“The worst thing that can happen is that nothing happens,” Shami Divan said, responding to my question about Bach flower remedies, an alternative health therapy developed in the 1920s by a British physician, bacteriologist and homeopath.
Sharmee, who lives in Mumbai, was inspired after reading about Bach therapy in 2012. By 2014 she had progressed from student to teacher, and in 2016 she registered with the Bach Foundation Certified Practitioner Association. “I did it throughout my pregnancy. It calmed me down and reduced my anxiety,” she says.
As a life coach, she says it’s important to understand a person’s emotional state before deciding on a flower essence combination: trauma, fear, despair, anxiety, lack of self-confidence and motivation are all taken into consideration.
Bach flower remedies are practiced all over the world, including India. There are around 12 practitioners in India who have completed the three-stage Bach International Education Programme at the UK Bach Centre and are certified as India coordinators. They help people learn and heal using flower extracts. Bach remedies are natural, non-invasive and can be used as an adjunct to other medicines. “A Bach kit is like a first aid kit and should be kept in every home,” says Sharmee, adding that many cancer, mental illness and trauma patients use Bach therapy to curb depression and panic.
She says she has taken on cases of people on the brink of nervous breakdowns after business failures or job losses, and the method can help those who suffer from anxiety, are nervous about flying or feel overwhelmed in large crowds, for example.
Foundation
- Dr. Edward Bach studied the effect of early morning sunlight on the dew on the petals. He collected the dew from the plants, and if that wasn’t enough, he hung the flowers over a stream behind his house to let the sunlight in. If there was no sunlight, he boiled the flowers. The essence is made by steeping wild flowers in natural spring water.
- The Original Batch box contains 38 bottles of flower essences and four bottles of Crisis Mix, a combination of five essences (Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum, Clematis, Rock Rose and Impatiens) that are not intended to treat any medical problems.
Her schedule is one per day. “It takes a lot of time, patience, dialogue and counselling. It’s like an interview and a casual chat,” she says. She calls flowers her friends, who have a gentle, healing, positive energy.
She acknowledges that Bach flower therapy may also have a placebo effect: in fact, critical evaluations of randomized clinical trials have concluded that the most reliable ones have found no difference between the flower remedies and a placebo.
(Sharmi Divan visited Madurai at the invitation of Tyagarajar Institute of Technology to support students dealing with unresolved trauma, unhealthy behaviours, relationship dilemmas, academic and peer pressure.)
This is a premium article available only to our subscribers. To read over 250 premium articles every month,
You’ve reached your limit for free articles. Support quality journalism.
You’ve reached your limit for free articles. Support quality journalism.
You have read {{data.cm.views}} from {{data.cm.maxViews}} Free articles.
This is the last free article.
