Do you have a homeopathy kit yet?

If not, why not?

It doesn’t take anything fancy. Any old box or bag will do.

You could purchase a kit, ready to go. (See here and here for some ideas.)

Or, you could make your own kit by purchasing remedies as you need them. Start with one. Add another couple and put a rubber band around them to keep them together. Add a few more and put them in a little ziplock bag. Add a few more and put them in a shoebox.

Once you have them, you are then good to go. As long as you keep them safe and together, then you have your kit.

I could give you a list of suggested remedies. Would that help? (Almost all of these Ruminating on Remedies articles are written with common, easily sourced remedies in mind. Read through and find a few remedies that might serve you and your family well. 

It’s actually one of the hardest things to do — narrowing down to just 10, but here goes!

Top 10 — in no particular order:
1. Arnica

• trauma; bruising; muscles soreness; injuries; flu; emotional shock/trauma

2. Hypericum

• nerve injuries; following dental work; wound healing; following bites; emotional distress

3. Rhus tox

• joint and muscle pain, stiffness; skin conditions; flu; sprains; post injury recovery; restlessness/anxiety

4. Arsenicum album

• tummy troubles; diarrhea; food poisoning; burning pains; coughs; skin conditions

5. Bryonia alba

• flu; headache/migraine; aches/pains; coughs; joint pain (worse moving)

6. Hepar sulph

• infections, with pus; sore throat; respiratory; skin eruptions

7. Belladonna

• acute conditions: fevers, infections; pain relief; headaches; nervous system

8. Aconite

• sudden onset of illness; anxiety/restlessness; fever; respiratory; pain relief

9. Nux vomica

• digestive troubles; flu; overindulgence; irritability/stress; sleep disturbances

10. Ferrum phos

• first stage infections/illness; bleeding: nosebleeds; fever; sore throat; colds; coughs; headache/migraine

Two people have independently spoken to me about their homeopathic kits in the last two weeks. The first one purchased a Narayani kit and there is no other way to say it — she is over the moon with it. (She didn’t purchase the little one mentioned in the link above, she went for the whole kit and kaboodle!) The second person, just this morning, told me how much she loved her little kit of 50 remedies. She said she wants to carry it around with her everywhere. The other day her son was feeling a little off — Nux took care of that. She slammed her finger tip in a drawer and Arnica and Hypericum took care of that. Done. Easy.

Return the remedies to where they belong after you have used them and your kit is once more ready to go for the next thing that comes along.

What are you waiting for?!?



Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits

Last April, I wrote about my exciting purchase of a kit of the Narayani remedies. Well, I took that kit with me on my summer vacation and I have to say, I am very impressed.

At that time I was excited about the possibilities that were in the Narayani kit from Taproots*. I bought the kit. I looked at the kit. Literally, at the last second this summer as I was closing up my carry on bag with my computer and the things I can not travel across the world without, I threw in the new Taproots Narayani kit (and, the Helios Narayani book, too. Phew!).

Boy, am I glad I did that!

We landed in England and all was well on a beautifully warm and sunny day. The next morning, I woke up with something… a cold? Mold allergies? After breakfast, I was pretty certain it was not allergies. I tried a couple of single remedies from my usual travel homeopathy kit. Have I mentioned how tricky it can be to find the right remedy when you’re not feeling great? I have to say, that goes double when you're jetlagged! Those single remedies helped a bit but they were missing the mark. Then, I remembered my last minute addition and pulled out the Narayani kit.

As I have mentioned before, Narayani remedies are sometimes straightforwardly named and other times… not so much.

• "Flu Pack" makes sense (turns out it's a combination of many combination remedies)
  • but there is also "General Flu mix", so…
• "Skin Itch" makes sense
  • but there is also "Skin H"… (which is mainly used for dry skin)
• "Colds mix" makes sense
  • but there is also "Post Nasal Drip," "Sinus mix," and, "Sinus special"…
• "Combination Mix" -- not so clear at first but it turns out it is a combination of all 12 cell salts.
• "War mix" leaves some things to the imagination.
• "Drawing"? "Elimination"? "Calcium"? "Cleansing"?

I rootled through the little box while flipping pages in the book to read what might be in order. I don't remember where I started. (If you are a frequent reader of Ruminating on Remedies, you will know that I returned from this trip with Lyme disease (See: Ticked Off) and a lot of little details between then and now took a backseat and have since disappeared from my brain.)

