Essential oils when used in appropriate dilutions and with care are powerful healing agents. Like any medicinal product that has the ability to heal they also can harm in certain circumstances. If you are using essential oils for improving he health and wellbeing of yourself or your family, it is vital that you have the facts from a qualified practitioner.

Aromatherapy and The Art of Self-Care

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In the glorification of busy, it seems that taking time to “just be”, to rejuvenate, to replenish, to take the slow lane and go with the flow is seen as the ultimate luxury.

Studies show that when we live our lives completing activities which nourish and nurture our self, we are more satisfied and happy, we are stronger, more resourceful, and more resilient, living our lives with more ease and grace. These are some pretty good reasons for taking care of ourselves, I feel.

For me self-care allows you to step into a peaceful heartfelt way of being and living. From this space you can be more relaxed, centred and grounded and make better choices in the activities you do each day to bring you more energy, inspire you to overcome challenges, be more accepting of change, be more flexible, be more self –aware, in short you go with the flow with more ease and grace.

How can we use essential oils in self-care?

I am talking about spending a few minutes each day reconnecting with your self, and relieving any obvious stress and tension. Essential oils have an amazing capacity to help you tap into your stillness, your heart intelligence if you like and create space for reflection. They can help you make space for a change to improve your current situation.

So it could be using them in a diffuser as an aid in reflection or meditation or to bring more focus and clarity to a current issue, it could be using a blend as a personal perfume for stress relief, in room scenting to enhance or set a mood, as a massage or bath blend to relieve stress and tension, it could be coming for regular aromatherapy massage to support you to get back some balance. Aromatherapy really is a safe, gentle and very effective natural therapy and is a delightful way to immerse yourself in the Art of Self-care.

Yours in Living Well,

Kim

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Essential Oils to Aid Quality Sleep

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The inability to get the amount of sleep you need to feel rested and refreshed can have a big impact on your health and wellbeing. Let’s face it, it’s the quality of the sleep not the quantity that’s important.

Drinking too much caffeine or alcohol during the day, an underlying medical condition or feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities could all be contributing factors to poor quality sleep. Emotional issues such as stress, anxiety and depression cause half of all poor quality sleep cases.

Using essential oils in your daily regime is an effective tool in a holistic approach to improving quality sleep together with eliminating poor daytime habits, establishing a consistent sleep routine and taking steps to improve your physical and mental landscape.

Of all the natural remedies for improved sleep, essential oils have received the most positive attention in clinical trials and studies. The active molecular compounds in essential oils interact directly with the nervous and endocrine systems promoting calm, pain relief, balance and strength to the mind, body and spirit.

The wonderful thing about essential oils is that they are so easy and such a pleasure to incorporate into a sleep time routine. They are aromatically pleasing and versatile. They can be used in room scenting, diffused in the bedroom, used in an aromatic bath, inhaled from a nasal inhaler or simply put on your pillow, incorporated into a restful massage, added to a body lotion or carrier oil for a chest/body rub.

Creating a soothing ritual incorporating aromatically beautiful blends works on many levels to help you release stress and tension before bedtime.

A lovely essential oil blend for peaceful sleep is sweet orange, lavender, petitgrain, roman chamomile and sandalwood.

This sleep easy blend contains:
Lavender – to support sleep, reduce anxiety, calm and balance the nervous system
Sweet Orange – to reduce anxiety, ease stress, and sooth the nervous system
Petitgrain – to reduce nervous exhaustion, support sleep, and stabilise the nervous system
Sandalwood – to reduce anxiety, ease tension and relax the nervous system
Roman Chamomile – to support sleep, reduce anxiety, and calm the nervous system

Calming, balancing, soothing and stabilising the central nervous system evokes the relaxation response – Bonus, the whole family will love the smell of this amazing blend!

For a peaceful night’s sleep I use this blend with my family as a room and linen spray.

Add 20 drops of sweet orange, 5 drops of lavender, 5 drops of petitgrain, 5 drops of sandalwood and 5 drops of roman chamomile to 100 mls of distilled water in a PET spray bottle. Shake bottle well before lightly misting bed linen, curtains and room prior to going to sleep.

For more information about using essential oils for a peaceful sleep contact me here.

Yours in Living Well,

Kim

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Beat the Winter Blues with Aromatherapy

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Beautiful busy woman, are you taking care of yourself?

The sun is still shining here in Brisbane but the weather is suddenly cooler. These crisp winter days and cooler nights can put a strain on your immune system, especially if you are strung out and fatigued from a stressful busy lifestyle.

To ward off the onset of any dreaded lurgies and protect your vital energy,  incorporate some immune stimulating and restorative essential oils into your self-care regime for the next few weeks.

A wonderful blend to diffuse in your living or work spaces is a 1 drop sweet thyme, 2 drops palmarosa, 2 drops bergamot and 1 drop niaouli essential oils. This synergy of oils has antimicrobial, uplifting and restorative properties and it smells divine.

