by Jann Garitty
Kimberly
Rockshaw, DIHOM, became acquainted with holistic medicine
because of her own chronic health problems, which were
not remedied by allopathic medicine. She learned about
and utilized herbs, acupuncture, nutritional information,
and homeopathy, and she regained her health again. As her
health improved, Kim began working as the Medical Director
of an animal shelter in Illinois. It was there that she
first started using flower essences, specifically
Rescue
Remedy
(
Five-Flower Formula
).
She also employed her knowledge of homeopathy and vitamin
supplements, and was successful with a number of serious
cases that originally had been given a poor prognosis.
In 1992, Kim moved to
California, and at the same time began to do more reading
and studying about flower essence therapy. She began working
on her degree in homeopathy in 1997. Shortly after that
time, she attended a workshop given by Patricia Kaminski
and Richard Katz, and she was so completely impressed that
she obtained a copy of the
Flower Essence Repertory
to
learn more. She has also completed her training for
certification as a Registered Bach Flower Essence Practitioner.
Healing Crises Leads to Life’s
Work
In late 1997, Kim’s
mother had a stroke and, as a result, entered a coma and
died. At the same time, Kim became very ill herself, and,
as she says, almost died as well. She was so ill that she
was not even able to attend her mother’s funeral.
Kim’s immune system was extensively damaged, and
became even more devastated when she was administered antibiotics.
One of her symptoms was severe pain in her stomach, which
made her unable to eat. She was not able to use homeopathic
remedies, herbs, or supplements because of the ill effects
they had on her stomach. She was also unable to sleep for
more than two hours a night. This pain and sleep pattern
went on for seven months.
Kim
continued to read and study during this time, learning
about the
Self-Heal
(photo at left) essence.
She began to rub
Self-Heal
on herself, which she feels fostered her will to live in a most gentle manner. She continued on her quest for healing, and soon after, found and used a Chinese herb that healed her stomach inflammation. Prior to her experiment with the herb, she had seen four gastrointestinal specialists, all of whom could not give her any help. She also began using a combination of essences (
Bougainvilla, Fire Prickly Pear Cactus, Foothills Paloverde, Klein's Pencil Cholla Cactus
,
and
Smartweed
) for immune dysfunction.
She rubbed this combination into her skin on her ears,
acupuncture points, and wrists. Her sleep issues resolved
within two days.
Kim says, “I owe my life to flower
essences!” She says flower essences are gentle but
powerful healers. Her own healing with the flower essences
influenced her decision to include flower essence therapy
in her work with others.
Flower Essence Therapy
and Homeopathy:
Complementary Modalities
Kim
successfully utilizes both homeopathy and flower essences
(along with supplements and herbs) with her clients, both
animal and human. She takes each case into consideration
before determining whether she’ll prescribe homeopathics,
flower essences, or a combination of the two. Often her
decision is based on the severity of the symptoms, both
physical and emotional, as well as whether she is able
to ascertain whether the health problems are manifesting
as a result of underlying emotions. At times she will start
with a homeopathic remedy, evaluate the result, and then
incorporate flower essences into the therapy.
Self-Heal
essence
is one Kim uses often, almost as a foundational component
of the therapy. For instance, when treating animals for
cancer, she will often have the owner rub
Self-Heal
directly onto the cancerous area.
In her determination of
which therapies to utilize, Kim concentrates on current
and past issues, taking into account whether the issues
involved are physical or predominantly emotional in nature.
If emotional issues prevail, she’ll start off by
using flower essences. Conversely, if there are many physical
symptoms, she’ll begin with homeopathic remedies.
When she first talks to a potential client by phone, she
will have an idea of which therapy she might begin with,
though when she works long-term with an individual, the
therapy evolves over time. Kim chooses flower essences
for her clients purely by the interview process, listening
closely to what is being said. She feels she is a good
communicator, which enables her to easily determine which
essences are needed. She has found, in general, that essences
tend to work slowly but surely if they have been correctly
chosen.
Though Kim has seen astounding change
take place when using homeopathy, she sometimes experiences
frustration if she’s unable to find the right remedy.
