by Jane Basson
If you read my blog post of July 2022, you will know that I am passionate about the Bach Flower Remedies as a way of supporting our health and wellbeing.
Since writing that post, I have now completed Part 2 of the Bach Foundation training and am even more enthusiastic about the benefits of using the gentle healing power of the flower remedies for myself, my family and our Neal’s Yard customers.
In Part 1 I learned about the history of Dr Bach and his philosophy, as well as discovering the healing properties of the individual remedies.
In Part 2 the focus was on a more in-depth analysis of the system and the individual remedies, the similarities and differences of certain pairs or groupings of remedies, and the ways in which they can be used. There was also a lot of time spent on creating personal blends and how to select the remedies that will most benefit the person we are trying to help.
One of the most important principles of the Bach system is that there are no remedies for situations – there are only remedies for feelings. Two people could be in a very similar situation but the way it makes them feel (and therefore the impact it has on their wellbeing) could be very different.For example, moving to a new area could make one person feel anxious or fearful, whereas another person might feel resentful (eg if they have had to move because of a partner’s job or because they are still dependent on their parents and they didn’t really want to move). They would need different remedies, one for the feelings of anxiety (Mimulus) and the other for feelings of resentment (Willow). A demanding workload could make a usually capable person feel temporarily overwhelmed with all the plates they are spinning (they might need Elm), whereas another person might be lacking in confidence in their own ability (Larch could help) or be feeling intimidated by an over-bearing boss (they may benefit from Walnut). It is therefore essential that we discover how the person is actually feeling in the situation they are in before we can select the remedies to help them. Over time, negative thoughts and emotions can build up within a person, literally layering on top of each other, eg. fear followed by guilt, then followed by resentment. Dr Bach said it was most important to treat what we see now, ie treat the feelings the person has right now, working from the outside in. As those feelings are addressed, the layer beneath will reveal itself and then we treat that, ie address whatever feelings/emotions they are experiencing at that time, as the layers peel away and balance is achieved.I am very excited to have enrolled on Part 3 of my training (Practitioner Level) which will take place in April/May this year.
If you are interested in finding out more about the flower remedies and how to use them to support your own health and wellbeing, please do come into the shop to chat to our friendly team – they will be delighted to help.
