Hysterectomy Blog: Day 15 Flower Power

Feb 19, 2019Today I received a surprise, the delivery of a lovely vase of #flowers!The beauty and intoxicating aroma of lilies are the perfect flower #remedy for chasing away the last of the winter blues as they announce the beginning of warm days ahead. Just receiving a beautiful bouquet of fresh flowers can do wonders for my #mental #health and #creativity.In his book ‘Eight Weeks to Optimum Health’, Dr Andrew Weil, M.D.recommends purchasing flowers regularly to reduce #stress. "I have recommended that both men and women keep fresh flowers in the home for their beauty, fragrance, and the lift they give our spirits," he says. A research study conducted at Harvard University by Dr Nancy Etcoff and her research team, showed that people felt an increase in feelings of #compassion and #kindness for others, had less #worry and #anxiety, and generally felt less bummed out overall when flowers are present in their home.http://community.passiongrowers.com/…/flowersinthehome10170…#Herbalism, or the use of plants/flowers for a medicinal purpose, can be traced back as early as 3000 B.C. Through the ages, herbalism has been used by civilizations to heal, prevent, and ease the symptoms of illnesses.#Medicinal flowers can be used in a variety of ways for healing and soothing such as #tinctures, #sachets, oils/balms, #teas, good examples being dandelion or calendula.This reviews some of the common medicinal flowershttps://bouqs.com/blog/flowers-with-healing-powers/And the healing benefits of #dandelion (much more than a weed:) and #calendula.https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/dandelion-benefitshttps://wellnessmama.com/7648/calendula-herb-profile/When you pick up the #aromatherapy of flowers in the air, that is their volatile oils escaping. #Rose, #jasmine and #lavender are a joy because of their heavenly smelling healing essential oils and have good studies to support their safe use. Mindy Green’s website and books are great resources to learn more.https://www.greenscentsations.com/Dr Weil also encourages incorporating #edible flowers in meals. You can use them as #garnishes or add them to salads. He likes #borage, which has a cucumber-like taste; #marigolds, which are tangy and peppery; #dianthus(pinks), which have a spicy, clove-like flavor; #pansies, which have a sweet taste. He reviews those to try and those to avoid in this article and how to use them as part of your food.https://www.drweil.com/…/nutr…/what-flowers-are-safe-to-eat/There are different systems of flower #essences and Bach flower #remediesare the most well-known. The Rescue Remedy can be used for #anxiety. When I visited Dr Saadia Mohammed’s kid friendly dentist office, I was delighted to see the Rescue Remedy, which she uses to help kids calm down before dental procedures.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695424/Studies show that introducing flower arranging workshops as part of psychosocial rehabilitation improves mood and affect.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3974224/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19148821/I feel the healing benefit of a flowering plant just by sitting in its presence and will be enjoying this gorgeous arrangement. Thank you Rekha-Ram Lakshmanan for brightening my day!#hysterectomyrecovery