In contrast, she loves the simplicity of flower essences
because they “either work or they don’t,” and
they’re powerful but gentle. She says, “Flower
essences promote physical and emotional healing by permanently
changing emotional and behavioral patterns.”
Simple success strategies for
children with ADD
One young girl with whom Kim worked exhibited
restlessness and an inability to keep still. After using
her first bottle of a mixture containing
Impatiens
and
Indian Pink
, the girl was able to sit down throughout
dinnertime without running around the table.
Another child, a boy who had problems
with concentration, was helped by the combination of
Madia
,
Clematis
,
and
Larch
. He has improved greatly since
beginning the formula. Recently, Kim has added Blackberry
to this combination for motivational issues.
Flower essences help elderly woman transcend depression
An elderly woman in her 70s was referred
to Kim by a chiropractor. She was chronically depressed,
and had even received shock therapy at an earlier age.
At the time she started seeing Kim, the woman was in transition
after leaving her home of many years. She also had severe
health problems.
Prior to seeing Kim, a holistic practitioner
had given the woman numerous homeopathic “combination” remedies,
and the result caused much confusion. While first working
with her, Kim tried single homeopathic remedies, but the
woman was extremely sensitive and reacted negatively to
them. Kim stopped giving the woman homeopathic treatments
and turned exclusively to flower essences. One issue she
worked on was the extreme grief the woman still felt about
the death of her husband. Kim initially gave her
Borage
,
Olive
(for
the physical difficulties), and
Walnut
(for
going through life changes). During her treatments which
occurred over many months, she also used
Heather
,
Olive
,
and
Gentian
, because the woman talked
a lot about herself and her difficulties. Another formula
Kim composed for the woman consisted of
Heather
,
Rock Water
,
Olive
, and
Gorse
for
the “rigidity” she imposed on herself.
Overall, the woman started doing well
emotionally. Her attitude was more optimistic, and she
was more “perky.” When the time came for her
to move, she felt overwhelmed, so Kim gave her a combination
of
Elm, Honeysuckle
(because she felt
she was still living in the past with her husband),
Walnut
and
Gentian
. As a result, Kim says the
woman got through the moving process “beautifully.”
Working with animals: The synergistic effects of FE and homeopathy
A dog named Coco who had severe “separation
anxiety” was brought to see Kim. Coco would bash
herself against barriers, break through gates, and drool
severely when left alone. Kim first gave her
Walnut, Red Chestnut
, and
Bleeding Heart
.
She then thought to give her
Grape
flower
essence. Coco experienced a three-month plateau and improved,
but still experienced some relapse phases. Kim felt Coco
was only 50% improved and that more was needed. She treated
her homeopathically with high-potency Stramonim, because
she found that Coco also had vision problems (difficulty
focusing, which caused her great fear at times) and feared
being in a dark room. The Stramonium cleared up the symptoms.
Finally, Coco was much improved.
Kim maintains a small feline sanctuary for older, seriously ill, and special-needs cats.
Kim was involved with the case of a rescued cat that had been severely injured in an accident and required major internal surgery involving many organs. It was thought the cat had a 25% chance of survival from the surgery itself, and a poor chance of recovery. The combination of anesthetics, steroids, and pain medications – all of which suppress symptoms – block the work of homeopathics, whose purpose is to stimulate symptoms. Kim chose to use flower essences because they can work past such substances on a completely different level. “That’s the beauty of flower essences – they can work through all that.” Though the surgeon didn’t believe in homeopathy or flower essence therapy, Kim advised the staff to give the cat homeopathic Arnica and flower essences before the surgery, as well as immediately afterwards. She recommended that Arnica, Star of Bethlehem, and Self-Heal essences
be given orally, around the clock, every four hours. Remarkably,
the cat survived, began to heal immediately, and was able
to leave the animal hospital two days earlier than expected!
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Arnica
|
Star
of Bethlehem
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Kimberly Rockshaw, DIHOM, earned her degree from
the British Institute of Homeopathy. She incorporates
flower essence therapy in her practice, as well as other
modalities such as vitamins, immune building/modulating
supplements, and herbs (Chinese, Western, and Ayurvedic).
She continues to further her education by attending seminars
and workshops, and has completed courses in physiology
and anatomy.
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