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Aromatherapy

Flowers to Help You Sleep (Beautiful Way to Improve Your Sleep!)

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After a day of working our minds to solve problems and craft solutions, we tend to be exhausted. Oddly enough, once we are settled into our bedrooms, it’s hard to shut our eyes and catch some zzz’s. Plenty of people experience restless nights even though they have been hard at work all day. This could be due to our thoughts still occupying our minds and not having the proper air quality in our homes.
Sometimes when we are physically drained, our minds stay awake, thinking about all the work we have done that day and will get to the next day. To add to factors affecting our sleep, breathing harmful chemicals takes a toll on our physical health, not allowing us to properly rest. To combat all of this, FTD has created a guide to help you get the rest you need to wake up feeling refreshed. There are flowers to help you sleep better and breathe better. Take a look at four flowers below to calm your mind and clean your air. Have a lovely rest tonight! 

Flowers for a Deeper Sleep

 

Flowers to Breathe Better

Lavender Essential Oil: Relax, Release, and Rest

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Lavender Aromatherapy Essential Oil

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)

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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…

Clove Bud Oil

Eucalyptus Oil

Frankincense Oil

Lavender Oil

Lemon Oil

Oregano Oil

Peppermint Oil

Rosemary Oil

Tea Tree Oil

 

essential oils infographic

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

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How to Wake Up Naturally

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

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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!

 

Aromatherapy Infographic

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.