Notes from Europe: Romanian Conference

It has been so lovely spending the last few days in the historic city of Timisoara surrounded by colleagues as passionate as I am about Gemmotherapy. All weekend long the conference hall on the University grounds was filled with over 200 physicians and pharmacists from throughout Romania who gathered to hear the latest Gemmotherapy findings. While it may seem like quite a distance for me to travel in order to connect with like-minded practitioners, I can assure you it is completely worth the time and effort.

This year I was honored with the opportunity to give two presentations. Saturday morning I presented alongside Joachim on our co-developed GemmoExpert™ software program and my unique perspective to case taking with Gemmotherapy. I have covered quite some distance with this topic these past months and my methodology has been refined to where I now feel it is teachable. It feels amazing to pass this information on so others can benefit.

The following morning I shared what I see as the 4 Stages to Healing the body (Opening Elimination, Cleaning Organs, Restoring Function and Optimizing) with Gemmotherapy and diet. This 4 stage process has become so integrated into my methods, I was a bit shocked by how much interest it garnered. I was approached for more information by practicing physicians as well as professors who are teaching Gemmotherapy as an adjunct therapy in medical school. That alone made the trip worthwhile.

While it is a pleasure to share my thoughts with the group, there is also much for me to gain both from the formal presentations and informal discussions. I particularly enjoyed hearing a presentation given by the Association Secretary and Pharmacist, Carmen Ponoran, on the detailed history of Gemmotherapy that began in Romania in 1979, ten years prior to their Revolution. She shared that it was Dr. Teodor Caba who was the first to present and publish on the subject of Gemmotherapy in Romania. After studying the emerging works from Belgium research physician Pol Henry, Dr. Caba  referred to Gemmotherapy as a modern drainage homeopathic medicine. While this would later be seen as an incorrect definition, his message piqued the interest of many practicing homeopaths.

In 1989, nearly ten years later and the year of the Romanian Revolution, the first extracts were actually prepared in Romania by a Dr. Pavel Chirila. Four years after that, Plant Extrakt produced the first commercial line of Gemmotherapy extracts which were at first only exported to Italy. The products later were promoted within Romania. The use and practice however increased exponentially in 1989 when my mentor, Dr. Sorina Soescu, translated the only Materia Medica on Gemmotherapy from Italian to Romanian. With ready material in the Romanian language, Plant Extrakt began offering weekend training courses which led to the formation of their current professional organization the ARGH.

Dr. Soescu, a renowned scholar and physician, gave a remarkable presentation on the Gemmotherapy tree extracts that best promote drainage for cleaning the body and the big tree remedies that best support lymphatic drainage in chronic cases. This was quite complimentary to the information I had shared earlier on opening elimination. While we each planned our talks a continent apart, they were remarkably synchronized and opened the path for many hours of talks between the two of us on the days following the conference.

Once the conference came to a close, my family was hosted by Dr. Soescu and her husband, who led us on two marvelous day trips. One trip took us out of the city to the outdoor historical museum Satului Banat Ean Timisoara and a nearby natural preserve where we hiked the trails under the canopy of Alder, Birch, Beech, and Sweet Chestnut—all trees of Gemmotherapy. The following day we traveled much further south by car toward the Serbian border and boarded an antique train along Romania’s oldest rail path. It was a fascinating ride along the mountain side this time having a look down onto the tree canopy in this densely forested region. It should come as no surprise that all of this pristine nature provided us with the perfect backdrop for many collegial discussions.

Now closing out my fourth trip to Romania I still marvel at the natural beauty of this country and the warmth and spirit of the people. What a week it has been and we depart with such a sense of fulfillment and ready to begin the next leg of our journey in Germany.

Keep Living Well,

Lauren