I am happy to say that for the next week of our trip, I was, as my homeopath friend calls it, “homeopathically sick.” What does that mean? "Homeopathically sick" means that life can go on, pretty much as planned, even though there are symptoms. The symptoms never progressed -- the remedies stopped them in their tracks allowing me to enjoy my trip.

With the quick successes I had for my symptoms with these new (to me) remedies, the little Narayani kit moved from my carry on bag to my little shoulder bag, (along with a box of tissues, an empty bag to hold my used tissues and some hand sanitizer to keep up with all that nose blowing) and our vacation carried on pretty much without missing a beat.

Over the next about 10 days, our group ranged from 6 to 20+ people at a time and this little kit helped more than just me.

Which remedies were used? 

• "Cramps" came in very handy for menstrual pains.
• "Diarrhea" was worth its weight in gold to stop whatever was happening before a long car ride.
• "Post nasal" became my new favorite for a minute there.
• "Allergy B" helped a cat allergy sufferer who found themselves staying in a room where the cat usually lives.

There were more, but this is all I can specifically recall at the minute.

Looking over all the remedies in the kit again now, I see I probably missed a trick or two in the early days of trying this out. When I first purchased this Taproots Narayani kit*, I knew what I knew about Narayanis (not much). Now, I know better how to use these little gems and I think it’s fair to say I won’t be traveling again without them. In fact, I have traveled many times since this first encounter with this kit seven months ago and it comes with me every single time, without fail. Sometimes I use it, sometimes it just comes along for the ride, but I am always happy to have it with me.

One thing is for sure -- if you purchase this kit, make sure you also purchase a Narayani guide. There are a couple of versions of these books, but it's all the same information -- the Narayani remedies are the Narayani remedies, there are no variations (that I am aware anyway). Taproots sells a version for $49.99 but my favorite version is from Helios for £9.95: The Narayani Combination Remedies, updated and revised 2023.

Even if you don't purchase the kit, I highly recommend the book as a good way to learn remedies. As you read through the combination remedies for various conditions, it's an easy way to get a nice overview of a variety of remedies.

Taproots offers free shipping in the US on orders over $100, so, that helps!

On this Valentine's Day -- show yourself a little love and splurge on this incredibly useful collection of 50 remedies*!

Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath

#wellnessawaits


* I have no affiliation with this company (or any other company, actually!)

​Though my first few experiences with homeopathy were through using single remedies suggested by classical homeopaths, the big wowee moment about homeopathy for me came when I was first treated with the Banerji Protocols. That is when very big changes happened very quickly for me. Those changes were so impressive and occurred in such a short amount of time that I stopped everything I was doing and started studying homeopathy. Those first classes that followed were all about the Banerji Protocols and I was absolutely hooked on the wonders of homeopathy. Banerji Protocols remain near and dear to my heart and I use them every single day. (If you are interested in classes on Banerji Protocols, Joette Calabrese* is the way to go.)

I then went to Homeopathy School International* because at that time, I just wanted to learn more about homeopathy. I had no idea that I actually wanted to become an actual homeopath. Because the only way I could get more knowledge was to take the tests, I did just that and then without any real intention to become one, I was a CHom, a certified homeopath.

When that finished, I was still hungry for more knowledge and I lucked in to a Bachelor of Science (BSc) program that was going to be offered one last time through Centre for Homeopathic Education*, (a.k.a. CHE) in conjunction with Middlesex University in the UK. At this time, I still didn’t think I wanted to be a practicing homeopath, but if I thought I was hooked before — now I was really hooked and just a couple months into this one, I finally knew what I wanted to be when I grew up! This program focused on the science of homeopathy, learning advanced materia medica, anatomy and physiology as it relates to homeopathy and diving into the research of homeopathy. Don’t let anyone tell you that good research does not exist for the efficacy of homeopathy, because it does! 

I still can’t get enough homeopathic knowledge. I am constantly enrolled in deep dives into many different topics; some because they interest me and some because I have clients with specific issues and I do whatever I can to learn how to further help them.

Last year I embarked on some classes looking into the Narayani Remedies. (If you are interested, Caroline Gaskin* does a good class.) On one hand, the Narayani remedies seem simple and straightforward, yet on the other hand, it’s like learning a whole new dialect of a previously familiar language.

