Reprinted with permission from SimplyBeingWell.com.

Back-to-school time is a time of transitions for families – children, parents, and pets. New school, new grade or new class…new kids in the class! New teachers, new subjects. Lots of change; lots of transitions. Is it any wonder that meltdowns and overwhelm and sniffles happen at this time of year? Any and all transitions can be challenging, rocky, emotional, full of stress. With regard to the school year, making sure your child (and you!) gets enough sleep every night (10-12 hours, please) as well as a nourishing breakfast (see my article on Porridge for Autumn here) is a good start. However, this year, I invite you to try a Bach Flower Remedy to help ease the transitions.

Walnut is the Bach Flower Remedy known as the “midwife” flower – In my understanding and experience, it can help us get from HERE (what we know, what is familiar, what we have always done or done for the past three summer months) to THERE (what we don’t know, that which is unfamiliar, that which is new – school instead of the pool, for example) with ease and focus (“inner steadfastness ” see The Encyclopedia of Bach Flower Therapy, page 181). Anytime you make a change, Walnut can assist.

What is a Bach Flower Remedy? Bach Flower Remedies were created by Edward Bach, a highly successful “bacteriologist and homeopathic physician” (Ibid. page 15), who gave up his practice to work with what are now the Bach Flower Remedies from 1930-1936. The Flower Remedies (or Essences) are the energetic signature of a flower which can help us move through what Bach called “negative states”. Each Essence represents a virtue or human Soul quality and helps us to get back in harmony with that state. Walnut helps us to “move forward confidently”. To learn more about the 38 Bach Flower Remedies, I encourage you to pick up The Encyclopedia of Bach Flower Therapy, by Mechthild Scheffer. It is a beautiful book, with photographs of all the flowers. Children love it!

Flower remedies are what I call “powerful, gentle healers”. They are inexpensive and accessible. You can purchase them from the company directly, as well as at natural food stores and online. One of the things I love about flower remedies is that in my experience, “you can’t get it wrong”. Bach Flower Remedies do not contraindicate with anything; they are compatible with other protocols – nutritional, functional, and medical. They can be used on the body or in the body, in the bath, as a spray. You cannot overdose! Great for children of any age, pets and animals!

Some ways to use Walnut:

Drops under the tongue (check bottle for amount)
Drops in pure water, sip throughout the day (check bottle for amount)
A few drops in bath (do not combine with essential oils or other)
Spray bottle – dark color, distilled water, brandy to stabilize or keep in the refrigerator
Apply topically (on organ or energy center)

Note: there are many “families” of flower remedies. Bach is one of the oldest ones. Some of the other families that I work with both personally and when working with clients are Green Hope Farm, FES, Perelandra, and Australian Bush. If you would like to work together to find out which flower remedy or remedies would be helpful to you, please make an appointment here.

I wish you an easy autumn!

Images from iStock/Jacob Wackerhausen (main), Gabdulvachit Konurov (post).

Monica Corrado

Celebrated teaching chef, holistic Certified Nutrition Consultant, and Certified GAPS Practitioner, Monica Corrado, MA, has spent decades illuminating the connection between food and well-being and inspiring others to start cooking nourishing traditional food. With her cooking classes, lectures, and books, she has devoted her career to helping both children and adults—especially those who suffer from ASD, ADHD, Asperger’s, allergies, and autoimmune disorders—reclaim their natural health. Monica is also a gifted teacher of teachers. Her Cooking for Well-Being Teacher Training program, established in 2012, has produced graduates from all over the U.S., Hong Kong, Canada, and Mexico. Visit Simply Being Well to schedule a consultation or book Monica as a speaker for your next event.

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