Aromatherapy

Lavender Essential Oil: Relax, Release, and Rest

October 14, 2019 by Joi Leave a Comment

I recently began a new series of posts here on the self help blog dealing entirely with essential oils and aromatherapy.

I have become a HUGE fan of essential oils and find myself turning to them first, as opposed to last, when I have a headache, stiff neck, nighttime restlessness, or morning grogginess. I am loving all the fascinating ways essential oils can be used to improve your health, mind, and… well to be perfectly honest… your quality of life.

One of my absolute favorite essential oils, Lavender, is one of the oils I never allow myself to run out of.

Relax, Release, Rest.

Lavender is associated with relaxation and for a very good reason. There is something incredibly relaxing and comforting about the fragrance of lavender. The scent, alone, seems to condition your mind and body that it’s time to relax, release, and rest.

I use lavender aromatherapy and essential oil absolutely everywhere in the bedroom and master bath. Candles, pillow sprays, essential oil… you name it, it’s there. I want that entire area of the house to feel like a relaxing spa and have achieved the desired effect. Lavender causes your body and mind to unwind and I love the way that feels (head to toe) at the end of a long day.

Have you ever tried to “think” your way to relaxation? Let’s be honest, it’s only so effective. While we try to make our thoughts concentrate on “relax, relax, relax.” another part of our mind answers back, “but.. I… can’t… because….” Then we’re right back to square one.

Lavender seems to have magical powers over the part of the brain that’s always a wiseguy! Maybe it lulls him to sleep. Whatever the trick is, I am mesmerized by it.

Lavender Essential Oil helps your muscles AND mind relax. THEN you are able to release the stress, cares, and worries that pile up over the course of the day.

You know what comes next, don’t you? The best rest you have had in a very long time.

Due to its relaxing aroma, lavender oil is often the only sleep aide needed to help sleep come faster. That’s why I routinely spray a little lavender essential oil on my pillow. There is even a Lavender Spray on Amazon that helps release tension and soothe the body and mind as you prepare for sleep. It’s made my Bath and Body Works and it is the best one on the market.

More Than Just Relaxing

Lavender oil actually has even more going on for it than stress relief and relaxation, however. It is believed to have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties as well.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I suffer from plantar fascitiis. I’ve found that lavender oil salts are the only thing that causes the pain to let up. I have also rubbed lavender essential oil directly on my foot for relief as well.

When I recommend essential oils, lavender is usually the first one out of my mouth. There are so many that have wonderful benefits, but lavender has what I consider to be one of the best effects you can hope for – RELAXATION.

If you’re new to the world of aromatherapy and essential oils, I hope you’ll keep a very open mind about their usefulness. I once kind of doubted that they were as “wonderful” as people said they were.

After using them for months, now, I realize that the people who claimed they were “wonderful” didn’t do them any justice. They’re far better than that.

~ Joi

9 Essential Oils for Improving Your Health (Benefits and How to Use Them)

October 9, 2019 by Joi Leave a Comment

In the wonderful infographic, below, 9 health-improving essential oils are listed, along with their benefits and how to use them. I find “How to Use Them” so helpful when it comes to essential oils because each one, actually, has its own “best used…” approach.

I’m familiar with (and loyally use) each of these, except for Clove Bud Oil. I’ve honestly never heard of it until today – but I love the benefits listed, so I’m going to order a bottle off of Amazon right away. Hiccups is something my hiatal hernia causes me to experience every now and again – this may be just what I need. After all, I can’t always have them scared out of me!

The essential oils listed in the infographic are…

There’s bound to be an essential oil that can help boost your health. Take some time to learn how these oils can do wonders for your body, and how you can use these effectively.

<img src="https://media.mercola.com/assets/images/infographic/9-key-essential-oils-for-improving-health.jpg" alt="heart burnc" border="0" style="max-width:100%; min-width:300px; margin: 0 auto 20px auto; display:block;"><p style="max-width:800px; min-width:300px; margin:0 auto; text-align:center;">There's bound to be an <a href="https://articles.mercola.com/herbal-oils/most-popular.aspx">essential oil</a> that can help boost your health. Take some time to learn how these oils can do wonders for your body, and how you can use these effectively.</p>

How to Wake Yourself Up Naturally

September 24, 2019 by Joi Leave a Comment

Infographic Credit: Casper

I love that the great well-rested minds at Casper included aromatherapy as one of the options. Aromatherapy and coffee are my favorite ways to “snap” into reality in the morning (or after a delicious nap… rare but oh so loverly!). My absolute favorite essential oil to wake up with is Mandarin Orange. It is a beautiful scent, plus extremely effective for convincing those heavy eyelids to go ahead and open.

