The beauty of essential oils is the body knows how to use them. As essential oils are 100% plant, the body (a natural living organism) recognises and can integrate and utilise their benefits easily and efficiently. There are a few good ways to use them.
1. AROMATICALLY: Through smell we can directly impact how we feel. Molecules of oil are inhaled, through the olfactory system, a message is sent straight to the parts of the brain that triggers our emotions and balances the coordination of the nervous and endocrine systems.
Get these benefits by:
• Diffusing the oils.
• Aromatic spray – spraying oils combined with filtered water around you.
• Smelling oils straight out of the bottle, or a few drops in cupped hands, with a few deep breaths.
2. TOPICALLY:
By applying oils straight onto the skin Essential oils are readily absorbed into the bloodstream as the body understands how to work with them. Essential oils are best combined with a carrier oil (one drop of oil, a few of drops of carrier oil) to increase absorption and massage the oil into the skin. Carrier oils can be anything – jojoba, almond, olive, sesame. I like fractionated coconut oil which is coconut oil without smell and is no longer solid, but liquid.
3. INTERNALLY:
A good therapeutic grade oil (no fillers or chemicals) can be used internally. For example, a drop of Frankincense oil under the tongue daily provides systemic support for your cells. Or you can add lavender to your hot water to help you relax.
EFFECTIVE OILS for getting grounded, calm, sleeping better and easing tension.
VETIVER OIL – the ‘oil of centring and descent’ *
This is the oil to use for sleep support and shifting an over-activated mind. Vetiver is known as a natural tranquilizer and is stabilising, calming and soothing. The vetiver plant is a type of hardy grass with a very deep root system, reflecting its use in down-regulating, like sinking deep into mother earth.
SMELLS LIKE – calming, earthy aroma.
SUGGESTED USES:
If stressed /over-activated: Place a drop of Vetiver with some carrier oil on Kidney 1 point and hold with gentle pressure for 30-60 seconds. Kidney 1 is said to ‘ground the spirit’ by drawing energy from the source of the earth. When activated through pressure it roots energy downwards, grounding an overly-activated mind, bringing you out of an over-active mind, stress, anxiety, confusion and fear.
To help you sleep: Massage 1-3 drops of vetiver with a little carrier oil over and around kidney 1 just as you get into bed. This has a very effective sedating effect.
Or diffuse in diffuser.
GROUNDING BLEND – BALANCE
This blend helps to ground you and bring you back into the body when feeling scattered, ungrounded, disconnected, unstable. It helps if you have a tendency to dissociate and come out of your body (that would be most of us).
I like to use this blend every morning as part of my personal meditation practice to come into my body and the present moment before I begin. I use it through the day when I’m too much in my head.
A blend of the following oils: Spruce Leaf, Ho Wood Leaf, Frankincense Resin, Blue Tansy Flower, Blue Chamomile Flower, and Osmanthus Flower essential oils in a base of Fractionated Coconut Oil.
SMELLS LIKE – warm, woody aroma.
SUGGESTED USES:
Apply 1-3 drops on the soles of the feet or base of the spine.
Apply a drop in your hands, rub them together and inhale the scent.
Diffuse in diffuser.
LAVENDER – CALMING BLEND
Lavender is well known for its use in calming down. It was given to soldiers in the trenches in World War I for this very reason. It has been shown to reduce anxiety, support better rest and sleep and create calm.
More specific use of this oil is to aid in calm and clear communication. It soothes stress and tension build up from withheld expression*. It also is known to be healing for the skin and help with scarring from cuts and wounds.
SUGGESTED USES:
Apply topically over temples and nape of the neck.
Apply over the throat to help ease tension due to withheld expression.
Diffuse in diffuser.
TENSION BLEND – FOR HEADACHES
This blend helps relieve tension headaches and also the relief of tension that may have caused the headache in the first place.
It is made up of a combination of pain relief oils, and oils that provide systemic support for the cells and help with inflammation, for stress, adrenal fatigue and to calm the system: Wintergreen, Lavendar, Peppermint, Frankincense, Cilantro, Marjoram, Roman Chamomile, Basil and Rosemary with fractionated coconut oil for direct application to the skin.
SMELLS LIKE – herbal, fresh, minty.
SUGGESTED USES:
Apply topically over temples, hairline, neck and shoulders.
To learn more or order some oils
If you would like to purchase some oils from me, send me an email and we can discuss this over the phone. I am also very happy to work with you to recommend or make up a blend that will serve your specific needs, nancy@sunia.com.au.
PLEASE USE QUALITY OILS
It’s so important to use a high quality oil, without any fillers or chemicals. For one, low-grade oils won’t work, and may contain fillers and additional chemicals. I suggest using oils from a company that is wholly transparent around the contents of the oils they offer.
I use Doterra oils as they are fully transparent as to the contents of the oils and only use Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils, free of pesticides, chemical residues, fillers, herbicides, extenders, and solvents. The contents of the oils are pure plants only, combined with fractionated coconut oil (carrier oil) if they are for rolling on the body.
These oils are sourced from all over the world. Doterra’s model of co-impact sourcing benefits small-scale farmers providing them with well-paid work, while maintaining their current, existing farms employing local people. Doterra also commits to assisting communities they work with to create better lives and livelihoods through their not-for-profit work.
References:
‘The Essential Life 3rd edition, Total Wellness Publishing.
*‘Emotions and Essential Oils, A reference guide for emotional healing, 6th Edition, Enlighten Alternative Healing.