Flower Essences for Postpartum

From the Flower Essence Society:

Flower essences are herbal infusions or decoctions, made from the flowering part of the plant, which uniquely address emotional and mental aspects of wellness. The first 38 flower remedies were formulated by a British physician, Dr. Edward Bach, in the 1930's, although new remedies from other plant species are now available.

How do flower essences work?

To understand how flower essences work requires a recognition that the human being is more than a physical body, but also incorporates a "body" of life energy, a "body" of sensitivity and feelings, and a spiritual essence or Self. Flower essences are energetic imprints of the life force of plants which interact with these subtle bodies of the human being, and evoke specific qualities within us. We can say that they work in a similar way to inspirational music or art, which carry meaning through the vehicle of sound or light, while the flower essences work through the medium of water.

Modern physics has known for nearly a century that matter and consciousness are intertwined. However, medical science still generally works with a nineteenth century model of the human being as a mechanism in a world of machines. We expect that in the coming century medical science will develop ways of studying the impact of consciousness on health, and we will learn more about the ways in which flower essences work. However, empirical research, which consists of the collection of case studies and practitioner reports, will remain the primary source of knowledge about how flower essences work.

How are flower essences used?

Flower essences can be used in a number of ways. The most common way is to take them orally, four drops, four times a day. Our experience shows that it is not necessary to take them internally. They can also be used by adding five to seven drops in a plant sprayer bottle and misting a room or our bodies. You can also add a few drops to the bath, spray clothes before ironing them, or spray your pillow before sleeping. What is important to remember is that they are a vibrational essence, and surrounding yourself with them, inside or outside, is the best way to experience their effects.

The following are some of the categories of emotions that tend to arise during the postpartum time period and can be helpful to have on hand to work through this emotional time.

Look through the categories and read about the essences that are in each category to find the one's that best fit you are your particular situation.

If you'd like to have support in this area, consider getting a Mother Embracing session.

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From the Alaskan Essence Society:

Align­ment

• between phys­ical, emo­tional, mental, and spir­i­tual levels—Alpine Arnica, Mala­chite
• between the male and female ener­gies in our body—Blue Poppy
• deep realign­ment with one's highest pur­pose in life—Ladies' Tresses
• restores align­ment between the spir­i­tual and phys­ical bodies—Alpine Arnica
• strengthens cen­tral ver­tical align­ment—Rutile
• with the power of one's per­sonal truth—Cat­tail Pollen
• with Uni­versal sources of energy and infor­ma­tion—Ruti­lated Quartz, Silver, Topaz

Ances­tral Healing

• clearing ances­tral pat­terns—Cinnabar, Cotton Grass, Fire­weed, Liard Hot Springs, Nootka Lupine, Northern Lights, Purifi­ca­tion
• for estab­lishing and strength­ening bound­aries—Hematite, Pyrite
• for healing ances­tral pat­terns that are blocking our ability to receive—Go-Create
• for non-judgement and accep­tance of what we inher­ited—Pearl, Rein­deer Moss, Sphagnum Moss
• for pro­cessing inher­ited anger—Blue Elf Viola
• for under­standing the ori­gins of our family pat­terns—Black Spruce, Nootka Lupine, Sitka Burnet, White Lupine
• opening to the pos­i­tive sup­port of our ances­tors—Golden Cory­dalis, Yellow Dryas

Anx­iety

• calms mental anx­iety—Aqua­ma­rine, Blue Topaz, Goats­beard, Valerian
• from being over­whelmed—Paper Birch, Purple Poppy, Red Elder, Stinging Nettle
• soothes anx­iety as we con­front change—Redoubt Vol­cano
• Belonging 
• helps one feel wel­come in a family or group—Alaska Violet, Single Delight, Starflower
• in a new neigh­bor­hood or country—Cow Parsnip, Rein­deer Moss, Shooting Star

Change

• for main­taining one's family iden­tity through pro­found cycles of change—Yellow Dryas
• for under­standing the deeper meaning of earth changes—Augus­tine Vol­cano
• helps us let go of our resis­tance to change—Glacier River, Redoubt Vol­cano, Round-Leaved Sundew
• impa­tient with the pace of change—Polar Ice
• strengthens and sta­bi­lizes the body so it is better able to cope with change—Cow Parsnip, Fire­weed Combo
• sup­port for deep inner change—Green­land Icecap, Spi­raea, Tidal Forces
• sup­port for moving through change without cre­ating crisis—Hairy But­ter­wort

