 This is it! This is the year to fully embrace homeopathy.
If you have already made the jump - congratulations! If so, then this is the year to learn more and/or share what you know. (Find the appropriate step number for you below and proceed from there.) How does one go about fully embracing homeopathy? Step 1: Purchase a homeopathic kit. I suggest a kit because then you have everything you need in one place. Don’t make this harder than it has to be. Don’t make the distribution of various remedies around your house an obstacle to cure. I guarantee you know where you keep your Tylenol or your Advil. Am I right? Now, give this homeopathic kit pride of place. Once you learn to use these remedies, your over the counter medications will be relegated to the back of the cupboard, and that’s a good thing — you want to engage your immune system to help heal you, not bypass it. If you already have a good assortment of remedies, it’s time to wrangle them. See here for some ideas. Step 2: Buy a good “starter” book. There are lots of them out there, I am happy to say. I particularly like the following:
If you are already comfortable with steps 1 & 2, I suggest it’s time to purchase a repertory and a materia medica. These books aren’t cheap, but they are so worth it. I know there are plenty of free versions on line, but I highly suggest purchasing an actual book. Working your way through the book has many benefits that just doing an online search can’t give you. You will get a feel for the method behind the madness when you can flip between pages of symptoms and mark up your own copy of a materia medica. Many homeopaths would recommend starting with Kent. I’m not going to do that. Start in the modern age and treat yourself to a Murphy. It doesn’t have to be brand new, good used copies are out there. It doesn’t have to be the newest edition. Just purchase whatever version you can get of Dr. Robin Murphy’s Repertory and Murphy’s Nature’s Materia Medica. As I write this, these books are on sale at Lotus Wellness Cottage. (Dr. Murphy is no longer with us, but his wife Judith Toscano, ND carries on the goodness.) Another option for someone who has “outgrown” the starter books (you will never outgrow these books, but it was the best word I had for someone who is hungry for more) is Roger Morrison’s Desktop Guide: To Keynotes and Confirmatory Symptoms. Dr. Morrison describes 100+ of the most commonly used homeopathic remedies and breaks them each down into keynote symptoms. Note: I have heard rumblings that Dr. Morrison is updating this marvelous book but I have not heard any details. Step 3: Try it! Try your hand on your own symptoms. I’m not suggesting you tackle years’ long migraines on your own to start (though, you might pleasantly surprise yourself if you do). Start with something small. Upset stomach from New Year’s Eve over-indulgence? Try some Nux vomica and see what happens. Sore back from hefting the Christmas tree out the door? Try some Arnica or Rhus tox and see what happens. (See ...Rhymes with Box.) Try it on your pet. Homeopathy to the rescue for dogs; What hurts?; PTSD Loved one have the sniffles? Try some Cold Calm. The next time you have over done it or are feeling poorly, stop and think. What is it I have done? When did these symptoms start? What is it my body needs to heal? What am I feeling? What makes me feel better? What makes me feel worse? (Things that make you feel better or worse are termed “modalities” and can be helpful guiding symptoms to the “right” remedy.) The more you use homeopathy, the more impressed you will become with this method of healing. Step 4: Share it! Once you have a few. homeopathic “wins” under your belt, see how you can help your friend or neighbor. Best friend have plantar fasciitis? Nephew get a little too much sun? Neighbor having knee trouble? Mother-in-law suffering with her arthritis? Step 5: Listen to some podcasts. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many homeopathy podcasts are actually out there. Here are just a few… some of which I have listened to and some I am still waiting to tune in (there aren’t enough hours in the day for all the marvelous homeopathy things out there!) Homeopathy Hangout, Eugenie Krüger The Home Prescriber, Marcus Fernandez Intuitive Homeopathy, Angelica Lemke Homeopathy at Home with Melissa, Melissa Crenshaw Homeopathy for Mommies, Sue Meyer Strange. Rare. Peculiar, Denise Straiges and Alastair Gray Health and Homeopathy, Angela Bloch Raw Health Rebel, Lisa Strbac Step 6: Join some groups, or start a group. Once you catch the homeopathy bug, you’re going to want to talk about it. There are many free groups on Facebook. Joette Calabrese has her Mighties group. Or, grab a friend or two and bring them along on the journey. Step 7: Ready for more? Sign up for an online class. Here are a few suggestions to get you started. CHE, the Centre for Homeopathic Education, has a great free introductory class taught by Hilary Dorrian. Once you see how marvelous that class is, you can sign up for CHE Pro, which they call the “Netflix of homeopathy” — you can try it free for 30 days. School of Health has many courses to offer. Each of the below courses are £249 for