Blog Category: lavender

What happens when your body is chemically overloaded?  You may see it in something as catastrophic as cancer. But, most of us feel it in other ways like lethargy, inability to focus, sleep trouble, chronic inflammation, unexplained pain, skin issues, adult acne, hot flashes, stress, anxiety and fear. If you face any of these issues, it’s time to kick chemicals to the curb.

 

To help you do that, let’s take a quick look at the ultimate tool kit  that supports every system of your body. For more information about each of these oils, visit Nan at experience-essential-oils.com. Her website is my go to along with my desk reference.

 

Lavender is one of the most versatile oils, known as the Swiss Army knife of oils, has over 1000 uses...and is also the most adulterated oil on the market. Knowing your source is critical. 

Another great skin oil. Put on your pillow before you go to bed. 

 

We love it for bruises, blisters, rashes, bug bites, mild burns or headaches and anything we don’t really know what else to use. Spray it on your pillow before you go to bed. Lavender Vitality is great in smoothies, sauces, dressings, homemade ice cream, marinades and drinks!

 

Emotionally it is used for feelings of abandonment, criticism and helps you not to worry about what you can’t control. (Can people really do that?? LOL)  Relaxing and balancing. Fosters communication, brings clarity and insight. But with any oil, start low and go slow. Oils are powerful...ask Dana about his poison ivy story...

 

Peppermint vitality supports your gastrointestinal system and digestive tract. One drop will keep you alert while driving or at other times when you need to focus. 

 

I love it for its cooling effect. I will often drop it on the back of my neck when I am doing a Raindrop session as I tend to get really warm with all the energy that can be released from a client. This has also been my failure oil. Great to have this time of year as kiddos are going back to school as it helps when there is a block to learning a new subject and it helps to eliminate that fear of the unknown. 

Add it to your water, tea, brownies, ice cream, in a veggie cap, or even under your tongue. We will also put a drop on our thumb and put our thumb to the roof of our mouth to clear our sinuses. Dana gets a bit braver and puts it on his  mustache...Remember, vitality and regular are the same oil, just labeled differently to remain in FDA compliance.

 

Purification is an all time favorite. Have you fallen in love with it yet?? Great for cleaning, refreshing, laundry, pet odors and as an insect deterrent. I love diffusing this one all by itself.

Uplifting and refreshing, diffusing it purifies and cleanses negative emotions (now you know why I love to diffuse it...). Our favorite blue book tells us it is good for anger, being alone,  fear of rejection, fear of seeing, negative or wrong thoughts, recognition and violence.

 

Thieves vitality – thieves has been proven to kill 99.9% of all germs and bacteria. Do I even need to say anything else? LOL. When anyone even looks or sounds like they might be going below the wellness line, the first thing I do is get this oil in the diffuser and on their feet and spine. Why those places?? The spine is where bundles of nerves run through your body and the feet (and hands) are where they come out. If you put oils in those places topically, you’re covering a lot of ground in the body, even if you don’t know where those germs are hiding out – another reason Raindrop Technique is so powerful as the oils are applied on your feet and back as well.

 

I put a drop of thieves with lemon, orange or citrus fresh (vitality, of course) in my water or tea and I even have a popcorn recipe that uses thieves! 

 

Did I mention it is also our favorite way to remove splinters!!?? Simply apply a drop as needed and watch the magic happen.

 

Think you couldn’t use this emotionally? Guess what? It helps with feeling different, sneaky, or uncertain and is specifically designed to cleanse your mind or environment when you diffuse it. 

 

Stress Away – you all know my love/hate relationship with this oil. I hated it for over 7 years. Despised it. It was so harsh smelling! But I did put it on my feet because I knew my dislike of it had an emotional element… I giggled when I saw in the blue book that it is for the emotion of cruel…that’s about how I would’ve described this oil before. LOL 

 

It promotes wellness and is one of the top emotional oils, helping you leave all that stress behind, like from being over tired, irritated, angry, nervous, restless…wonder if it helps with being hangry?? Hmmm... It will also help calm you, bringing peace and natural restful sleep.

 

Deep Relief comes in a portable roller bottle...just like Stress Away. This makes it easy peasy to reach those places on your back or shoulders!

Wintergreen, helichrysum, clove, peppermint, copaiba, lemon, vetiver, candian balsam fir, dorado azul…powerful oils…but when combined together?? Game changer.

Nan says this blend will help you find emotional and mental patterns that stop you from exercising and/or taking care of yourself emotionally and physically. It may also dig up physical hurts that have gone unresolved including accident prone tendencies, over exertion or over achieving. It will cool anger and frustration that you have with yourself about those patterns.