Child­birth

• helping the new­born feel safe and wel­come on the Earth—Angelica, Club Moss, Green Bells of Ire­land, Mangano Cal­cite,Shooting Star
• release of pelvic ten­sion during child­birth—Balsam Poplar
• release of trauma from the birth expe­ri­ence, regard­less of one's present age—Ladies' Tresses, Northern Lady's Slipper
• sup­port for mother and child during and imme­di­ately after the birth—Grove Sand­wort, Peridot, Preg­nancy Sup­port, Spi­raea
• sup­port for moving from one stage of delivery to the next—Hairy But­ter­wort, Sticky Gera­nium 

Chil­dren

• for a fear of being in nature—Soap­berry
• for acci­dents and injuries—Cotton Grass, Soul Sup­port
• for bad dreams—Calling All Angels
• for better con­cen­tra­tion on home­work—Bunch­berry, Easy Learning, Star Ruby
• for feeling pro­tected—Angelica, Devil's Club, Guardian, Lavender Yarrow, Mangano Cal­cite, Yarrow
• for feeling sup­ported—Chalice Well, Starflower
• for grounding—Green Bells of Ire­land
• healing birth trauma—Ladies' Tresses, Northern Lady's Slipper
• strength­ening bound­aries for highly sen­si­tive chil­dren—White Violet
• strength­ening the bonding con­nec­tion to the Earth—Pineapple Weed
• sup­port for starting new projects—Peridot

Com­pas­sion

• devel­oping com­pas­sion for one­self and others through self-acceptance—Alpine Azalea
• for all beings through loving kind­ness—Bleeding Heart
• for one's own healing process—Bog Candle, Green Bog Orchid, Pearl, Sphagnum Moss
• in the midst of emo­tional pain—Mangano Cal­cite
• through for­give­ness—Moun­tain Worm­wood

Com­ple­tion

• of cycles of healing on the etheric level—Com­frey, Rhodo­lite Garnet
• of cycles of learning and expe­ri­ence—Grass of Par­nassus, Polar Ice
• of emo­tional cycles—Moon­stone, River Beauty
• of life lessons without the cre­ation of crisis or ill­ness—Dwarf Fire­weed, Hairy But­ter­wort
• of the past on all levels—Sitka Burnet

Con­fi­dence

• from knowing one's abil­i­ties—Tama­rack
• from knowing one's pur­pose in life—Paper Birch, Sap­phire
• in expressing one­self—Tundra Rose, Yellow Violet
• in one's ability to heal one­self—Self-Heal
• in one's inter­ac­tions with others—Starflower, Wild Sweet Pea
• in one's power to create one's life—Vesu­vianite

Energy

• attracting and focusing energy for healing and regen­er­a­tion—Labradorite, Lady's Slipper
• expanding our ability to receive energy from the sun—Lighten Up, Orange Cal­cite, Sol­stice Sun, Sun­flower
• focusing phys­ical energy for deci­sive action—Choco­late Lily, Star Ruby
• helps us recharge after becoming depleted from over­work—Fire Opal, Labradorite, Opal
• helps us reg­u­late extremes of energy—Labrador Tea, Vana­di­nite
• increasing energy flow to the merid­ians—Amber, Car­nelian
• opening energy flows to and from the etheric body—Flu­o­rite, Flu­o­rite Combo, Rhodo­lite Garnet, Sweet­grass
• opening energy flows to the heart—Alpine Azalea, Calling All Angels, Chryso­colla, Emerald, Fox­glove, Green Bog Orchid, Green Fairy Orchid, Hare­bell, Rhodochrosite, Rose Quartz, Tundra Tway­blade
• pro­motes ener­getic hygiene and inde­pen­dence—Arag­o­nite

Exhaus­tion

• feeling like there is no time to rest—Opium Poppy
• from overuse of mental and emo­tional forces—Labradorite, Opal, Spec­tro­lite
• from over­work—Fire Opal, Green Jasper, Moschatel, Opal
• from trying to bal­ance one extreme with another—Labrador Tea, Purple Poppy
• resulting from block­ages in the subtle bodies—Car­nelian, Flu­o­rite

Inte­gra­tion

• increases our ability to inte­grate infor­ma­tion—Easy Learning, Ruti­lated Quartz, Stinging Nettle
• of emo­tions—Dan­de­lion, Sweet­gale
• of eternal wisdom into present time aware­ness—Black Spruce
• of new expe­ri­ences by the per­son­ality—Golden Cory­dalis
• of peak expe­ri­ences—Sol­stice Sun
• of spirit and emo­tion into action in the present moment—White Spruce
• of the celes­tial and the phys­ical—Red-Purple Poppy
• of the lessons of the past—Black Spruce, Opium Poppy, Purple Poppy
• of the rational and the intu­itive—Lamb's Quar­ters

