Integrative Healing

The word integrate comes from the latin word meaning both “whole” and “holy”.
It implies the bringing together of different or disparate parts to form a cooperative, cohesive whole.

So when we use it in relation to healing, we are really saying two things. One is that the person is being brought into a state of wellness in which all the varied systems are unified. We are saying that, while the body is one important means of expressing health, that the mind and spirit (or heart) also play a role in authentic well-being and must be addressed as well.

The other thing “Integrative Healing” implies is that the methods being used to bring about healing are chosen from a broad range of disciplines and applications. Typically “Integrative” modalities have the aim of addressing the trio of body/mind/spirit as the single whole being that is the patient.

Integrative modalities include massage (in all its forms from cranio-sacral to rolfing, energy-muscle technique to zero balancing and polarity) or physical therapy, acupuncture, homeopathy, talk therapy, reiki, chiropractic, sound or color therapy, yoga (and its counterparts, chanting and meditation), movement therapy, emotional release work, kinesiology, art therapy, and more.

What is significant from the perspective of an essential oils user is that each of these modes of healing can be amplified and hastened by integrating oils into the treatment.

There are situations in which a physical complaint might respond best to an oil applied topically for physical benefit. For instance, if I strain my knee doing yoga I get PanAway on it right away. The wintergreen eases the pain, the helichrysum protects the nerves and I don’t have to manifest an actual injury because the healing’s already underway.

It’s pretty rare that any one aspect of body/mind/spirit requires healing independent of the others. Physical suffering weighs on the mind and spirit, mental suffering can manifest in the body and alienate the spirit, spiritual suffering can make us miserable through and through. The beauty of essential oils is that they travel along the pathway in the body that unifies these elements and encourages healing on a truly holistic (integrated) way.

Here’s the science bit:
When we encounter a scent, its message travels through the nose to the olfactory bulb, which is the bundle of sensory nerves that interprets it. This is tied into the amygdala, which is the part of the brain that takes care the processing of the scent.
Here’s where it gets interesting: the amygdala is part of the limbic (or emotional) system of the brain. It is thought to associate scent with memory. Catching on?
Ever notice how you can get a whiff of some scent from the past and be transported to that bygone time (think: patchouli and leather. Uh-huh. Were we at the same party?)?
Add to this that the limbic system, in its turn, influences the endocrine system (hormones, anyone?) as well as the immune system in the physical body... and you may come to the startling conclusion that how you feel actually does affect how you feel.

And here’s an insight from the desk of my inner geek:
Assuming you’re using Young Living, you are working with essential oils in which the integrity (wholeness) of the original plant has been kept intact. Because of their involvement at every step of the way and their insistence that nothing ever be added or taken away, the make-up of the plant’s compounds is unaltered. When I’m healing, that’s the stuff I want on my side!

Young Living has formulated dozens of oil blends with the goal of helping to facilitate emotional healing and overcome beliefs that limit us in achieving our full potential. There is even a collection of oils dubbed the “Feelings Kit” which includes a well-thought out protocol we can do with others or for ourselves. The names of the blends are so evocative that they often serve as contemplation exercises in themselves.
I like to select a few at random and consider their connections as I apply them. Today: Abundance, Forgiveness and Valor. Hmmm.

I often say that when you use the right oil the right way you will get results.
It’s often helpful to experiment with a variety of oils to choose the one(s) you want to work with at a certain time (of course, observe proper application and dilution methods)

Tweet

Share

Yoga and Essential Oils

The last time I had a steady yoga practice (and I’ll admit it was only four days in a row, but at the time it was revolutionary), I was traveling to attend the annual convention of the essential oil company with which I’m aligned for my health and livelihood (ok, cat out of the bag- it's Young Living).

I was heavier than the previous year, attending without my partner and rooming with someone I’d never met before (who was a delight as it turned out). I was a bundle of insecurity on a mission to untangle myself by engaging fully in all the sessions and “putting myself out there” socially (NOT my forte! I’m a recluse in the disguise of a gregarious teacher type).

Since the Convention experience (3,000 people heading to keynote engagements, expo demonstrations, and trying to choose 6 of the 12 available breakout sessions) is pretty much an exercise in distractibility and busy-ness, you’d think I’d have my whole “not-gonna-do-yoga” excuse in top form.

Ah, but not so. All of the equanimity, stamina, and focused attention that expressed itself through me I attributed to the the 6 am yoga classes taught by other Convention attendees who were also yoga instructors, and who were using essential oils in their personal practices as well as in their classes.

The whole thing probably came into being because Rodney Yee was teaching one of the break-out sessions; a 90 minute on-the-mat yoga class which incorporated essential oils throughout.

In the hustle and bustle I never made it to Yee’s class. But I did make it out the door, across the street, down the block and up a formidable set of stairs to class by 6 am each day to stretch, honor, and care for my being. We were a diverse bunch; from the fit and toned to the brave unfit, and never was there a better smelling bunch of sweaty people!

We began by sanctifying our practice with intention and frankincense, which heightens spiritual receptivity. Each participant duly anointed, the entire energy in the space shifted in a matter of 90 seconds. Suddenly we were on holy ground.

There’s a lot I can say about essential oils, and a lot of reasons I only use and teach about Young Living’s oils... matters of purity and integrity and authenticity and validation, and so on. I could (and do sometimes) go on for days. It’s all on the upcoming site.

What it came down to for me in that moment, was that because the integrity of the plant is honored and never distorted with all the chemical alterations that other companies do, the holy component of this oil is still intact. It doesn’t just impart the smell, it actually has the mojo. It’s the closest thing you can get to when the yogis of old would simply rub the resin on themselves in preparation for meditation.

This stunning moment was mine to cherish each of the four days of Convention. It was followed every morning by an experience of Valor when we did a more challenging pose, Peace & Calming with Savasana, and Deep Relief when I paid later for having gone deeper than good sense would have indicated.

Of all the astounding amount of information imparted to me those four days, what struck me most deeply was the impact of using the oils during yoga practice. Every day I looked forward to putting my body through a difficult challenge with the subtle emotional-spiritual support of the oils chosen to compliment the day’s routine. Once home and asked to declare what one thing stood out the most from the entire experience, I could only point to the pouch in which I carry my oils about and declare, "this stuff is holy!"

Tweet

Share