Remember, anything that is continually overdone or in excess will drain your body and mind  instead of supporting them, even if the initial intention was good.

Last week we said 26 seconds after exposure, chemicals are found in measurable amounts in your body.  The average woman applies 300 chemicals a day – 80 of those even before breakfast!  Of the top ten most dangerous chemicals in our home, number one is air fresheners, those plug-ins or candles. Second on the list – cleaning supplies. 

 

Ready to take the first step and curious about how you can get this kit and start guarding your home? Message me or comment below. 

 

Next week we will dive into more detail about the toxins lurking in your cabinets that make their way to your clothing, your floors, your skin, your children, pets and food, also taking a look at greenwashing. Join us Sunday night at 8:15pm in Intentional Wellness.

Just 3 seconds...

That's how long it takes essential oils reach your heart, liver and thyroid from the time you inhale them. They can be found in your bloodstream within 26 seconds after being applied…just like anything else you inhale or apply…Sit with that for a moment…

 

So, can you use any just any oil? Does quality really matter?

 

If you walk into a grocery store and look at a box of cereal, you’ll see nutrition facts on the side. However, there are no nutrition facts on the side of oils and no labeling requirements. So that means you have to know and trust the source – the company you are buying from. 

 

If you see “100% USP grade” on the label of your favorite oil, that means US Pharmacopeia, which means it has been manipulated to fit a standard, so by definition, it is adulterated. Wrigley’s wants all its spearmint gum to taste exactly the same every single time you buy a package, unwrap a stick and pop it into your mouth. Therapeutic oils cannot be played with in any form. They contain a life force and even just a little bit of synthetic material can poison it or even destroy it all together.

 

So, let me ask you…why would you use an oil laden with chemicals if the entire purpose of using oils is to get away from chemicals?? 

 

Unfortunately, you cannot have quality without cost. Just think about that hamburger on the dollar menu compared to an organic, grass fed, Angus beef burger…they are both burgers, right? Or…are they?? I read a book called Chew On This to the kids – all about the fast food industry. We learned that the meat (and other parts) of thousands of animals can be found in just one burger…and some of the grain that is being fed to commercial beef actually contains…dead cows!!! Remember mad cow disease?? Yup…You get what you pay for!! We seem to understand that when it comes to burgers and other industries, but not with oils…

 

Authenticity is why you just can’t buy oils at the grocery store. Authentic means that they do not alter the essential oil in any way during or after the distillation process. Companies can claim they use proper distillation of the plant material and that they don’t alter that process because there is a little unknown secret in the aromatherapy world called fractional distillation and rectification.

Fractional distillation is when a company buys essential oils that have been distilled properly, but then, after the plant material is distilled, it goes through a process that fractions out certain molecules. In the case of peppermint, they will take out the earthy aromatic molecules leaving a much more “pleasant” and sweet smelling final essential oil, not the natural peppermint smell it should have. 

Rectification is where a batch of oil is missing some amount of molecules that causes the smell to be too different from what a consumer may think is "normal". The company adds in molecules from other plants to fix or “rectify” the issue. In the case of a batch of Lavender that isn’t as floral smelling as the last batch, they may add in some molecules from Ylang ylang to help fix the smell.

Consider when you buy an orange, you know that the orange you buy now will taste and smell different from the orange you buy even next week. That is nature. With oils, because they are bottled, your brain thinks something is wrong when it smells different from bottle to bottle. In the world of true unaltered authentic aromatherapy, it is normal to have aromatic differences from batch to batch.

How do you know you can trust Young Living? Simply put – Seed to Seal. It is what sets them apart from all other oil companies. No stripping constituents to make them smell better. No mixing species of the same oil. No weed killers, pesticides, herbicides or genetically modified seeds. No “f” word fragrances we talked about last week. They spend $12,000 per acre to hand weed instead of the industry standard of $60 per acre to spray with pesticides. No solvents are used in the distillation process. No mercury, arsenic, glyphosate, or any poison in the soil because the fields are untouched by toxic chemicals…and more. Want to see the difference for yourself? Check out seedtoseal.com here to learn more. 

 

Curious?? How about support for every area of your life at your fingertips? Check out the Make A Shift Essential Solutions kit!  Lavender, Peppermint, Thieves, Purification, Stress Away and Deep Relief, along with a diffuser that is only available in this bundle. And, if you are brand new to Young Living, be sure to use the coupon code SHAREYL at checkout to save 10%! 

