There are so many things going on emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually during the teen years, and Australian Bush Flower Essences can be of great assistance on the journey from child to adult. Bush Essences are safe and natural – anyone can use them. They are pleasant tasting, easy to take and have no side effects.

Puberty

The body is shifting from childhood to adulthood which, from a physical point of view, is huge. Hormones are extremely potent substances and during puberty they are circulating in large quantities. She Oak for girls, and Flannel Flower for boys can help enormously with this. Puberty is a natural process but hormones can take a while to settle into the new rhythm. These remedies really help ease the transition.

Anxiety benefits from Crowea, as do muscles which are sore from growing so fast or playing  a lot of sport. Moods can swing all over the place, which is as confusing for the child as it is for everyone around them; and the Essence Peach Flowered Tea Tree can be helpful.

Self Esteem

We all struggle with this one from time to time, but teenagers especially so. If self esteem or confidence are an issue, Five Corners is excellent. Low self esteem often manifests physically as acne – the face we are showing the world. Billy Goat Plum is also helpful for teens as they are ‘grossed out’ by any number of things, and this flower is good for feelings of repulsion or shame.

Sexuality

Teens can feel guilty over some of their activities, including sexual. Sturt Desert Rose is useful in these situations and is especially good for helping one to resist peer pressure and remain true to one’s own morals and values. Flannel Flower is very good for feeling comfortable with physical touch and for setting and maintaining appropriate boundaries within close personal relationships. This last is especially important for teens beginning to explore their sexuality. There are also Essences to help release any trauma from inappropriate sexual advances or incidents that may occur at this time (or have occurred in the past).

Rebellion

Until about the age of twelve parents are the major influence on their children. After that their peer group becomes much more influential. It is a natural psychological process for teenagers to begin to separate from their family as they begin to establish their own sense of separate identity. Bottlebrush is good to help parents let go. This means being comfortable with allowing them to begin to step out into the world. It can also help the child who is clinging too tightly to their mother and is appropriate at any age.

If the restrictions on them are too tight, teens will rebel. At the same time, they need firm guidelines of what is acceptable behaviour and what is not. Red Helmet Orchid is the remedy for knowing when to stop, and for whenever there is any issue with authority. It helps give a greater sense of responsibility and a sense of inner authority and respect. These qualities can  be less strongly developed if the child has had a father who was absent either emotionally or physically.

Depression

Unfortunately some teens sink into depression. This may be partly hormonal or due to poor self esteem. Tall Yellow Top is very good for depression and also for feeling lonely, isolated and as if you don’t fit in. If the depression has reached black despair, Waratah is more appropriate and is very fast acting.

If you would like to learn more about the healing qualities of Australian Bush Flower Essences, click here to see when Linn is teaching a workshop near you in the USA or Australia.

Or click here for the full workshop schedule of Australian Bush Flower Essences in Australia, the UK, North and South America, Asia and Europe.

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The Australian Bush Flower Essences Level 2 Workshop runs over two days. You need to have attended either Level 1 or the College Course to attend.

Level 2 is much slower in pace than Level 1, but nonetheless is a profound healing experience for many who attend it.

Themes of the Level 2 workshop include:

• Sexuality
• Anger
• Sadness
• Spirituality
• Self nurturance

Also explored are:

• An in depth analysis of more Essences, including 15 Essences not included in the Level 1

• Guided meditations and artwork

• A powerful, yet simple technique that allows one to determine the emotional trigger behind any

physical symptom

• The five steps of abundance and how to master this

• Sharing and discussion of case histories

• Open forum and question time

• Bush walk, plant observation, energy exercises and attunement

• Working with and tuning into Nature Spirits and Devas and discovering their crucial role in a plants life cycle

• Inspiring new research and developments

Click here to see when Linn is next teaching this workshop near you.

For the full Australian Bush Flower essences schedule throughout Australia, North and South America, Asia, Europe and the UK, click here.

If you are interested in hosting an Australian Bush Flower Essences workshop in your area, please contact Linn on herbs.to.heal@gmail.com

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What most people think is a “bad menopause” is really oestrogen dominance. This is when the proportion of oestrogen is too high compared to the other female hormone progesterone.

Dr John Lee, an American gynaecologist, did ground breaking research in this area. He discovered that it is the hormone progesterone that stimulates the body to lay down new bone, while excess oestrogen erodes bone. According to his research, internal and external dryness also resulted from not enough progesterone. Dr Lee consequently pioneered natural progesterone treatment. A free series of articles on Oestrogen Dominance, how it can affect women throughout their lives, as well as how natural remedies can assist with it, is available here.

Poor memory and vagueness are also common complaints during the hormonal shift in menopause. A good digestive detoxification, along with flower essences such as Isopogon, Paw Paw and Crowea help strengthen both your digestion and your brain function. Your brain has first dibs on any nutrition you extract from your food. If its truggling, imagine what is going with the rest of you.

Mood swings can be another problem in normally rational, sensible women through menopause. Crying spells, outbursts of anger, bitterness and feeling low can all be helped with specific flower essences. I find Red Suva Frangipani wonderful for assisting with excess crying; Dagger Hakea for bitterness; Mountain Devil for anger, and Tall Yellow Top for low moods. I use these flower essences an excellent addition to herbs when supporting women through menopause.

An important part of this healing process is to allow yourself to acknowledge your feelings, understand where they may be coming from and take various steps to release them. This may include counselling; it is quite extraordinary how much resolution with old emotional baggage can be reached in a short amount of time with a good counsellor.

For more on flower essences for women, Australian Bush Flower Essences have a One Day Workshop on Women’s Wellbeing. Their Level 1 workshop discusses women’s hormonal health in detail and one of the themes in Level 2 is the release of anger and sadness. More information on these workshops and the full international workshop schedule is available here.

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Motherwort is one of my favourite herbs and I reach for it daily in the clinic. It is wonderful for women of all ages.

In the olden days herbs were often given a common name reflecting their use – Knit bone for Comfrey for example. Wort is the Olde English word for herb so this plants common name is literally Mother Herb.

During child bearing years, Motherwort is great for treating Pre Menstrual Syndrome, painful or late periods and irritability. To settle even the heaviest of periods it is one of the best herbs of all.

Motherwort assists with long difficult labours and Chinese herbalists often use it to slow down post delivery bleeding. According to the famous 16th Century herbalist Nicholas Culpepper, There is no better herb to drive melancholic vapours from the heart, to strengthen it and make the mind merry.. Besides, it makes women joyful mothers of children, and settles their wombs. As such, I often give Motherwort to prevent or treat post natal depression. Additionally, there is a whole range of emotions which are unique to mothers, and Motherwort shines when it comes to helping mothers regain their emotional equilibrium. In this respect I find it the herbal equivalent of the Australian Bush Flower Essence Alpine Mint Bush.

During menopause, it is really useful for treating hot flushes and night sweats. A leading Australian herbalist (male!) recommends its use for hysterical menopausal women. Whether or not menopausal women are ‘hysterical’ or simply finding their voices is debatable, however I would say that in my experience Motherwort is certainly excellent for balancing womens emotions as well as their bodies.

The Latin name for Motherwort is Leonurus cardica literally translating as lion hearted. In this respect, physically, Motherwort has historically been used to settle palpitations and tightness in the chest. Emotionally it has a strong reputation for strengthening the heartessential for the mother of the house to effectively nurture her family as well as herself.