Plant Kingdom Friends

Becoming a parent is a creative journey that gets kick-started once our children are born. We begin learning about nourishment on all levels as a daily (and nightly) preoccupation. Feeding our children what they need, keeping an eye on hygiene, finding remedies that work without damaging side-effects, making decisions about what to put in our children’s bodies as well as nurture their emotional and psychological worlds, all draw our own ability to forage for information and our innate intuition.

Whatever you believe in there are definitely avenues that magnetise you more. One of them for me is homeopathy. My introduction to homeopathy was when my Ma took me to see Renata, a Swiss naturopath. She cleared me of excema covering my face, stomach and hands. I gave up dairy. Noticing how sensitive my daughter is, her emotional landscapes, sensibilities and recurring illnesses I eliminated certain rogue foods and began to explore alternative therapies further.

Homeopathy is the second largest system of medicine in the world according to the World Heath Organisation. France, where a third of the population use homeopathy, and India, where 100 million people do, are both big fans. It was founded by Dr Samuel Hahnemann just over 200 years ago. His principle for homeopathy is ‘Like cures Like’, meaning that what a substance is capable of causing, it is capable of curing. Homeopathy intrigues me as it’s simultaneously incredibly powerful, gentle and it’s effect can often be felt immediately. Midwives are able to prescribe homeopathy during labour.

Finding the most persuasive remedy is like a treasure hunt, reading clues along the way, discovering the inner world of another human being and their choice of responses on a very subtle level. Once enough information is gathered, a practitioner can match them to a remedy. Sometimes a remedy can be prescribed straight away as the behaviours are so evident. A restless child is easily spotted. Other times it takes longer.

Taking time is worth it as making a judgement too quickly can shut down a person’s energetic system, seal off any clues and leave them without the rebalancing they need. Working on a vibrational level homeopathic remedies match a person’s spirit. You could say homeopathy is the horse-whispering of medical practice.

Each remedy comes in different strengths, the more diluted the more powerful. The substance is diluted with alcohol or distilled water and then shaken to activate its’ vital properties. Some remedies become household friends like arnica for trauma and bruising. Symphitum helps to knit broken bones together and take away swelling. Ignatia integrates grief. Hypericum works with tick bites. You may find homeopathic remedies to be helpful and responsive allies.

Image by Yves Roire