international (not based in the UK) students. Joette Calabrese is where I got my homeopathic start. Joette offers many courses beginning with her Gateway classes ($67.91) to a variety of “protocol” courses focusing on the Banerji Protocols… Allergic, Feminopathy, Good Gut Bad Gut, etc. Homeopathy Heals: Everything you need to get started, Lisa Strbac: £122 Homeopathy 101, taught by Judith Toscano, C. Hom, $150 Step 8: Spread the good word! 2024 feels like a good time for Homeopathy to come into its own… 200 years later! The other day I saw an interview on a UK morning talk show all about homeopathy after it became known that King Charles has appointed an MD/homeopath as head of the royal medical household. (This was a role founded by his mother in 1973. Did you know the royal family have been big proponents of homeopathy since the early 19th century?) Then, the other night we saw an ad on television for a (semi) homeopathic product. Shocking, I tell you! Introducing Homeopathy: The Film is in production. I can’t wait for this one! For whatever reason, homeopathy has been kept in the closet for too long. It is more than time to bring this incredible healing modality into the light. I wish you a joyful, healthy and prosperous 2024! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits *I have no affiliation with any of these books, authors, podcasts or courses. Some of them I have used/taken myself. Some of them I am just aware of their existence.
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 Tis the Season for… Burns?! Yes. You catch that holiday spirit and suddenly you’re a baking fool and… that’s the way that went. Are you frantically baking these days? I’m not. I want to be, but traveling was on the front burner this week. (Sorry, couldn’t resist the bad joke.) And, since we have no big at-home festivities planned, I decided to be honest with myself and acknowledge that if I were to start baking now, I would only just eat them all myself. Alas. All my cookie recipes will have to wait til next year. OK, maybe I’ll have to make just one*. Baking. Cooking. Roasting. Heck, even a quick little zap from some old Christmas lights or stomping on an ember that shot out of the fireplace. Hazards of the festive season, I guess. If you are interested in a good fire glove, these have been a really impressive addition to our fireplace.** Juggling all the pots on the stove while fishing the baked goods out of the oven and, boom, there it is… A nasty burn, generally on the hands or wrists in my experience. I’m talking about little burns today. If you get a big, deep burn, be sure to pay a visit to your nearest emergency room. For previous blogs on burns, see: Kitchen Quickie: Burns and Summer Fun 1. According to The Survival Medicine Handbook (Alton and Alton 2016), first degree burns will appear red, warm and dry and be painful to the touch. The conventional treatment is to simply relieve the discomfort. (Second degree burns are moist with blisters and will cause swelling.) So, in addition to the conventional application of a cool cloth, here are a few homeopathic remedies which may help, especially if the remedy is incorporated into the cool cloth. Homeopathic remedies that come to mind for 1st degree burns… For all of these suggestions, repeat the remedy whenever the pain returns. Urtica urens for stinging, burning pains. Burns with itching. Calendula for burns that hurt more than they "should." Richard Hughes, a homeopath from the late 1800s, refers to Calendula as a remedy for "breaches of surface" -- an apt description for a superficial burn. Calendula cream can be applied directly on the minor burn, or, around the edges of the burn if it's too tender. For an interesting study on Calendula and burns, click here. Causticum for burns with a sensation of rawness. Causticum is a good one to turn to if the other well chosen remedies aren’t quite doing the job, or, the burn is slow to heal. It is also useful to help heal up old burn wounds and scars. Hypericum would be especially useful in cases of burns to nerve rich areas like the fingertips. May have a tingling or numb feeling. Cantharis is an excellent choice for really painful burns -- a cutting, smarting pain. Cantharis is said to help prevent blistering from burns. All of these remedies can also be applied topically, as well as taken internally. First Aid with Homeopathy (Ratera 2016) says to dissolve a couple pellets (whatever your tube recommends as a dose) in some saline (e.g. 2 pellets in 200 ml of saline) and to always keep the dressing moist. Another option is to put a few pellets of your chosen remedy into a fresh bottle of clean water. As the pain returns, take a spoonful of the water in your mouth as well as applying some gauze soaked in that remedy water directly to the affected area. How about when you just can’t wait another moment for one of those cookies and you pop it into your mouth before it’s cooled? A dose of Cantharis, Calendula or Causticum would be where I would start. If you decide to try your hand at a figgy pudding and suffer a burn from hot steam, in addition to the remedies listed above, Apis or Kali bich might be useful. If the hot toddy spills on you (or, more likely, the boiling water for the potatoes spills on you) resulting in a superficial burn, Dr. Ratera recommends Causticum. Wishing you and yours a very Merry (and burn free!) Christmas! