flower therapies, bach flower remedies and more for your skin and hair

few days back, we had a small get together at home after a long long time. it’s so so obvious that my close friends and close family can never say no when i invite them with a reason of some pooja or chant session. yes, we flock together like that.

and, now that i have created a homam as reason, i don’t need any more reasons to go to my dreamland – wonderland – my amusement park – the flower market in bangalore.

at 5 in the morning, i was there in the market to load my home with flowers. i never miss a chance to go to the flower market. oh.. my god.. the varieties, the freshness, the fragrance transports me to a happy world. though i filled our car & 2 autos, i was still not satisfied.. yet, i had to come back with that tiny load of jasmine, lotus, shaavanthige, lily, rose and more..

and, if you know me, i don’t waste a bit of any flower even after the event or pooja, i boil the flowers & make mixed floral water, or simply put in the bucket of water for bathing, dry it in shadow & use it as body packs, give it to friends who compost it, i simply can’t let it go to the waste. the bottomline – i love flowers. love. love.

when i was young, our neighbours used to follow mother of pondichery, so every week they used to bring varieties of flowers to decorate the meditation area as mother and aurobindo also have mentioned the significance of flowers and the goodness that brings in life. so, flowers has been part of my life very very strongly. and for no reason, i learnt the ikebana art for nearly 6 months some 25 years even without knowing what ikebana meant. hmm..so now i realize flowers were big part of my life

ok, let me now come to the actual reason why i wrote this blog.

you all know i have gurus, teachers, masters guiding me in this journey of life. and one of them guided me on bach flower remedies. and like always, if i learn something new, i have to share it with you all – my dear friends. if you are also triggered, look up on the internet & indulge into the topic

bach flower remedies are thirty-eight flower essences that comprise a complete system of alternative healing. flowers have unique energies, and when the ‘essences’ of these flowers are taken by us, they affect our vibrations and bring in a balance. these remedies in different combinations can balance and heal any emotions

bach flower remedies are not new and it’s not the only flower essences that is used in therapies & treatments. in ayurveda, we have a branch dedicated – pushpa ayurveda,  that focuses on healing with flowers, there’s lot of methods flowers could be consumed for medicinal purposes.

medicinal waters, traditionally known as ‘arkas’ are the ancient ayurvedic method of making infusions with flowers, herbs and spices. we are indians. nothing is new to us. all we need to do is find the roots, remember & start using them for holistic health

in general, we can categorise flowers in four main classes depending on the nature of the purpose for which they are grown.

1. ornamental flowers.
2. commercial flowers.
3. medicinal flowers.
4. kitchen or vegetable flowers

let the purpose be anything. but every flower that blooms is nature's gift & has a meaning & purpose. like all topics, this topic is also an ocean, still giving you interesting information after which you can research more on it.

 here are the ways flowers are used in our traditional indian method

1. pushpa rasa: fresh extract taken out by crushing the flowers.
2. pushpa hima: flower essence taken out after soaking in water for 12 hours.
3. pushpa kvatha: decoction of fresh or dried flowers.
4. pushpa arka: distilled extract of flowers.
5. pushpa sura: tincture of flowers.
6. pushpa asava: fermented flower extracts.
7. pushpa avalehya: confection of flowers.
8. pushpa guti: pills made of flowers.
9. pushpa kalka : grinded pulp of dried flowers
10. pushpa curna: powder made of dried flowers.
11. pushpa taila: oil prepared with the flowers.
12. pushpa ghrta: ghee (purified butter) boiled with the flowers.

so, yes, i have already started learning, working on how to effectively bring in the goodness of these specific flower remedies in our daily body care routine that’ll help us nourish, treat & protect our hair & skin. anything natural, anything effective, anything that can bring you good health – i become super aggressive. will keep you all posted on this. watch our insta stories for my progress.

identifying flower varieties, collecting flowers for the right occassion, making garlands and tying flowers for hair were considered to be a fine art in our indian culture. Let’s learn about these & explore these art. We need to pass on this art to our younger generation. let's do our bit

okay.. that’s all for now, as always, let’s love & respect our body. let’s go #allnatural for our daily bodycare routine. let’s take #nosoapchallenge, #noshampoochallenge & #notoothpastechallenge as our lifestyle

 wishing you health & happiness in abundance

-krithika prasad