Lemon essential oil is also very effective but, if you happen to use a lot of lemon-scented cleaners or Joy dish-washing liquid, it’ll just remind you of chores. At least that’s where it takes my nose and mind! If you don’t use lemon-scented cleaners, you will love the lemon aroma. It’s be a fresh wake-up call for you (as opposed to a “get to work, girl” call).

Peppermint, Mandarin Orange, and Lavender are three essential oils I have on hand at all times. Lavender is a beautiful oil to use to help unwind and drift off to sleep and peppermint is a miracle worker. Okay, that may exaggerate, but it is WONDERFUL for headaches, stiff necks, and tight muscles. Like the Mandarin Orange (or other citrus scents), peppermint oils are wonderful for waking up, naturally.

Healing Aromatherapy Scents and How to Use Them

June 15, 2019 by Joi Leave a Comment

Healing Aromatherapy Scents

As I’ve said before, I am a new Essential Oils fanatic but I’ve been a huge fan (and very active user) of aromatherapy for years. The first two scents that made me a believer in the wonders of aromatherapy were opposite ends of the spectrum: Lavender and Orange. I found that one helped wind me down when I needed a little help with the process and the other helped wake me up… again, when I needed a little help with the process.

As in every morning!

Over the years, I’ve, personally, found the following to be very useful:

Peppermint: Perfect for snapping out of a mental fog – there’s just something about the aroma that keeps you mentally alert. Maybe that’s the REAL reason mint gum and mints are so popular – they give a little wake-up call similar to caffeine. Anyone who suffers from drowsiness while driving could probably benefit from mint car fresheners. I’ve found that the aroma of peppermint also alleviates mild headaches. I have NO idea why, but it often works for me.
Eucalyptus: As you’d expect, this one is great for congestion. This past winter, whenever I had a cold, I did what my youngest daughter suggested: I put a few drops of Eucalyptus Essential Oil in the bottom of the tub before taking a warm shower. Heavenly! I’ve never done it, but how relaxing would lavender essential oil be used in this same manner?!
Lemon: Similar to Orange and Mint, Lemon is a wonderful eye-opener and mood-lifter.

Whether you use Essential Oils, candles, diffusers, tea (yum!), or lotions, aromatherapy holds the key to many wonders. The infographic below can help open a whole new world!

Infographic Source: Healing Aromatherapy Scents

Visit the link above for a lot more information on Aromatherapy! The more you use aromatherapy and essential oils, the more you’ll wonder how you ever got by without them.

The Fascinating World of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Benefits Beyond Belief!

January 23, 2019 by Joi 2 Comments

Sweet Orange and Eucalyptus Essential Oils

Admittedly, I can often be “late to the party.” I’ve always blamed this phenomenon on being an only child. When you live in your own little world, sometimes news travels in (and out, at times) slowly.

Truth is, sometimes it trickles in.

Whatever the reasons, people all around me (literally… as in my own family, but more about her in a minute) have been using, loving, and swearing by essential oils for months upon months and I am just now really jumping on board.

Only child or not, a debilitating headache that isn’t responding to either Ibuprofen OR hot showers will leave you searching for relief. Here’s where my essential oil expert daughter comes into play.

My youngest daughter, Stephany, has been a HUGE believer in and user of essential oils and aromatherapy for years, now. I knew this and appreciated a few of them – such as lavender (my favorite scent) and citrus (very close second). I’ve known the beauty of lavender long before the phrase “essential oils” came into play. However, whenever she talked about peppermint for pain relief or eucalyptus for congestion, I don’t know, I guess I thought, “Well, it clearly works for her, but I’m sure it wouldn’t work for me.”

Then came the headache from the inner circle of hell, and I found myself willing to find out!

Peppermint Essential Oil

I told her about the headache and she gave me a bottle of Peppermint Essential Oil and a “carrier oil.” She uses Jojoba Oil as her “carrier oil.”

What’s a carrier oil? Sounds mysterious, doesn’t it? It is simply an unscented base oil that you add a few drops of essential oil to before applying it. Steph uses Jojoba Oil she buys off of Amazon. I found Avocado Oil at Meijer that I’ve used. Some people use coconut oil – although I’d think the scent would combine with the essential oil’s aroma and be an issue.

Back to the evil headache. I added a few drops of the peppermint essential oil to the Jojoba oil and rubbed it directly on my forehead. Playing the role of Doubting Thomas, I wasn’t actually expecting much (if any) relief, so I didn’t actually “time” how long it took for relief to come. If I were to guess, however, it was less than five minutes.