Like the Banerji Protocols (BPs), Narayani Remedies are combination homeopathic remedies but unlike the BPs, the Narayani combinations frequently intermingle. Often, many different Narayani combinations are used at one time resulting in a mind-boggling amount of many different remedies being given/taken all at once. Fully classical homeopaths must balk at these combos (all combos, really), but… I’m going to say that they shouldn’t knock ‘em before they try them!

“The Narayani Remedies were created by Swami Narayani and Swami Ananda in 1968 to simplify their practice treating large numbers of patients in India and South Africa. These homeopathic remedies have been used around the world for over 50 years with great success. The combination remedies are used to manage people with a variety of conditions… a truly wonderful set of combinations” (Narayani Remedies*).

Let me tell you about a particular favorite of mine: a delightful little combination called Narayani Calming Pills Mix 6. I have many clients who have referred to this combination as “a life saver” and I have found it to be very helpful for both clients and caregivers of clients with difficult conditions.

From Davidson’s book, “The name speaks for itself. The pills do just that — they calm the entire system, mentally and physically. There are times when, after taking the first few doses, people want to sleep and sleep. This proves that the nervous system needs to rest — needs to stop for a while. For busy parents with naughty children. Tense business people. After a visit to the dentist. Any grieving family. Any condition of stress or apprehension.”

What’s in it? Again, from Davidson (2005):

Avena sativa for nervous exhaustion and tremors
Coffea for nervous agitation and restlessness
Humulus (Lupulus) for unstrung nervous conditions with nausea
Ignatia for sobbing, sighing, depressed conditions
Kali phos — a great nerve tonic
Passiflora has a quietening effect on the nervous system
Sumbul for hysterical and nervous symptoms
Valeriana for hysterical, over-sensitive nervous affections

When I first looked into these combination remedies, I thought — “but, my client isn’t ‘hysterical’ and isn’t nauseous — this is just too much stuff in here and is not applicable.”

I was wrong. Not every remedy listed in a Narayani combination remedy needs to be “a good fit.” You see, the body is just amazingly intelligent and knows what it needs. And, when it comes to homeopathy, the body is somehow able to sort through what it needs and discards what it doesn’t; this seems particularly true when it comes to using homeopathic combination remedies.

What prompted this article today was an ad in my inbox that got me a little excited…

TapRoots* has announced their new Top 50 Narayani Remedies Kit 1. (That #1 gets me excited that there will be more to follow!) 

From the email:
PRE-ORDER NOW & SAVE $30!
This kit will begin shipping May 20, 2024.
The Narayani Remedies are an incredibly powerful set of combination remedies that were put together by "classical homeopath", Swami Narayani, in 1968.

These homeopathic remedies have been used around the world for over 50 years with great success and are now being used in 80 countries!

SAVE $30 when you pre-order by April 30, 2024! No coupon needed!

Should you decide to go ahead and make this purchase, I highly recommend purchasing a book to help you navigate your way through these simple but sometimes confusingly named remedies. Robert Davidson’s book (mentioned above) or, Nimisha Parekh’s Narayani Remedies, A Condensed Guide, or, (even better!) Helios Pharmacy has done an updated and revised handbook (2023) which is even a little clearer.

As an example, “Calming Pills” is pretty straightforwardly named; CB 8 Mix 69, not so much. CB 8 Mix 69 is “akin to” a combination of “Calming” and “Shock” (another Narayani combo) but it is different — It is, however, for the nervous and emotional system. (I did mention this was a little like learning a different language!)

“A single remedy is like a solo artist, unique and individual. The combination remedy is like a choir. Each has to be in harmony with all the others, working for a single outcome. Truly harmonious, effective combinations are quite rare and Narayani remedies — they just sweetly sing” (Davidson 2005).

If you would like to learn more about how single or combination homeopathic remedies could help you, click here to book a free 30-minute consultation.


Julia Coyte, CHom
Classically Practical homeopath


#wellnessawaits

* I have no affiliation with this company (or any other, actually) — I just like their products!

​Reference list

Davidson, R., ed. 2005. Narayani’s Materia Medica: Homeopathic Combination Remedies For the 21st Century. 2nd ed. Milton Keynes, U.K.: Robert Davidson.

Narayani Remedies, n.d. NARAYANI REMEDIES [online]. narayaniremedies.com.