Rhythmic procedures

In anthroposophic pharmacy, various rhythmic procedures for preserving medicines without alcohol are found, e.g.

• the WALA method
• Rh preparations of Weleda
• Rhythmic procedure of the medicinal products laboratory of the Arlesheim Clinic
• Rhythmic procedure of the Sonnen-Apotheke Waiblingen

The intention of the rhythmic procedures is to stabilize aqueous fresh plant extracts. The various procedures differ in detail, but the basic ideas are similar. The extracts are treated rhythmically in several ways. There is 1) a temperature rhythm (37 °C ←→ 4 °C), 2) a movement rhythm, and 3) a time-of-day rhythm (morning ←→ evening) with 4) a light exposure rhythm. This results in aqueous mother tinctures that have a long shelf life without the addition of alcohol or other preservatives.

A major impetus for the development of rhythmic methods was also the desire of physicians, especially Ita Wegman, for alcohol-free medicinal preparations.

Rudolf Hauschka was formative in this field. This may go back to his question to Rudolf Steiner about the nature of life, to which Steiner replied in a conversation in 1924, "Study rhythm, rhythm carries life." The first publication of a remedy production method with reference to morning and evening processes dates from 1932.