The pain literally faded away and a headache that had hounded me for hours was a thing of the past.

She had my undivided attention at this point.

It turns out, Peppermint Essential Oil has a very strong, proven history with alleviating pain. Since the headache experience, I’ve used it on everything from neck tension to leg cramps.

It never lets me down. I have no idea what magic it has up its oily sleeve and, frankly, I don’t care – it brings relief without doubling down on Ibuprofen and that’s all I could ask for.

Recently, while shopping at Meijer and I went to their essential oil section. This essential oil convert loaded up on several – as well as the avocado base or carrier oil.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

Fast forward a few months – I came down with my annual cold (he arrives with his nasty attitude every year between January 1 -January 10). Being an “extra” kind of gal, I ALWAYS get bronchitis at the end of my cold. I have no idea if it’s because I have asthma or if I’m just terribly lucky, but without fail – it happens each and every year, dating back to when I was in Elementary School.

I’m nothing if not consistent.

When my chest was insanely congested, I would rub a little Eucalyptus oil (along with the Avocado Oil) directly on my chest. The relief was amazing. However, the BEST way I put the Eucalyptus Oil to work was (naturally at the advice of Steph) by adding a few drops directly on the floor of the shower. While taking a warm shower, the Eucalyptus surrounds you and clears your chest, head, or anything else that might need it!

I’m in the process of giving Self Help Daily a much-needed overhaul – more about that in the next post. I will be adding a great deal of information about essential oils and aromatherapy. In fact, I’ve created a new category for each. There is simply too much natural-healing to be enjoyed and experienced with essential oils to ignore them any longer.

I’m reading and researching like a college student in search of passing grades when it comes to essential oils and I’ll be sharing everything I come across here on the self help blog. I’m excited to see just how many miracles these oils can bring about. (Naturally I’m being very liberal with the word miracles here…. a cured headache has that effect on me.)

Sweet Orange Essential Oil

Steph gifted me with more essential oils for Christmas – my beloved lavender, eucalyptus, and one that was very new to me: Sweet Orange Essential Oil. One of the first things I thought of when I saw it was cleaning. I love, love, love cleaning products with a citrus scent. It can be tough to find orange-scented cleaners, though. Sweet Orange Essential Oil makes it easy to add a fresh, feel-good aroma to any cleaning solution. Just add a few drops and you’re good to go.

Having said that, I actually have a different favorite way to use Sweet Orange Essential Oil. I call it my wake-up call. On mornings where it’s particularly hard to get up and get going, I simply sniff my orange essential oil.

And, yes, I realize how weird that may sound.

However, since it never fails to give me the get up and go that I’m lacking, I’ll just keep on sniffing!

Many people report that doing so can also lift your mood. Sweet Orange essential oil has also been linked to a stronger immune system.

Hmm.. maybe that could help me end my annual cold/bronchitis event.

See this page – Sweet Orange Essential Oil – for a great deal of information about this particular oil.

Lavender Essential Oil and Aromatherapy

Lavender Oil is another one of my favorites and one that anyone… absolutely anyone… could and would benefit from. It’s all about RELAXATION (sorry for the all caps treatment, but relaxation is something I get excited about).

My favorite way to buy Lavender Oil is in spray bottles. It makes it easier to spray onto your pillows and/or favorite blankets of throws.

Heck, I’ve even sprayed it on my pajamas before.

There’s simply something beautifully relaxing about the scent of lavender. If you’ve never tried it, I hope you will asap. It is magical.

Aromatherapy and Essential Oil Diffusers

Essential Oil Diffusers, like the LiteMist Ultrasonic Diffuser are very popular and for a great reason. They put aromatherapy to work for you, without you having to do much more than pour and plug. A diffuser would be a great way to take advantage of lavender, eucalyptus, and sweet orange essential oils.

Though my favorite way to use eucalyptus oil will always be in the shower. It’s just outrageously effective. Just be sure not to use too much. You’ll feel like you stepped into an alternate universe – one with cough syrup for oxygen.

I’ll be adding a lot more information about essential oils and aromatherapy to the website. I have my face buried in two books at the moment, taking notes like my life depends on it.

~ Joi (“Joy”)

Where to Buy Essential Oils and Carrier or Base Oils:

Many department stores now carry a good selection of essential oils and even carrier oils. However, from my own experience, the best quality oils are found online.

Essential Oils on Amazon

Carrier Oils for Essential Oils on Amazon

Lavender Essential Oil: Relax, Release, and Rest

9 Essential Oils for Improving Your Health (Benefits and How to Use Them)

How to Wake Yourself Up Naturally

Healing Aromatherapy Scents and How to Use Them