When Malti Khaitan, 64, a social activist from Delhi, broke her spine in 1989, her doctor told her to rest and reduce the number of social visits to her village. While she was recuperating, another doctor friend encouraged her to study flower remedies, which were popularized in the 1930s by Edward Bach, a British homeopath and physician. Khaitan collected literature on Bach’s philosophy during a visit to England soon after, and now works as a flower healer.
In his latest book, Healing Flowers – Floral Therapy from India, Khaitan explains that flower essences are not like other medicines. Flowers do not contain any active chemicals and have no medicinal properties. They work on an emotional level, which often heals our body. “Flowers work invisibly within the body, relieving stress, negative energy and symptoms of illnesses. Flower therapists make a diagnosis based on the patient’s mood and temperament, as these have a clear correlation with physical disorders,” says Khaitan, who was in Chandigarh for a short time.
This may sound gibberish to some, but Khaitan, who earned her PhD in Indian flowers and their healing properties from the Indian Board of Alternative Medicine in Kolkata, says some essences can free us from negative moods. “Others go even further and help us recognise and let go of behavioural patterns that create negative emotions,” she says. These flower remedies, she emphasises, essentially work on the mind-body connection. As Khaitan herself admits, “Taking these remedies is like being surrounded by beautiful flowers that never wither.”
Talking about how her Flower Healing journey began, Khaitan said that as a mother of two growing children, she found it difficult to concentrate and only had time to study literature in the evenings.
This gave him a bit of confidence in the treatment. Khaitan then used Rescue, a crisis treatment formula created by Dr Bach. Rescue is a blend of five flowers – rock rose, impatiens, cherry plum, star of Bethlehem and clematis. The mix was designed to deal with stressful moments, from pre-exam jitters to the aftermath of an accident. “I found this extremely effective and got interested in flower remedies. So I pored over Ayurvedic texts and my journey began from there,” says Khaitan, who lived in Chandigarh from 1980 to 1990.
In his 20 years of flower healing, Khaitan has developed 81 flower remedies. Around 75 of them are made from flowers that he grows organically on his farm in Delhi. He grows 55 different types of flowers each season. The remaining flowers are from trees like amalta, ashoka, neem, tamarind and eucalyptus. Khaitan picks these flowers and uses them in treatments. Khaitan lists chamomile, champa, harshringar, morning glory, sunflower, rose, jasmine, caknal and zinnia as some of his healing flowers.
First uploaded: 06 February 2011 03:49 IST