Iso­la­tion

• encour­ages one to move out of iso­la­tion—Wild Sweet Pea
• feeling sep­a­rated or iso­lated from one's spir­i­tual source—Mol­davite, Sap­phire, Shooting Star
• sup­port for those who feel iso­lated from others—Single Delight

Joy

• bringing more joy into the ful­fill­ment of life's chal­lenges—Alaska Violet, Prickly Wild Rose, Tundra Rose, Willow
• helps one reclaim joy after a dev­as­tating expe­ri­ence—River Beauty
• in phys­ical exis­tence—Calling All Angels, Chiming Bells, Orange Cal­cite
• inte­grating joy and suf­fering—Bleeding Heart
• opening to joy as a source of cre­ative power—Bog, Goats­beard, Gold
• reclaiming joy through trans­for­ma­tive expe­ri­ences—Fire­weed Combo

Mother

• helps the single mother find bal­ance between moth­ering and fathering—Solar Eclipse
• opening the heart to the Divine Mother—Chiming Bells, Emerald
• strength­ening the mother prin­ciple—Bog, Grove Sand­wort, Pineapple Weed
• sup­port for becoming a mother—Preg­nancy Sup­port

New­born

• help in estab­lishing bonds of com­mu­ni­ca­tion with the mother and the Earth—Grove Sand­wort, Pineapple Weed
• helps new­born babies greet the Earth—Green Bells of Ire­land
• sup­port and pro­tec­tion for the newly born—Cov­el­lite, Guardian, Peridot, White Violet, Yarrow
• sup­port for new­born ani­mals—Animal Care

Nur­turing

• helps the inner child receive nur­turing from the Divine Mother and from the Earth—Emerald, Northern Lady's Slipper, Rose Quartz
• helps us learn how to receive nur­turing without struggle—Larimar
• learning to nur­ture and be nur­tured uncon­di­tion­ally—Spi­raea
• sup­ports the prac­tice of nur­turing between mother and child—Grove Sand­wort, Preg­nancy Sup­port

Over­sen­si­tive

• for emo­tional over sen­si­tivity—Hematite, Tiger's Eye
• for envi­ron­mental sen­si­tiv­i­ties—Black Tour­ma­line, Guardian, Yarrow
• helps acutely sen­si­tive people create better bound­aries—Guardian, Monks­hood, White Violet, Yarrow
• helps highly sen­si­tive people stay con­nected to their bodies and the Earth—Starflower, Stinging Nettle
• over­sen­si­tive to phys­ical con­tact—Cov­el­lite, Pasque Flower

Over­whelmed

• by ener­gies from others or from the envi­ron­ment—Black Tour­ma­line, Cov­el­lite, Guardian, Hematite, Yarrow
• by the amount of energy or infor­ma­tion one is receiving—Lapis Lazuli, Ruti­lated Quartz, Stinging Nettle, Twin­flower
• by the pace and inten­sity of change—Fire­weed, Golden Cory­dalis, Green­land Icecap, Labrador Tea, Tidal Forces

Rebirthing

• for healing birth trauma—Ladies' Tresses, Shooting Star
• sup­port for new begin­nings—Peridot
• to assist in the pro­cessing of old emo­tions and thoughts—Bog Candle, Purifi­ca­tion, Rose/Smoky Quartz

Recovery

• emo­tional—River Beauty
• from addic­tive behavior—Labrador Tea, Self-Heal
• from long term ill­ness or over­work—Fire Opal, Opal
• from old wounds and injuries—Com­frey, Cotton Grass, Rhodo­lite Garnet
• from shock and trauma—Dwarf Fire­weed, Fire­weed, Soul Sup­port, White Fire­weed

Reju­ve­na­tion

• of spent emo­tional and mental forces—Lighten Up, Opal
• on all levels—Fire­weed, Liard Hot Springs, Portage Glacier, Ruby, Spec­tro­lite
• through a greater aware­ness of how we use our energy—Choco­late Lily, Labradorite

