DEFINITION OF
We use essential oils to enhance our meditation and yoga practices and for everything from housekeeping to skincare to first aid. It is amazing to me how versatile and adaptable a single oil can be. LAVENDER, for example, is physically healing as an antiseptic, analgesic, cytophilactic (protects, regenerates cells), antispasmodic, tonic, cicatrisive (promotes wound healing) and works as an anti-inflammatory agent. It is restorative, calmative, a sedative and anti-infectious.
Emotionally healing—
Lavender is said to encourage security, gentleness, compassion, reconciliation, vitality, clarity, comfort, acceptance, awareness & emotional balance.
In her book, Aromatherapy for the Soul, —Valerie Ann Worwood calls lavender the “mother of essential oils” and describes its spiritual attributes this way:
“Lavender embodies the warm, protective love of Mother Earth.
It is caring, cherishing, and nurturing…
When deep sadness covers the spirit like a suffocating blanket, lavender gently lifts the weight.
When the inner tears fall, lavender wipes them away.
When depression clouds the psyche, lavender blows it asunder.
And for those with worries that trouble the spirit, lavender lifts the veil of despair.
…with compassion [lavender] seeks to bring out the best in every one of us,
letting us know that we are all her precious children,
and we all have our destiny of goodness to fulfill.” —Valerie Ann Worwood
THERE ARE MANY METHODS for enjoying the aromatic benefits of essential oils from a few drops in the bath or shower to a diffuser or room spray. A method I use often is by candle. I love the ambiance of a burning candle in a room anyway, plus it couldn’t be easier to do:
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Simply light the candle and allow it to burn until the wax melts in a large pool around the wick.
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Blow out the flame and drop 1-4 drops essential oil in the pool of wax. (Essential oils are flammable, so use care not to get any on the wick.)
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Once the wax begins to cool and solidify, you can relight the candle.
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Important Note: For the health of your family and the environment, always burn soy or beeswax candles (avoid petroleum based/paraffin candles and ensure the wick of any candle you use contains no metal/lead!) detailed report
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Tailor the aroma to whatever mood you would like to create:
Send a refreshing, uplifting aroma about in summer—
{try Grapefruit, Lemon, Lime, Lavender}
or create a warm, soothing atmosphere in winter—
{try Cinnamon, Frankincense, Orange, Clove, and Cypress}
You can generate a motivating atmosphere for exercise—
{try Lemon, Basil, and Peppermint}
or an atmosphere for settling into meditation—
such as Frankincense, Neroli or Palo Santo}
Once you have experimented with a few recipes, you will learn what works best for you and it seems to me that a sort of intuition develops, guiding you to what you need most in any given situation. Three of my personal favorites I return to time and again:
No. 01
Bergamot . [citrus aurantium bergamia] . Aroma: sweet, fruity, citrus with spicy-floral undertones. Encourages concentration, confidence, balance, strength, joy, motivation, good cheer, harmony and completeness.
“[Begamot] is an amplifier of light energy, energizing and magnifying, opening the heart to cosmic joy.” —V. Worwood
No. 02
Neroli . [citrus aurantium, c.brigaradia, c. vulgaris] . Aroma: highly radiant, sweet, floral. Encourages lightness, the lifting of sorrows, completeness, joy, understanding, calm, regeneration, peace, and to feel guided.
“Neroli is one of the most precious essential oils, its vibration being one of the highest among them…it is itself pure spirit, representing the purity in all things. It is always loving and peaceful. Neroli brings light into any day…”—V. Worwood
No. 03
Amber . [Pinus Succinifera] . Aroma : resinous, warm, smoky with a faint citrus-floral undertone. Encourages harmony, balance, inspiration, visions and inner-knowing.
“Such a fragrance has the ability to take us to the beginning of time, to the beginning of forever.” —V. Worwood
Ready to try essential oils, but aren’t sure where to start?
Here are my recommendations:
I always have a bottle or two of Lavender on-hand because it has so many uses. It can be used on its own in a number of ways–such as my favorite, lavender-scented sheets–and is used in practically every other recipe you come across: from an insect repellent to a burn ointment to beauty treatments to home cleaning…lavender is truly an essential, essential oil.
Other go-to oils are: Lemon, Eucalyptus, Meleleuca, Peppermint, Chamomile, Geranium, Clove, Rosemary and Thyme. With these ten oils, you can make recipes to treat everything from chapped lips to an upset stomach. Adding Lime, Orange, Citronella, Clary Sage and Rosewood in various combinations, you can create natural yet very effective cleaners, disinfectants and deodorizers for every room of your home with the added benefit of their uplifting aromas.
Many of the essential oils I listed above can be used to create your own custom massage oils added to your choice of base oil (also referred to as a “carrier” oil.)
{oils such as jojoba, grapeseed, hazelnut, almond, argan, sesame seed}
You can also create luxurious skin care treatments using a base oil or other natural ingredients such as almond flour, coconut flour or creamy coconut oil.
For soaking tired feet, try my favorite combination: Dead Sea Salts and a synergistic blend such as–
Tranquilty
(Orange, Tangerine, Patchouli, Lime, Chamomile, Ylang Ylang, Lavender, Citronella)
&
Aligning
(Rosewood, Spruce, Frankincense, and German/Roman Chamomile mix)
RECOMMENDED READING:
The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy by Valerie Ann Worwood. Over 800 natural, nontoxic recipes for health, beauty and home; my copy has notations and bookmarks throughout. It is an invaluable guide and a good starting place for practical applications of essential oils from health remedies to beauty treatments.
Aromatherapy for the Soul by Valerie Ann Worwood. For delving further into the spiritual uses and attributes of essential oils, this book includes fascinating imagery showing the energy fields of essential oils and discusses their use in relationship to the chakras (our body’s energy centers) and reviews the “aromatic traditions” of many cultures throughout history to the present day.
“Healing takes place on all levels – spiritual, mental, and physical, and what’s so remarkable about essential oils is that they influence the whole being. Just as they are the catalyst that can make a wound heal, or a mind relax, so can they transport a soul. I know of no other substances that can do that. They are flexible, adaptable, multifaceted, deep, complex, light, subtle, etheric, and all in a positive way. If molecules could be angels, they would surely be essential oils.”—Valerie Ann Worwood, Aromatherapy for the Soul, page xx, Introduction.
There is something at once familiar and mysterious about essential oils.
Like a dear old friend you’ve known forever,
—who just happens to hold the keys to the Universe.
Aromatherapy Handblown Glass & Wood Diffuser – (click image for details/to order)
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