Caretakers and Caregivers
For those caring for a parent, a child, a partner, or clients, whose own needs have quietly dropped to the bottom of the list. Banana helps restore the practice of asking "what do I need?" alongside "what do they need?"
Hawaiian Rainforest Naturals · Flower Essence
Banana
Take Action
Helps you take action on your own behalf so you can create the life you truly want.
Banana helps you make positive choices for yourself, stay motivated, and create healthy personal boundaries. Especially supportive for those who spend so much time caring for others that their own needs, goals, and dreams keep getting pushed aside. Banana supports you in staying motivated, reaching your goals, and creating a life that reflects what you truly want — not just what others expect.
Banana reminds you that your needs matter too—and gives you the encouragement to act on them.
Especially Good For: Taking action Setting healthy boundaries Motivation Self-care
$20.00
1oz glass dropper bottle
Emotional Purpose
Take action on your own behalfMotivation, courage, and healthy boundaries
Single Plant
Banana Flower - Mai'aOrganically grown on Hawai'i Island
Especially Good For
Caretakers and nurturersThose who put others first
Combines Well With
Kīnehe TīMorning Decide Act combinations
Ingredients
Distilled water Organic banana flower essenceBrandy 13% preservation 1oz glass dropper
The Story
Where Banana Take Action Began
Banana Take Action is one of the original flower essences in the Hawaiian Rainforest Naturals collection, created through the healing practice Melia Goodenow and her mother, Joy Johnson, began together in the early 1990s.
Again and again, we saw people who were wonderful at caring for everyone around them felt exhausted, bored, frustrated and dissatisfied. Their time, and energy went outward—to children, family, partners, work, and responsibilities — while their own needs and dreams kept being placed last. Last on a never ending list.
We have always been taught to put others first. But we soon realized that with honoring our own needs we begin to fade away. This can lead to sadness and even depression - feeling like our own self is far away.
Banana became the essence for restoring that balance.
Banana's message is simple but powerful: you are allowed to take action on your own behalf. Caring for yourself does not mean caring less about others. It means recognizing that your life, your needs, and what you want to create matter too.
“
The Intention Behind Banana Take Action
Banana Take Action was created with caregivers in mind—people who spend much of their time looking after children, family, partners, clients, or others and may find themselves putting their own needs last.
A Reminder to Take Care of Yourself, Too
The idea behind Banana Take Action is simple: caring for other people does not mean forgetting yourself. For those who are always giving their time and attention to others, making space for their own needs can be an important part of everyday self-care.
Banana Take Action is intended as a personal reminder to pause, check in with yourself, and take action on what you need. It can become part of a simple ritual for anyone who wants to make more room for themselves while continuing to care for the people they love.
Like the other flower essences in the Hawaiian Rainforest Naturals collection, Banana Take Action reflects the relationship between the flowers we work with and the intentions behind each essence.
The Teaching
Rooted in Living Lineage
Joy Johnson and Melia Goodenow have practiced Hawaiian healing traditions for over 30 years, guided by teachers who emphasized that caring for others begins with caring for yourself first — that a healer, a mother, or anyone in service to others cannot pour from an empty vessel. Banana Take Action reflects this understanding directly, made specifically for those who give continuously and rarely allow themselves to receive.
One of the teachings passed to us through Morrnah Simeona was that everything begins with the self. We must first care for ourselves, clear what is out of balance within us, and take responsibility for our own lives.
From there, the change moves outward—like ripples across water. When we value ourselves, create healthy boundaries, and make choices that honor our own well-being, it changes the way we show up in our relationships, our families, our communities, and ultimately the world around us.
Banana carries this teaching into everyday life. Taking care of yourself is not separate from caring for others. It is where caring for others begins.
This essence is handcrafted using wisdom passed down by Kahuna Lāʻau Lapaʻau and other native plant medicine healers, always in pono, always with prayer and permission.
“
Melia — the specific teaching
Morrnah Simeona taught us that everything always reflects back to yourself. You must take care of yourself and clean your emotional ties and from there your work will effect others. Like ripples on the energetic waters of life, what you do vibrates out to the people in your life. Banana carries that teaching forward: it helps you take action on your own behalf so you can feel valued. When you value yourself, others will respond with that same understanding of your value.
Go Deeper
Read the full story of HRN's healing lineage — Morrnah, Papa Henry, Joy, and Melia
The Lineage and Legacy →The Plant
Banana Flower
The banana flower is organically grown on Hawai'i Island. Nutritionally, the flower and fruit is notably rich: vitamins A, C, and E, minerals including potassium, calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, and phosphorus, along with dietary fiber and antioxidants.
The banana flower is striking and abundant. The flower essence carries a beautiful teaching about giving and receiving: even those who give generously must also make space to receive, replenish, and care for themselves.
How these plants are gathered →
What Shifts
What This Essence Supports
Banana helps you take action on your own behalf—to recognize what you need, make positive choices for yourself, and follow through. It is especially supportive when caring for others has become so natural that you have stopped making room for yourself. Banana reminds you that your time, energy, goals, and well-being have value too.
It supports making good, positive choices for yourself and creating healthy personal boundaries. A boundary is not about shutting people out. It is about knowing what is right for you—what you can give, what you need to protect, when it is time to say yes, and especially when it is time to say NO.
Banana helps us to realize how valuable we are to the world. We all have a special gift to share, but when we are giving all our time and energy to others, there is no time to find, develop, and give our gift. Banana flower essence helps us to feel strong and make strong, healthy choices for our lives.