Rela­tion­ships

• bal­ancing com­mu­ni­ca­tions in rela­tion­ships—Twin­flower
• bal­ancing one's rela­tion­ship to the Earth—Turquoise
• encour­ages mutual aware­ness and healing of rela­tion­ships—Full Moon Reflec­tion
• opening emo­tional inter­ac­tions in—Sweet­gale
• release of unfor­given areas in—Moun­tain Worm­wood
• seeing rela­tion­ships from a spir­i­tual per­spec­tive—Pale Cory­dalis

Safety

• helps one create safety in the heart—Devil's Club, Mangano Cal­cite
• helps one find peace, pro­tec­tion, safety, and secu­rity through the release of fear—Enchanter's Night­shade
• helps one relax and receive nur­turing without struggle—Larimar

Self-Appreciation

• of one's beauty, regard­less of how it dif­fers from others—Columbine
• of one's unique con­tri­bu­tion to the evo­lu­tion of humanity—Lace Flower
• of our cre­ative abil­i­ties—Wild Iris

Sensuality/Sexuality

• clearing neg­a­tive pro­gram­ming around sex­u­ality—White Fire­weed
• for over sen­si­tivity to phys­ical touch—Pasque Flower
• helps one express one's pas­sion in ser­vice to Spirit—Blue Poppy
• restores earthly sen­su­ality and healthy sex­u­ality—Green Jasper, Ladies' Mantle
• syn­chro­nizing sexual energy with plan­e­tary cycles and rhythms—Balsam Poplar

Shock

• healing emo­tional shock—River Beauty, White Fire­weed
• helps ani­mals release shock—Animal Care
• recov­ering from a shock to the heart—Mon­tana Rhodochrosite, Rhodochrosite, Rose Quartz
• recov­ering from a shock to the phys­ical body—Cotton Grass, Fire­weed
• releasing shock from the etheric body—Com­frey, Fire­weed, Flu­o­rite, Rasp­berry Rutile, Rhodo­lite Garnet, Sweet­grass
• releasing shock that has been stored in the cel­lular struc­ture of the body—Ladies' Tresses, Tundra Tway­blade, White Fire­weed
• treating shock on all levels—Soul Sup­port

Sup­port

• accessing Divine sup­port in the moment—Hairy But­ter­wort, Lilac
• for any new cycle of growth and expe­ri­ence—Peridot, Rock Spring
• for those who are pio­neering new inner and outer realms—Aven­turine, Vesu­vianite, Yellow Dryas
• from all king­doms and dimen­sions—Chalice Well
• from the Angelic kingdom—Angelica, Chiming Bells, Kun­zite
• uncon­di­tional accep­tance of sup­port in all sit­u­a­tions—Spi­raea

Trans­for­ma­tion

• let­ting go of resis­tance to—False Helle­bore, Fire­weed Combo, Glacier River, Green­land Icecap, Spi­raea, Tidal Forces, Vana­di­nite
• of life pat­terns that no longer con­tribute to our highest good—False Helle­bore, Fire­weed, Nootka Lupine, Northern Lights,Portage Glacier
• realign­ment of one's energy field with one's higher pur­pose—Cat­tail Pollen, Ladies' Tresses, Sap­phire, Sapphire/Ruby, Star Sap­phire
• sup­port during or after an emo­tional trans­for­ma­tion—Bog Candle, Chiming Bells, River Beauty
• sup­port for the phys­ical body during a trans­for­ma­tion of any kind—Fire­weed
• sup­port on all levels during trans­for­ma­tion—Soul Sup­port
• to help pace a trans­for­ma­tive expe­ri­ence—Dwarf Fire­weed
• when one feels stuck in the middle of a trans­for­ma­tive process—Fire­weed Combo, Sticky Gera­nium

Trauma

• brings a bal­ancing and cen­tering influ­ence during or after a trau­matic expe­ri­ence—Jadeite Jade, Labrador Tea
• calming to the emo­tional body after it has suf­fered a recent trauma—Emerald, White Fire­weed
• gentle release of trauma without having to re-experience it—Northern Lady's Slipper
• healing trauma after surgery—Animal Care, Cotton Grass, Rasp­berry Rutile, Rhodo­lite Garnet, Soul Sup­port
• healing trauma with uncon­di­tional love—Tundra Tway­blade
• helps with emo­tional reori­en­ta­tion after a trau­matic event—River Beauty, Rose Quartz
• release of trauma held in the cel­lular con­scious­ness of the body—Ladies' Tresses
• releasing trauma from all levels of the being—Fire­weed, Soul Sup­port
• top­ical appli­ca­tion where there has been a trauma to the body—Cotton Grass