a big part in our health and wellbeing.  As I listened to colleagues talking to customers about the remedies, I became fascinated by their gentle healing powers and made it my mission to find out more.

I was in the middle of a year-long foundation course in Herbal Medicine when the pandemic hit in 2020.  The course was a distance learning one, so it was ideal for me to complete this during that long summer of lockdowns, and gave me a real focus during that difficult time.  However, the uncertainty of that period made me question the wisdom of going on to the three-year full-time degree course in herbal medicine – and it was then that I had a light bulb moment!  I just knew that it was the flower remedies I wanted to study instead – I instinctively felt that this was the direction meant for me and I enrolled, full of anticipation, on Part 1 of the Bach Flower Remedies training.

The course, despite taking place via Zoom due to the pandemic, was expertly run and utterly fascinating.  I felt a whole new world had opened up to me and I soaked up all this fascinating new information like a sponge.  

The flower remedies are a wonderful way to address negative feelings and emotions (and haven’t we all had a lot of those during the last couple of years?).  Dr Bach, who developed this system during the 1930s, believed that physical symptoms and disease manifest from a negative emotional state – and of course now it is widely acknowledged that the mind and body are closely linked and that mental and physical health go hand in hand.   

How wonderful to be able to address anxiety, worry, uncertainty, feelings of inadequacy or of over-worry for others by using gentle, powerful flower remedies – which have no side effects, are really easy to take and are completely safe for everyone to use.

From Mimulus which helps with fear of known things (like a job interview or exams) to Aspen for fear of unknown things (a vague feeling of apprehension but not really knowing why), Walnut (for protection from overbearing people in our lives or to help with changes such as moving house or going to a new school) to Elm (for capable people who just feel temporarily overwhelmed with all their responsibilities).  This is just the tip of the iceberg – there are 38 remedies (plus Rescue or Five Flower Remedy) which can be taken individually or in a blend tailored to our needs.  At Neal’s Yard Remedies we sell the Healing Herbs range, which are prepared and created to the exact method created by Dr Bach.

I am very excited about moving on to Part 2 of my training this year and fully intend to carry on to Part 3 (Practitioner Level).  I have seen the (sometimes quite profound) benefits of using the remedies with my own family and now I love to share my passion with our lovely Neal’s Yard customers.

I’m very much looking forward to hosting some special events at our Bath store over the coming months, where customers will have the opportunity to make up their own flower remedy blend to take home.

So, watch this space for more information about upcoming workshops/events and in the meantime feel free to come into the shop to chat to our friendly team about the wonderful world of flower remedies.