Happy "Oily Days"

Ok ok, bad puns and all... The holidays are upon us!

And with the holidays come sniffles, sneezes, and generally vulnerable immune systems...

I’m going to give you a couple of quick tips to keep your home and workplaces feeling festive, and at the same time to safeguard your health during the busy, sometimes stressful days ahead.

Ready?

Number One: Bring Thieves Wherever You Go!

I always get a chuckle out of telling people this, but seriously- the combination of oils is a power-packed protector against a wide range of bacteria, molds, and viruses. Plus, the superantioxidant Clove has a smell that many folks associate with winter holidays anyway, so you get an “air-freshener” that is not only non-toxic, it is actually Good For You! I diffuse it, spritz it, and take it internally if I’m starting to feel depleted (a few drops in a capsule with v-6 oil, or the pre-made Inner Defense softgels).

When traveling I always rub Thieves oil on the bottoms of my feet, carry the hand sanitizer and lozenges with me, and spray my hotel room with the spritzer. I usually offer a bottle of the foaming handsoap as a gift to my hosts- they really love it, and it’s a great introduction to more natural things than most folks have in their guest bathrooms (and I have something I trust to use while I’m there).

Number Two: Diffuse, diffuse, diffuse!

Whether you are using the elegant Aria or the Efficient TheraPro, getting Young Living Oils in the air will benefit everyone. Unlike toxic air “fresheners”, our oils carry physical and emotional benefits along with fresh and lively scents. Balsam fir is reminiscent of cut trees, without the mess and with all the health benefits- for respiratory soothing and general uplifting of spirits, it’s a great winter companion. Frankincense is also a nice choice, as are any of the citrus oils. Experiment and discover your own holiday signature.

Number Three: Get it on you!

Consider Valor or Stress Away as your cologne of choice, or offer everyone a little dab of Joy... get creative and keep your favorites close at hand. One member in my group started offering bedtime foot rubs to the kids in her family. She made sure to apply Peace and Calming each time- not only did the kids quiet down and rest peacefully, they began looking forward to bedtime!

Number Four: Get it in you!

Keep a bottle of NingXia Red right alongside the other imbibements. An anti-oxidant boost with added essential oils will go a long way to making sure any indulgence is tempered with great self-care. Consider recipes that include Young Living oils. Maple-glazed nuts with cinnamon oil added at the end, a drop of tangerine while the cranberries cool, a drop of nutmeg in the eggnog... remember start small and add only add to heated foods once the cooling has begun.

Number Five: Give it Away!

For frugal gift giving, here’s one sure bet: you, a box of ziplock baggies, a few pounds of epsom salts and a bottle of your favorite oil. Combine salt and oil, shake well, give it a clever name and label it. Done!

Another trick~ Young Living’s unscented shower gel, empty bottles, your favorite oil. Combine, Shake, and Give. Don’t forget the clever name. My favorite? “A Wash With Gratitude”.

I also love to give mini bottles full of my favorite oils, and bunches of little things like lip balms, hand sanitizers, and for that one joker in my family with the huge stocking- NingXia Red!

You can always take the easy road and let Young Living ship it for you- their Holiday Gift Catalog even features a number of item already packaged up in holiday finery.

A great compliment to a gift of Young Living oils is a bit of support in using them, and understanding how vastly different they are from what many people think of when they hear “aromatherapy”. Consider inviting your gift recipients to a little get-together to explore the oils more in-depth, once the holiday bustle is over. They will welcome the chance to reconnect with you, and develop a deeper understanding of what a profound gift they have received. What better way to welcome the New Year than helping people discover natural ways to wellness?

Most important,

HAVE FUN! Love your people, be good to yourself, and stay in touch with your Young Living Family. We love you.

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)

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