Mighty Mallow

I’ve been noticing some common themes popping up in my flower essence sessions lately. For the past few months, I’ve been seeing a lot of women in their 40s and 50s who are mentioning physical and emotional changes that they attribute to shifting hormones in perimenopause and menopause. Hearing so many similar stories in a concentrated time frame has got me thinking about what essences I have on hand for hormone issues - and more broadly, for overall support in the aging process.

Hormone balance is such a layered, complex proposition - I don’t pretend to know anything about it. My background amounts to a couple of college biology classes and Dr. Google, but I’m very curious about resources from the plant world that might offer some help as our bodies change…from puberty on through adulthood. I started digging into the Gurudas book, Flower Essences and Vibrational Healing, for essences that might provide relief for common menopausal issues like insomnia, hot flashes, mood swings, night sweats, vaginal dryness, etc.

For a few days, I did a deep dive into essences for disturbed sleep (probably the most frequent complaint from clients). I expect my approach for hormone-driven sleep issues may need to be a bit different than it is for other types of insomnia. Since estrogen and progesterone regulate core body temps and brain chemicals that promote rest, their decline in menopause can lead to night sweats, wakefulness, etc. Low estrogen and progesterone can also bump up cortisol levels which makes getting a good night’s sleep even more tricky.

I’m looking at plants that might mitigate the effects of these declining hormones including herbs frequently used for menopausal symptoms - things like Black Cohosh and the phytoestrogen-rich Red Clover (which mimics the effects of estrogen in the body and therefore shouldn’t be consumed by anyone with a hormone-sensitive cancer). These plants are not named in the Gurudas book although I imagine there may be some overlap in their action as essences.

I’ve also been looking into essences to support the adrenals. As the ovaries slow down, the adrenals take over the job of producing sex hormones (albeit at lower levels). Anyone who’s chronically stressed is apt to have a rougher go of it as hormones shift in midlife.

One promising plant that’s come up in my research is Mallow. Gurudas flags the essence as a tonic for the entire endocrine system and recommends it for a variety of issues related to aging and menopause. It’s supposed to offer support for the skin, circulatory system and brain. It’s also a resource for people who are feeling self-conscious about body changes either in puberty or later in life. It soothes fears that crop up around the aging process too.

I found some info on the National Library of Medicine website detailing the herbal benefits of Mallow leaves and flowers. The herb seems to have quite an array of positive effects as an antioxidant, antimicrobial, anticancer, wound-healing, anti-inflammatory, liver-protective and pain-blocking agent.

Needless to say, I figured I’d really better make the essence this year! I was scouting around for a Mallow plant to bring into the Delta Gardens garden when, as luck would have it, David spotted a patch growing along a local path. I was able to get out there last week and make the essence. The flowers are a mesmerizing purple-pink. The petal structure is a rounded version of the five-pointed star which echoes the human form (head, arms and legs). According to David’s book, Advanced Flower Essence Healing, this particular flower form suggests that the essence offers some kind of lesson or support around being in the body.

I’ll be working with Mallow and a collection of other essences in months to come - with an eye towards supporting emotional and physical balance as we age and change. I’m thinking about offering a limited number of reduced-rate sessions for people who are dealing with hormonal shifts in midlife and would like to be a part of a research process. If this interests you, let me know!

Mallow ~ Malva sylvestris