For approximately 2,000 years, Maca has been an important traditional food and medicinal plant in the Andes of Peru and Bolivia, where it is well-known and highly respected for is medicinal qualities. The Peruvians regard it as a highly nutritious, energy enhancing food, and as a medicine that increases strength, endurance. Ancient Inca Imperial Warriors reputably ate Maca before a battle to increase their strength and power.

Maca has been used for centuries to increase energy and fertility, and has a reputation as an aphrodisiac.

It is popular with menopausal women to prevent and treat the unpleasant symptoms of menopause, and can also be used during the child bearing years to regulate the menstrual cycle.

As with all herbs, avoid in pregnancy unless specifically recommended to you by a qualified herbalist.

Maca is a natural super food now available as a dietary supplement. It contains numerous minerals including calcium, phosphorous, zinc, magnesium and iron. Other  nutrients include Vitamins B1, B2, C, E, as well as 18 amino acids, essential fatty acids, and sterols.

Maca is beneficial for:

• Increasing energy and stamina
• An aphrodisiac for both men and women
• Improving general well being
• Menstrual problems
• Menopaual symptoms
• Supporting and nourishing the body

Click below to purchase in Australia:

If you live in the USA, click here to buy Maca

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The Women’s Wellbeing and Australian Bush Flower Essences Workshop runs over one day, and you do not need to have ever used an Essence or attended any other ABFE workshop to attend.

This workshop specifically explores the role of Australian Bush Flower Essences in assisting women to heal.

You will learn, how to easily, effectively and safely use the Australian Bush Flower Essences to help a woman achieve physical, emotional and spiritual balance in the following areas of her life:

• Menstruation

• Sexuality

• Fertility and conception

• Pregnancy

• Birth

• Mothering

• Enhancing relationships

• Menopause

• Growing older

• Common illnesses and health issues

Specific Australian Bush Flower Essences are covered during the discussion of each of the above themes.

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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In 2007, a major clinical trial into the long term effects of pharmaceutical hormonal replacement therapy was ceased due to safety concerns. According to the scientists conducting the trial, the increased rates of breast cancer and heart disease in the women taking HRT, as opposed to the control group (who were not taking HRT), was unacceptably high.

ABC radio Australia reported in late February 2009 that the number of women taking HRT in Australia dropped in both 2007 and 2008, and that the incidence of breast cancer in women over 50 years of age (the age group most likely to be diagnosed) had dropped significantly in 2008. Researchers now recommend that HRT only be taken by women with severe menopausal symptoms, and then only for a period of one to two years.

Given all this, what are the alternatives, other than to go cold turkey and take nothing through menopause? Horror stories abound of hot flushes continuing for years, as well as the spectre of wrinkly skin, osteoporosis and mood swings.

This is where natural therapies can help, for although these symptoms are common, they are not normal. After ten years in practice as a herbalist specialising in womens health, I would have to say that no woman needs to suffer from, nor tolerate, a bad menopause.

There are many herbs which will ease the symptoms of menopause, including hot flushes, though what works for each individual woman is always different. Rather than buy something over the counter, you are best to seek the assistance of a professionally qualified herbalist who can give you individualised treatment. Herbs are strongly therapeutic, and our bodies are all different what works for you may not work for another woman, nor even for you in six months time. I rarely give anyone the same herbal mixture twice.

Flower Essences are much more accessible than herbs, because they are self adjusting, which means you cant do any harm to yourself or others with them. This makes them very safe for home use by anyone. That said, many professionally qualified natural therapists, including myself, also use them in their clinical practice.

In regards to menopause, there are several flower essences that work really well. These include She Oak, which assists with female balance and also with hydration so it can be used whenever dryness in the body is an issue. This makes it very useful as an addition to your skin moisturiser. Many women also find improvement in terms of vaginal dryness.

Mulla Mulla can be of great help in any conditions where there is excess heat, and I find it excellent for hot flushes. However it must be realised that hot flushes serve a purpose – to sweat out accumulated toxins.

A question I often contemplate whenever comes to see me with unpleasant symptoms is this: body right? Or body wrong?

Do you think it is a good idea for your body to rid itself of toxins? Might this assist you to enjoy a long and healthy old age?

Your body knows what it needs to do to be well. Of course you will be more comfortable without hot flushes (especially if you live in a hot climate) however in order to support your body to cleanse itself, I would recommend other remedies to stimulate your liver, kidneys, bowel and lymphatics. This way your natural self healing process can be supported at the same time your hot flushes are being reduced.

More detailed information on how flower essences can assist women through menopause is explored in both the Level 1 Workshop and the Women’s Wellbeing Workshop by Australian Bush Flower Essences. Click here for details of when and where these internationally taught workshops will be next held near you.

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The Australian Bush Flower Essences range includes many flowers to help with issues specific for women.

The most important flower of all for women is She Oak. It is excellent for helping to restore female balance at any time during a woman’s life, be it puberty, menstruation, conception, pregnancy, menopause or aging.

Sometimes a woman is unable to fall pregnant, yet all the medical tests show that everything looks fine and there is no reason physically which she is not conceiving. In these instances, She Oak is worth considering.

Birth can be an extremely empowering experience for a woman if she is supported emotionally and encouraged by those around her. Even in the absence of this, Bush Fuchsia will allow her follow her own gut instincts in regards to her pregnancy, birth and mothering style.

Many emotions and thoughts around sexuality, touch, and intimacy can also be assisted with the Essences.

Flannel Flower (above) helps you to feel more comfortable with physical touch and enjoy your sensuality, while Billy Goat Plum addresses iissues surrounding body image.

For relationships, Bush Gardenia has helped many a couple reconnect and remember what first brought them together, to be more considerate of each other, communicate more deeply, and rediscover the passion of the early years as a result.

Old Man Banksia can be very helpful if you are feeling bogged down, especially if you are feeling disheartened, weary, burdened or frustrated. I often give it to women who are feeling this way after having a baby or around about the age of 40 or at menopause. Times of hormonal change are when we are often more prone to these emotions, and Old Man Banksia can be of great assistance. These are times when we tend to re-evaluate our life direction and goals and any discontentment with our situation becomes apparent.

The aboriginal women were well aware of this and considered this flower sacred and a symbol of female spirituality. This is not surprising given their strong connection to their land and with the plants and animals they shared it with.

To meet Old Man Banksia out in the wild and learn more about its healing qualities, have a look at the video below.

Have you used any Australian Bush Flower Essences?

• Which of the Essences in this post have you used?
• How did you find them?
• Would you like to know more?

Please share your experiences in the comments section below.

If you would like to learn more, Australian Bush Flower Essences hold their one day workshop ‘Australian Bush Flower Essences and Womens Wellbeing all over the world. For details on the next one near you, click here.

Have you done The Women’s Wellbeing workshop?

• What did you think of it?
• Did you gain any insights?
• How has it changed your life?

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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.

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