 

Not ready to jump in quite yet but would love to play around on the website and see all that Young Living offers? Use this link to create a free account - no purchase necessary. Let me know you created an account and I will send you an invite to join my online Facebook community where we learn about wellness, purpose, abundance, mindset and more. 

I'd love to hear what you think! What topics would you like to learn about? What fascinates you? Confuses you? Simply hit reply and let me know!!

Have an incredible week, my friend.

Supper is finally finished, homework or chores are done, sports practices are over, the kids are settled for the night. . . you sit down on the couch, let out a big sigh, and you . . .

 

Let your mind wander back to everything you didn’t get accomplished today…

Continue to stress over that argument or phone call that didn’t go your way…

Already find yourself being anxious about everything you have to do tomorrow…

 

Sound familiar??

 

What if your downtime went something like this . . . you sit down on the couch, let out a big sigh, and you . . .

 

Celebrate everything that you crossed off your to-do list…

Feel at peace with the way you handled every situation you faced because you were able to stay calm and relaxed…

Find yourself looking forward to tomorrow with anticipation of all the blessings coming your way…

 

Sound too good to be true? 

 

It doesn’t have to be!

Your body needs sleep to physically function, make decisions, focus on tasks, manage those emotions, and to handle all that each day can throw at you! Think about that toddler who has missed their nap. They are grumpy, overwhelmed by small things, and anything that isn't just right. Your adult brains feel the same way when you don’t get enough sleep…how’s that for a visual? 😉

 

I don’t know about you, but too much stress usually means too little sleep, which then leaves me more tired, more cranky, and more stressed. So how do we stop the  cycle?   

 

So much of getting a good night's rest is in establishing a routine, even for adults! Walking through the same steps each evening helps you create a habit as well as cues your brain that it's time to rest. 

 * Keep the lights low and warm after dinner. Think more ambient lighting and candles and avoid those overhead lights if possible.
 

*Turn off your phone. 

 

*Sip on some hot tea - add even more benefit with a drop of Lemon Vitality.

 

*Take a bath - add a cup of Epsom salt with 10 drops of Lavender or other sleep oil, then use Relaxation Massage Oil or Lavender Hand & Body Lotion all over. You can also add a drop or two of your favorite oil to the massage oil or lotion for an extra boost!
 

*Light stretches - nothing over the top, just some light stretches or Yoga poses to help release tension. Put some Frankincense and PanAway on your feet.

 *Turn on that diffuser. A great combination is Lavender, Tangerine and Northern Lights Black Spruce! Other favorite sleep oils are Frankincense, Valor, Peace & Calming, Vetiver, and Cedarwood. 

 *Grab your oils and apply them to the bottom of your big toes (the nerve endings that connect to the brain end here!), your wrists, neck, and chest. You can use the same oils we talked about or try my favorites - Tranquil, RutaVala, Dream Catcher, or Roman Chamomile. I am sure you have heard of or maybe even tried Chamomile tea, right?  What effect did it have on you? If it made you feel calm and relaxed, imagine that times 100?!!  It has the power to calm the crankiest babies, relax the most restless adults, minimize the biggest feelings of fear and worry, stabilize the most out of whack emotions, and foster the ability to release your most negative emotions.  This one is worth stocking up on!

 

You can even make your own roll-ons by simply adding a total of 40-60 drops of any of the oils listed above to a 10ml roller bottle, then top it off with your favorite carrier oil. Easy peasy!

 * Run a fan, or sound machine to help drown out any noise.
 
 * Keep your room cool (but not overly cold). Your body sleeps better when it has a cooler temperature.
 
 * Make your bed a comfy, cozy space. Think soft textures that are inviting and feel good against your skin.
 
 *Try Seedlings Linen Spray or a DIY pillow spray with your favorite sleep oils! Gently spray pillows, sheets, blankets.
  *And for those nights when sleep is super elusive, I keep Sleep Essence and ImmuPro on hand.

Sleep Essence combines Lavender, Vetiver, Valerian and Tangerine oils with melatonin, our natural sleep hormone.  It’s also a great tool when go below that wellness line. 

 ImmuPro is a blend of Ningxia wolfberry, reishi, maitake, and agaricus blazei mushroom powders along with melatonin to boost immunity and help you rest when you need it most.

 

 

Once you oil up, if you are still having a hard time relaxing and your thoughts are still racing, here are a couple of other things you can try:

 

Journaling - Getting your thoughts on paper helps to get them out of your head. Keep a journal on your nightstand and put the brakes on those racing thoughts by jotting them down.