This stronger sense of self creates the power to take action. You can make the appointment, begin the project, have the conversation, keep the promise you made to yourself, or take the first step toward something you have wanted for a long time.
Banana helps turn “I wish” into “I am.”
How emotional healing happens in layers →This Essence Is Recommended For:
- Those who take care of others and don't have time for themselves
- Those needing to make good choices for themselves
- Those wanting to stay motivated to reach their goals
- Those needing to create and maintain personal boundaries
From Our Customers
A Little Extra Get-Up-and-Go
“Wow! I love your banana essence. It really gets me going
in the morning…”
— NR
Customer Review · Kona, Hawaiʻi
Applications
When This Essence Serves You
Banana meets you wherever giving to others has crowded out giving to yourself.
Slow Mornings and Low Motivation
For those who struggle to get moving, especially first thing in the day. Combined with Kīnehe as the Morning Combination, Banana supports the shift from stillness into forward motion.
Trouble Setting Boundaries
For those who say yes when they mean no, or who feel overloaded and unappreciated from constant giving. Banana supports the confidence to create and hold a personal boundary.
Stalled Goals and Ambitions
For those who know what they want but keep putting off the steps to get there. Banana supports staying motivated when the goal feels far away or easy to deprioritize.
Creative Block
For artists, writers, or anyone facing a project they can't seem to begin. Applied topically to wrists and neck, Banana supports finding the courage to take the first concrete step.
Ambivalence About a Decision
Combined with Tī as the Decide & Act Combination, Banana supports moving from a decision made only in your head into a decision actually acted on.
Who This Is For
You Might Need This Essence If...
You're the one people call. The one who shows up, who remembers everyone's birthday, who somehow always has capacity for one more thing — except when it comes to yourself, where the capacity mysteriously runs out.
Maybe you have a goal you keep meaning to start on, but something else always needs you first. Maybe you say yes automatically, before you've even checked in with what you actually want. Maybe the idea of setting a boundary makes you feel guilty before you've even said the words.
This essence was made for that exact imbalance — not to make you care less about others, but to remind you that you're allowed to be on your own list too.
“
Melia — on Banana Take Action
I've had so many clients who could set boundaries for their children, their partners, their office — but couldn't set one for themselves. They would say yes to everything, even when they were running on empty. They kept promises to everyone around them, while the promises they made to themselves were always the easiest ones to break. Banana was made for that exact pattern. It helps you take action on your own behalf, not because you don't care about others, but because you deserve to be on your own list too.
How to Use
Working With This Essence
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Under the Tongue
5 drops directly under the tongue, or in water, juice, or tea.
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First Thing in the Morning
Take a dose as part of a morning ritual, before the day's demands take over — a moment to set an intention for your own needs before meeting everyone else's. Use daily for 2 weeks
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Apply Topically
Rub into hands, wrists, or back of neck — useful right before a moment that requires courage, such as beginning a creative project or having a difficult conversation.
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Combine for Specific Situations
With Kīnehe for the Morning Combination — trouble getting going. With Tī for Decide & Act — moving from ambivalence into action. When combining more than 2 essences, decrease to 3 drops of each.
Standard: 5 drops under tongue or in water
Topical: rub into hands, wrists, back of neck
Size: 1oz glass dropper
$20
Combining essences · children and pet dosage · stock vs dosage guide →
Questions
About This Essence
I feel guilty focusing on myself. Will this essence make that worse?
Taking care of yourself does not mean you stop caring for the people you love. Banana is about creating balance—recognizing that your needs belong alongside the needs of others, not permanently underneath them. Making time for your own well-being, goals, and happiness allows you to give from a stronger and more balanced place.
Is Banana specifically for caretakers, or can anyone use it?
Anyone can use it, but it's especially formulated for those who consistently prioritize others' needs over their own — a pattern common in caretaking roles but not limited to them. If you recognize the pattern of overriding your own needs, whether or not you're formally a "caretaker," this essence is a fit.
What is the Morning Combination and who is it best for?
The Morning Combination pairs Banana with Kīnehe, made for those having trouble getting going in the morning. Kīnehe provides the fresh perspective; Banana provides the motivation to act on it. It's best suited to a recurring pattern of slow starts, rather than a single difficult morning.
What is the Decide & Act Combination and how is it different from Banana alone?
Decide & Act combines Banana with Tī Clear Mind, made for those stuck in ambivalence — unable to even reach a decision, let alone act on it. Banana alone is better suited when the decision is already made and what's missing is the follow-through.
Why is Banana organically grown when most HRN essences are wild-gathered?
Banana is one of the few essences in the HRN collection specified as organically grown. It is grown right here on our farm in Puna. This doesn't change how the essence is made from the flower — the same permission-based, sun-infused process applies — but it reflects that banana plants are more commonly found cultivated than gathered wild on Hawai'i Island.
What essences combine well with Banana Take Action?
Two pre-blended combinations include Banana:
- Morning Combination (Banana + Kīnehe) — trouble getting going in the morning
- Decide & Act (Banana + Tī Clear Mind) — ambivalence and follow-through
Banana also appears in the Soul of a Woman body care line.
New to flower essences?
How flower essences work →
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Dosage and general use guide →
Ready When You Are
Helps You Take Action on Your Own Behalf
Read the Story
Go deeper on FlowerEssenceHawaii.com
The lineage, the teaching, and Melia's voice behind this essence.
Read the Full Story →Order Now
Banana Take Action — $20
1oz glass dropper. Organically grown. Free USA shipping over $120.
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