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * The cookies I have just now decided to make this year are Brown Sugar and Nutmeg Snaps, a recipe I found in Bon Appetit way back in 1994. (Note: the dough needs to chill for 1 hour.) 1-1/4 cups packed light brown sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter 1 large egg 1-3/4 cups all purpose flour (Jules gluten free flour** is a terrific substitute) 1 tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt Sugar -- Using an electric mixer, beat brown sugar and butter in bowl until fluffy. Mix in egg. Add flour, nutmeg, baking soda and salt; beat until well blended. Chill for 1 hour. Preheat oven to 350. Butter 3 heavy large baking sheets. Roll dough into 1” balls. Roll ball in sugar, coating completely. Arrange on prepared baking sheets, spacing balls 2” apart. Using the bottom of a glass, flatten the cookies to 1-3/4” rounds. Bake until cookies are golden, about 13 minutes. Be careful getting them out of the oven! Cool on baking sheets. (Can be made 1 week ahead. Store in airtight containers.) ** I have no affiliation with this company, I just like their products. Reference list
Alton, J. and Alton, A., 2016. The survival medicine handbook : the essential guide for when help is not on the way. United States: Doom And Bloom. K. Chandran, P. and Kuttan, R., 2008. Effect of Calendula officinalis Flower Extract on Acute Phase Proteins, Antioxidant Defense Mechanism and Granuloma Formation During Thermal Burns. Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition [online], 43 (2), 58–64. Ratera, Dr. M. M., 2016. First Aid with Homeopathy. Germany: Narayana Verlag.  “All is Calm?” Really? At this time of year? Holidays and stress seem to go hand in hand. Was this always the plan? I’m thinking not. Can we decouple Christmas from stress? Jo Robinson and Bill McKibben seem to think it is possible. Full disclosure, I haven’t read their books (Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season & Hundred Dollar Holiday: The Case For a More Joyful Christmas), but I certainly like the premise. For the first time ever I am currently on a pre-holiday vacation with my family and as lovely as it is I find myself stressing out when I walk into the beautifully decorated restaurant. You see, I left our house naked — undecorated — prior to shlepping off to the early morning flight. The day before we left, I did haul out a couple boxes of jolly things, so, at least I would not have to do that part the day after stepping back off a plane, but… really? Do I really need to stress myself out to get the “right vibe” going in the few short days before Christmas proper? I suppose it all comes down to choice. I am choosing to work a few hectic hours to make a festive and fun environment for our Christmas. You know what? That helped. That little mind set switch relieved a lot of the stress I was putting on myself. What else can help with holiday stress? Well, on a practical note, a few years ago I invested in fabric bags*. No more buying wrapping paper and tape and ribbons and spending hours making things look just right under the tree with miles of wrapping paper, tape and ribbon … and, no more big garbage bags filled with that identical pretty wrapping paper and tape and ribbons that no longer serve any purpose. This has been an enormous time saver/stress reducer, I can tell you that. What really helps, though, is homeopathy, of course! Really, any homeopathic remedy that matches the symptoms of what a person is experiencing may be the best stress-reliever for that person, but generically speaking, there are a few homeopathic remedies that I have readily used in the past. Ignatia and Nux vomica are two that come quickly to mind. In fact, check out Overwhelmed for an overview of how those two remedies differ and might help. Boiron’s Stress Calm** has been known to live in my purse during stressful times. Like all homeopathic remedies, Stress Calm is sedative free and not habit forming. And, like all homeopathic combinations, you may prefer to choose one remedy out of the lineup that suits your situation best, but this is a very helpful little grouping of 6c remedies. From the Stress Calm package: Aconite for restlessness and agitation Belladonna for hypersensitivity to stress Calendula for nervous fatigue and hypersensitivity to noise Chelidonium for digestive symptoms caused by stress Jequirity to relieve uneasiness (This remedy is also known as Abrus precatorius and is known to be helpful for headaches and malaise.) Viburnum relieves nervousness and restless sleep. The directions say to dissolve 2 tablets under the tongue three times a day until symptoms are relieved. We have a few more days of family vacation, then we climb back on the plane for the dreaded flight home… Do some laundry, refill the fridge, send some Charlie Brown Christmas through the speakers, trim the tree and a little corner of the house, too… plop the already wrapped prezzies under the tree and enjoy the decorated days with my boys.