 

Gratitude - Instead of laying there thinking of all the things that could go wrong, force yourself to focus on all the things that have gone right. Need some help? Apply your Gratitude to your wrists and breathe deep.

 

Get Up - I know, this sounds counterintuitive, right? Why would you ‘get up’ if you are trying to get to sleep?  If you are tossing and turning and getting more and more restless, getting up and finding a simple task to do, applying an oil, or even grabbing an adult coloring book can be just the thing to calm your mind enough to be ready for sleep.

 

 

What's your favorite trick to help you settle down and fall asleep? I'm always collecting ideas and solutions! Simply hit reply and share it with me! I'd love to hear from you!

 Summer is officially here! How crazy is that!? Seems like just last week we were celebrating New Year's!

Here are a few tips and tricks to make your camping adventures or beach get-aways a little better!  

                                          
CAMPING NECESSITIES 

Do you love getting outside and exploring?  Do you think to take your Citronella, Geranium, and a battery-powered diffuser along with you? When you are hanging out at your campsite, book in hand, this combo will quickly become your BFF!  Simply fill a battery-powered diffuser with 5-7 drops each Citronella and Geranium and enjoy the incredible smell...and pest-free zone!

                                               BEACH ESSENTIALS Maybe you are more of a beach person?? I've got you covered, too! 

After a long, cold winter and the sometimes dreary penetrating cold of spring, you are absolutely ready to get outside when the sun starts shining warm and bright, right?? But, sadly, what else wakes up at about the same time??  Yup – the bugs…the black flies, the mosquitoes, the ticks...

 

And get this…according to the World Health Organization, the mosquito is the deadliest of all animals...

 

For centuries, plants or smoke from fires have been used to naturally repel insects. But, over the last 100 years or so, these were replaced with toxic chemicals. Is anyone surprised by that yet??

 

DDT was the first modern synthetic insecticide. Introduced in the 40’s,  there was a jingle to go along with it – DDT is good for me-e-e!!   Anything that has a jingle must be good for us, right? 😉 

 

But the EPA issued a cancellation order for DDT in 1972 because of its adverse environmental effects to wildlife and people. Go figure.

 

Then came DEET and other toxic chemicals and even chemical coated clothing.  Now think about your skin being porous… DEET has been associated with seizures, numbness and behavioral changes, nasal cancers, compromised immune systems, cardiovascular toxicity, respiratory distress, and severe allergic reactions. DEET brought on a change in the brain of after just a brief exposure to it…and mosquitoes and other insects can develop an insensitivity to it…

 

38 essential oils were studied in 2005 to look at their ability to repel mosquitos. Let’s take a look at a few.

Citronella with vanillin provided 3 hours of protection, is calming, and helps you think about those things that “bug you”…and you might just find that those “pesky annoyances” are just the things you need to be more accepting of in others...so you can accept them in yourself… 

Lemongrass along with citrus or tree oils with vanillin was superior to DEET and also releases resentment, regret from those “should haves”, and pessimism, turning those negative energies into positive ones, so optimism, courage and hope can return.

Cedarwood oil protects against a variety of insects including ants, fire ants, ticks and moths. It helps you feel safe and secure with yourself as well as in your environment, kind of an energetic feeling of a safe warm blanket…so it’s a double blessing for supporting annoyance free sleep for those overnight adventures in the great outdoors…it also has skin cleansing properties and is a natural deodorizer…all great benefits for that active, outside lifestyle.

 

You can blend it with citronella, rosemary, tea tree, myrtle, clove or lemongrass. Sounds like a win in any situation, right??

 

Other great oil options are Cinnamon Bark, Geranium, Juniper, Lavender, Peppermint, Sage, Spearmint, Tea Tree and Thyme.

 

If you aren’t a fan of DIY’s, I’ve got you! Have you tried YL’s insect repellant?? It repels mosquitoes, ticks and fleas with  no DEET, or any of the other toxic crap we talk about, is safe for children and for those with sensitive skin.

 

We tried this out on a walk one day…Delaney and I put it on. Dana did not. Normally the bugs don’t bother him, so he wasn’t worried. It was pretty hysterical when just a little bit into our walk, he is swatting at the bugs that had congregated around him, while Delaney and I are walking along, bug free…he tried to out run them, he swatted at them with his hat, he spun around…nothing worked. That was proof enough for me! LOL We put ours in a roller bottle or a spray bottle for easiest application and one bottle lasted us for a couple of years! Still effective!

 

There you go, my friends! A little help with that bug free late spring and summer. 

What's on your summer bucket list??