Menstruation and Floral Remedies

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Menstruation knocks your door every month with loads of discomfort, mood swings and unwelcome hormonal imbalance.

So when I was whining about this overall unease to my grandma, we got talking about how people used to deal with this in olden times and I stumbled across a few interesting things.

It was customary for women to braid fragrant flowers in their hair every day (atleast in South Indian culture). According to the old ladies, the flower essences helped with their stress, mood swings and overall hormonal balance.

Was there any concrete medical proof about their healing qualities? No. Did they work? Totally.

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The concept of flower remedies being potent is not new, and indigenous people have been utilizing it's powers since a long time. They were acutely aware of the therapeutic and healing abilities of flowers, and used them to their maximum potential.

Documented evidence of their effective use was discovered dating back to the time of the Egyptian civilisation, some 7520 years ago. It was said that the high priests honoured flowers and their essences for their sacredness and used them extensively in their healing ceremonies and rituals.

They believed that the flowers had a positive, life enhancing energy that balanced every physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual aspect of the body.

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Digging a bit further, I found out that there are several uses of flowers that you can in find in your own garden.

An emmenagogue is a substance that increases or stimulates menstrual flow. One of the handy emmenagogue flower is hibiscus. The hibiscus essence affects the estrogen levels in the body and drinking hibiscus tea can actually induce menstruation!

However due to the emmenagogue effect, pregnant women are dissuaded from drinking hibiscus tea to prevent complications.

Banana flowers affect the progesterone levels in the body. They reduce the menstrual cramps by increasing the level of progesterone and reducing the bleeding. Banana flowers also help in preventing abdominal issues like constipation and bloating, and help with PCOS.

Banana flowers act as a natural anti-depressant. They are rich in magnesium, which plays a great role in improving your mood and reducing stress without the detrimental side effects that most anti-depressants have.

Pretty cool, huh?

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Bach Flower Therapy gained prominence when Dr Edward Bach discovered 38 essences that had astounding effects on emotions and hormonal balance.

These vibrational essences helped a great deal in healing menstrual difficulties and reducing discomfort and painful symptoms.

The menstrual cycle is a process that is intimately linked with a woman's emotional state, belief systems and thoughts.

Negative states like anger, shame or disgust at your bodily function can lead to menstrual difficulties.

These essences are gentle and a subtle way of bringing balance into healing. They assist in removing negative emotional and mental habits, paving a way for a more positive relationship with your body.

The flower essences from holly, beech and impatiens help with irritability and aggression. Mustard relieves depression. Olive helps in curbing physical and emotional exhaustion.

The Australian Bush flower, She Oak balances hormonal levels and work great for infertility, fluid retention and PMS.

These are a few uses, but there are a lot more. There are several flowers that can be made into teas and supplements that can start your period, relieve the emotional rollercoaster and make it bearable.

So, adopt the cottagecore lifestyle with lots of flowers and stay sane!