Share some of your holiday stress busters in the comments! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits * Fabric wrap: you can purchase premade bags online, though they can be pretty expensive. I found a bunch of fun fabric and then I found a person handier than I with a sewing machine who made them into bags of various sizes, attached with bright ribbons. After a few years of happily using these bags, I now look forward to them just as much as pulling out my favorite ornaments for the tree. (I liked these bags so much I did the same thing for birthdays! I highly recommend it!)  I have also found some great old silk scarves on eBay. They may have a hole or 2 and they may no longer be fashionable around your neck but they’re great for a little fancier version of fabric wrapping!
** I have no financial affiliation with this company, I just like their products.  Flu season has returned. Well, colds, flu, Covid, influenza, whatever you want to call it — it’s back.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again - homeopathy doesn’t give a hoot what you call it. Homeopathy only cares about the symptoms you are experiencing. Here is a short and sweet list of remedies to keep handy - to take at the first sign of feeling unwell; whether that be cold symptoms or fatigue setting in or aches or sneezing.
Not homeopathic but pretty impressive… Last December while traveling in England, everyone around me was coming down with whatever it was everybody was coming down with. I was in Helios pharmacy picking up some remedies and I saw A. Vogel Echinaforce tablets on the shelf. I took these, as well as Ferrum phos 6x and never had so much as a sniffle. I would use that combination again in a heartbeat. If you don’t get there in time with the above remedies and the yucks have made themselves at home, see Flu Remedies to Consider. With all of these remedy suggestions (unless otherwise noted), take a dose at the first sign of feeling unwell. Repeat every 3-12 hours. When feeling better, stop the remedy. If the symptoms return, start the remedy again. Now, go out there, make merry and celebrate the joyous season like you used to! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits The Homeopath in Your Hand by Lisa Strbac The Homeopath in Your Hand is a brand new book that I did not realize was missing from the world of homeopathic books! In just a few short pages at the beginning of this book, homeopath Lisa Strbac gives a short, (but nice!), overview of the basics of homeopathy: symptoms; the history of homeopathy and the theory behind it; how remedies are made; potency; how to choose remedies and specifically how to choose remedies based on her own HEALS™ technique. HEALS™ stands for: Helps or Hinders E for Event A for Accompanying symptoms L for Location S for Sensations Following this, she has a couple pages on how to dose the remedies and some frequently asked questions to round out the introduction. Then, we get to the good stuff. Lisa has a 2-page spread for 77 common remedies, making for a very handy household materia medica. At the top of each page is the name of the remedy with one quick line to sum up the remedy. On the left hand side, she lists the key symptoms and some fun little graphics that I find very helpful in getting to the remedy you need quickly. At the bottom of the page are her Hindered/Helped by symptoms (what homeopaths refer to as modalities -- what makes the person better or worse).
Pages from The Homeopath in Your Hand reproduced with permission from the author. The right hand page provides a little more information on the remedy… the full name of the remedy, other names by which we may know the substance and where the substance may be found in nature.
This materia medica is simple enough (and, the pictures make it engaging enough!) to be useful for everybody, including children. If you are a homeschooling family learning to use homeopathy, this would be a terrific book to have around. At the end of the book is a short list of “essential combination remedies” including:
The final few pages are dedicated to symptoms, or, in homeopathic terms, a repertory. For each heading (e.g. Burns, Cramps, Headaches, Mastitis, Wounds) listing a handful of remedies which might be indicated. The Homeopath in Your Hand is a great little book that I certainly wish I had when I was just starting out with homeopathy. Stockists can be found on her website, or, better yet, ask your local bookseller to carry it: ISBN 978-1399964906. Also on her site, Lisa offers courses and you can even pre-order her exclusive remedy kit to accompany the book. Now that would be an amazing present for somebody this upcoming holiday season! Julia Coyte, CHom Classically Practical homeopath #wellnessawaits |
Julia Coyte, CHomI am passionate about homeopathy and I love sharing this passion. Having a working knowledge of homeopathy shouldn't be kept a secret. If people have the ability to help themselves, their children and their friends when they have minor ailments, life just gets better for everyone. That is the purpose behind Ruminating on Remedies. Archives
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