The Healing Vibrations Of Flax-Linen

A career as a costume designer has allowed me to work with a wide range of extraordinary fabric options. With this experience, there is no question that natural fibers, such as linen, wool, hemp, and cotton, are the most satisfying to design with for everyday wear. Synthetics don’t have the hand feel or drape that natural fibers do. In addition, some research indicates petroleum-based textiles may not be healthy for humans to wear.

As far as natural fibers, linen has long been linked to a dreamy visual of romance and travel to far-off exotic destinations. The fabric’s soft, rumpled appearance only adds to a seductive, tousled look. Flax-linen is known for its easygoing style and comfort in humid weather and is often associated with royalty, luxury, and celebrities.

Some of the earliest traces of linen were found in a prehistoric cave located in Western Asia, believed to be over 36,000 years old. To the ancient Mesopotamians and Egyptians, linen was believed to symbolize purity and light. Around 8000 BCE, the Egyptians cultivated flax plants to produce softer linen for clothing, religious and burial purposes. Since ancient times, the flax plant from which linen is created has been recognized for its healing properties.

Americans have an affinity for Spandex and Lycra stretch in their clothes and have moved away from all natural fibers. These stretch knits allow for ease of movement and accommodate weight gain or loss; they also trap moisture and odors and can cause skin irritations. When it comes to manufacturing synthetics, the difference between asphalt and polyester is the machine used to process it. Some compelling research has been published over the last several years, examining the use of synthetic and natural fibers regarding human illness and well-being.

A fascinating study in 2003 by Dr. Heidi Yellen, a researcher and physician, explored the frequencies of various fabrics and their effects on the human body. This research deepened the understanding that textiles have the potential for health and well-being benefits. Yellen examined the measurable rate of MHz energy released by humans, animals, plants, and objects. This research revealed that the human body has a signature frequency of 100 Hz, the same as organic cotton, whereas non-organic cotton has a frequency of about 70 Hz. Yellon’s study showed that high-frequency fabrics below 100 Hz could strain the body. Conversely, fabrics with higher frequencies could energize the body. Pure linen and wool have impressive frequencies of 5,000 Hz, making them “super-fabrics.” However, when linen and wool are combined, their frequencies cancel each other out, resulting in zero frequencies.

Are humans intuitively picking up the energy differences between linen and wool, possibly at odds with each other? Stylistically, a 100% cotton shirt is generally paired with a pure wool jacket. However, a pure linen shirt would rarely be paired with a pure wool jacket. It’s easy to find wool and linen woven together as a summer-weight fabric when purchasing fabrics. According to Dr Yellon’s study, this fabric’s high frequency of healing would be canceled.

There are theories that linen-to-wool energy cancelation may be due to the textiles having differing energy flows: wool’s energy field flows from left to right, while linen’s flows from right to left. Perhaps this is similar to magnetic repulsion; it appears they don’t complement each other either. This discovery makes for another interesting study to be done: Does the energy direction of hemp, Alpaca, and cashmere cancel each other out, and what are their frequencies? For those interested or familiar with the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 22:11 and Leviticus 19:19 both warn against wearing linen and wool together.

Dr. Yellen explained that the frequency of cotton, wool, and linen was determined by technician Ivanne Farr using a digital instrument called the Ag-Environ machine. Retired Texas A&M professor Bob Graham initially designed the machine to analyze plant frequencies that help farmers determine optimal harvest time. Graham described the difference in the signature frequency of plant species identity with MHz.

Albert Einstein once said, “Everything in Life is Vibration,” and “Future medicine will be the medicine of frequencies.” Einstein’s thoughts are amplified in Yellon’s study, which states that signature textile frequencies can help identify human illnesses and that specific frequencies could also assist in healing people. For instance, a severely ill person has a low-frequency energy unit or Hz, similar to rayon (created from wood pulp) and silk (worm cocoon thread). Conversely, linen and wool have the highest frequencies and are said to give energy. Specifically, fabric energies may play a role in healing.

Yellon’s study found that pure linen and wool fabric measure 5,000 frequency units, unbleached organic cotton measures 100 units, and standard bleached and colored cotton measures 40 units. Surprisingly, although silk is considered a natural fiber, the thread produced from the silkworm cocoon only measures 10 units. Rayon, a fiber made from wood pulp, measures 15 units. It’s assumed that bamboo and Tencel textiles, also chemically processed from wood pulp, would fall into the same energy field as rayon. Similarly, synthetic fabrics such as polyester, acrylic, spandex, lycra, viscose, and nylon also measure a low energy of 15 units.

Brisbane College of Traditional Acupuncture and Natural Therapies in Australia demonstrated that acupuncture benefits were slowed by wearing synthetics. Repeat experiments showed that if a patient wore nylon underwear during acupuncture treatments, the patient would typically need twice as many acupuncture treatments to get the same results as the unclothed patient. Wearing traditional cotton underwear reduced the energy flow by 20% for acupuncture.

While studying Tachyon Energy, Dr. Philip Callahan, a research scientist, and entomologist, demonstrated another textile development using an oscilloscope: linen acts as a sophisticated energy antenna. Callahan found that the flax-linen fibers reflect light. At the cellular level, flax cells are highly complementary to humans. Human cells can completely dissolve flax cells, which may explain why flax thread is the only natural material used for surgical internal sutures. When linen is applied to wounds or areas of pain, the cloth significantly accelerates the healing process.

Japanese studies have shown that bed-ridden patients using linen bed sheets do not develop bedsores. Clothing created with linen has been found to reduce skin diseases, from common rashes to chronic eczema, and to help promote better sleep. The fiber’s air permeability and heat conductivity keep skin temperature 3-4°C cooler than cotton-wearing counterparts.

In the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity in 2018, the researchers found that linen fabrics, at around 1-2 mm in thickness, could reduce gamma radiation by 50-70%. A study from 2017 in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry reported that flax fiber retrieved from contaminated soil appeared resistant to harmful gamma radiation. It was also reported that the plant fibers and fabric act as filters against chemical exposure and solar gamma radiation, reducing exposure by almost half.

Dr. Yellen’s study is twenty years old and didn’t measure the frequency of hemp as it was still illegal to grow for textiles here at that time. The hemp plant properties, however, align closely with those of cotton and linen. There are various articles, each giving different frequencies to hemp. A scientific look at the energy field of hemp has yet to be determined, but it could range from 100 as organic cotton to 5000 as linen. Hemp also contains numerous advantages, including sustainability, strength, UV resistance, and antibacterial properties, making it another healthy choice.

Some of this research may be considered pseudoscience without large sums of research money for controlled studies. With that in mind, I believe in wearing what makes you feel good. My analogy is that drinks taste better from glass than from plastic. Likewise, your skin can tell the difference between natural and synthetic fabrics.

A healthy lifestyle is, in part, “future-past” thinking. We can look back at several millennia of natural fiber usage and then grow that knowledge for a healthier future.

Years ago, for environmental reasons, my wardrobe choices shifted away from purchasing any additional synthetics with a plastic lifespan. Food sources such as fish ultimately will consume microplastics released from synthetics in laundry wastewater. Without any special devices, I will continue using my senses, which say natural fibers have good vibrations. Avoiding synthetics aligns with my lifestyle, and it feels good to be proactive health-wise for both the person and the planet.

Recent purchases:

Noble Mount Linen Pajamas

https://www.noblemount.com/search?q=Linen+pajamas

Onno.com

Hemp/cotton t-shirt

Dr. Phillip Callahan’s latest book

Paramagnetism: Rediscovering Nature’s Secret Force of Growth