This article is keyed to focus primarily on certain ways to take remedies that I came to, on my own, over the years of my practice. I refer you to the article ‘How to Take Homeopathic Remedies’ for information about the traditional approaches.
My intention with this article is to bring to you the following unconventional, yet highly effective ways to taking remedies that can be used alone, or as adjuncts to the traditional approaches.
The Pillow Dose
This is one of my favourite ways to take remedies and to administer them. In the pillow dose I request the patient/client to put the vial of the remedy we have selected under the pillow overnight. The person enters the energetic field of the remedy by being in such close proximity to it. I feel this method is as effective as taking the remedy in water. This is one of the primary methods I use with clients. It is my preferred method of taking remedies personally.
The Pocket Dose
Just like the pillow dose, this method works by bringing you in close proximity with the remedy and putting you in its energetic field. The exposure is not as long as with the pillow dose, because you are not with the remedy for as extended a period of time. I often recommend the pillow dose for acute situations. I may recommend that the patient/client takes the first dose of the remedy in water, and then I ask them to do a pocket dose of the remedy every day until they recover from the illness.
I have used this method for people recovering from COVID-19, or any acute illness. The question arises as to how long the remedy should be kept in the pocket. For people who are in the recovery phases of an acute illness, I usually recommend 20-30 minutes per day, but some people feel like they need to hold the remedy much longer, as they are so comforted by it and feel its effectiveness. People have their own intuition about how long to hold the remedy. In this case, I would say ‘Let intuition be your guide.’
The pocket dose is so extremely easy, ever so much easier than the Five Cup Method of Dr Farokh Master, MD [Hom], or working with LM potencies, or repeating the remedy in water, or under the tongue. What it has to recommend is that it works and it is simple. How can you beat that?
The Room Dose
I love the room dose. You get exposure to the remedy, but not as concentrated an exposure as when you take the remedy under the tongue, in water, or the pillow, or pocket dose. This is a truly subtle and gentle influence, and is excellent for when people have indispositions, meaning they are having a bad day, or reacting negatively to some influence, or they just need the tiniest assistance. Please remember I am working with the person’s constitutional, or acute, remedy with the room dose. I am not giving them a different remedy from the one they have been prescribed.
In the room dose I ask the patient/client to put the remedy vial 4-6 feet, or another distance away from themselves for a certain period of time. It can be for a few seconds, or five, ten, fifteen, twenty minutes, or however long my and their intuition seems to feel it is called for. Some people actually are helped by leaving the remedy vial in their room for an extended period of time and do not feel as well when the vial has been removed. On the other hand, some people notice if the remedy vial has been in the room too long and feel much better once it has been removed.
There is always a careful balancing act, because you want to be sure that you are not interrupting a remedy that is unfolding its healing process well, and you do not want to trigger an aggravation. What you do want to do is help re-balance the person if there has been a potential anti-doting influence, or they are in pain. It may not be the right time to repeat the remedy according to the traditional rules of repetition, as a relapse of symptoms that calls for a formal repetition may not have occurred. The room dose is a good choice if the person is not feeling well and you want to do something to help them feel better that is effective and can yield prompt results.
Guiding Rules
Here is a guiding rule that applies to all methods of taking a remedy. In my homeopathic training I was taught that you should not expose yourself to another dose of the remedy, if more than 48 hours has passed. It is said that after that point you need to let the remedy run its full cycle, which usually means a period of aggravation, followed by amelioration, with signs that the remedy is relapsing before considering repeating the remedy. The explanation is that the remedy sets up a healing process that unfolds over time. If you take, or expose, yourself to the remedy on consecutive days, the body interprets that as a continuation of the single dose, but if you go further than 48 hours, the body interprets the new exposure as a new dose of the remedy. I will often follow this guidance and try to keep exposure to the remedy within 48 hours, as in an acute situation, where the remedy may be needed more often due to the intensity of the illness.
Every rule has an exception, and you can pick and choose what rules to follow in a given situation based on intuition and the needs of the patient/client. When working with LM potencies I do not follow this ’48 hour-rule.’ Instead I ask the patient to observe themselves and repeat their dose of the LM potency when they have experienced a relapse of symptoms that had been better. In some cases, rather than the 48-hour rule, I use the guideline of re-exposing the patient to the remedy when there is an increase in pain, or other symptoms, whether it has been more than 48 hours, or four days after the last exposure. I have not seen that this disrupts the case. On the contrary, I have seen that it ameliorates the patient. If there is a slight aggravation of symptoms, such as insomnia, it passes quickly.
I will often choose the room dose method of taking the remedy, if I have encountered some anti-doting influence, such as dental work, exposure to chemicals, or I have handled too many homeopathic remedies for my patients/clients. A room dose will help reassure me that I am still under the influence of my constitutional remedy.
Respect for Others
Another guiding note I have is to make sure that you show respect for others when working with pillow doses, pocket doses and room doses. If you are sleeping with someone else in the bed, then do not take the remedy via pillow dose, but take it via one of the traditional methods, such as in water, so that you don’t expose anyone else to your remedy.
The same precaution goes for the pocket dose and the room dose. Use these methods when you are alone and other people are not likely to walk into the room, who can inadvertently be exposed to your remedy. Susceptibility, of course, plays a part in whether another person would resonate with your remedy sufficiently to have any reaction to it, but it is better to err on the side of caution and be respectful of other people. I believe that the power of intention also plays a part in whether someone who has been exposed to a remedy, or many remedies, such as people who work in stores, where homeopathic remedies are sold, are affected by them.
Please consider purchasing a Lead Lined Film Bag to carry your remedies about, or store them in. This bag helps to minimise exposing others to homeopathic remedies when you are travelling, and it is a good place to store your remedies at home.
Conclusion
The pillow dose, the pocket dose, the room dose are wonderful ways to expose people seeking healing to the remedy. They can be used as an alternative to taking a remedy in the traditional ways, such as the dry dose, the remedy in water, or LM potencies. Many people are cautious to taking homeopathic remedies orally, but they may be not so resistant to taking the pillow dose, the pocket dose, or the room dose of the remedy. The wonder that is homeopathy is, thus, accessible to people who would never take an oral dose of a remedy. May you experience the miracle that is homeopathy. Always.