Using your diffuser for up to 1 hour only, three times a day is enough to get the therapeutic value. Always make sure you have adequate ventilation in the room.

Another purifying blend to cleanse body, mind and spirit is cajeput, lemon, lavender and peppermint.

Cajeput and lemon have antimicrobial properties boosting the immune system and combating germs; peppermint is pain relieving and warming, also clearing for the respiratory system/sinuses; lavender, the mother of all essential oils, calms and nurtures the nervous system encouraging the body to rest and restore.

This would be a wonderful blend for Aromatherapy massage or to use as a chest/back/neck/foot rub.

Aromatherapy massage using essential oils to support the immune system is a light, gentle and meditative massage which comprises over 75% lymphatic massage technique to support the immune system by shifting blockages, removing toxins and stimulating healthy immune function.

A relaxing aromatherapy bath with detoxifying pure magnesium flakes and essential oils is another treat for relieving the winter blues.

Essential oil safety:

  • Not all essential oils are suitable for pregnant women in massage and/or the bath so always consult with a qualified aromatherapist to check before use.
  • Essential oils should not be used undiluted on the skin, always dilute in a suitable carrier oil such as raw organic coconut oil or jojoba.
  • Do not ingest essential oils unless under the supervision of a qualified aromatic medicine physician.
  • Essential oils are very concentrated, always use the less is best principle and use appropriate ventilation if diffusing.
  • Some essential oils can interact with other medications so again if in doubt seek advise from a qualified aromatherapist.

For more information on essential oil safety see my blog Essential oil Safety Considerations.

An Aromatherapy massage with immune stimulating and restorative essentials oils two times in the first month and then monthly to maintain, will do wonders for your health and wellbeing during the winter months. You can book an appointment with me here.

Yours in Living Well,

Kim

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Healing your hurt with essential oils

There are times in our lives when it’s necessary to say sorry or to forgive someone else or even ourselves because holding onto the hurt can transform into physical and emotional knots of suffering. Saying sorry can really shift things. If you feel as though things have moved on, though, and there is no going back, it might be time to work on healing your hurt.

Working with essential oils is a gentle way to help you shift persistent knots of emotional, physical, mental and even spiritual suffering. Essential oils have a great affinity in helping us bypass the thinking part of the brain and help us access, acknowledge and value the feeling parts of our being. It is from this space that healing can begin.

The healing benefits of Aromatherapy massage with the appropriate essential oil blend selected to target a specific type of hurt such as grief, anger, overwhelm, shame, guilt, sadness, intolerance, betrayal, resentment etc can be beneficial in giving you the space to reflect on the actions you may need to take to start to shift and release the hurt. Many times I have seen the simple act of nurturing touch and the essential oil aroma bring pent up emotions gently to the surface to be processed and let go.

Using an essential oil blend in environmental scenting is also beneficial especially if you can meditate, focusing on your breath. Spending 20 minutes in a bath infused with essential oils and breathing deeply will also have a positive effect.

Some essential oils which help with healing hurt include, bergamot, kunzea, roman chamomile, spikenard, rose, melissa, geranium, lime, palmarosa, vetiver, ylang ylang, bay laurel, black pepper, niaouli and pine. This is not an exhaustive list and a qualified Aromatherapist is best placed to help you find a blend for your specific needs.

If you would like more information on using essential oils to help you release any pent up emotional or physical hurts please contact me here.

Yours in living Well,

Kim

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May is for Metta -Essential oils for Loving Kindness

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Metta means loving kindness, a simple practice of well wishing taught by the Buddha.

As conscious women we can easily practice this transformational well wishing every day, as a way of opening our hearts and letting love and kindness pour in for ourselves, our loved ones, our wider community, the people we have difficulty with in our lives and ultimately all beings. Wishing goodness for all is good for the soul.

Here are 31 aspirations for you to “send out” daily in May and an accompanying essential oil which will help you create the atmospheric essence of your metta. Essential oils have a wonderful affinity with connecting us to those parts of the brain that bypass logical thought and help us connect to our hearts and true essence or spirit. You may also like to use this process to guide your daily metta meditations. Use your essential oils in an electric burner or diffuser, add up to six drops and make sure your room has some ventilation. Use the 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off rule.

1. May I be safe – May I feel secure and grounded. May I feel a sense of belonging to the earth. May I know who I am. Use vetiver essential oil, the sweet, woody, earthy aroma connects us to earth energies; centering and grounding it reconnects us to our vital energy.

2. May I be Happy – May I be joyful. May I live with content. May I live with bliss. Use Sweet orange essential oil; the refreshing cheerful and sensual nature gives warmth and joy, ideal for taking life less seriously and remembering to laugh

3. May I be Healthy – May my body be strong. May my mind be balanced. May I exude well-being. Use Cedarwood atlas essential oil; it is fortifying and strengthening, warming, harmonising and thought to be life giving. It helps stabilise unbalanced energies.

4. May I be peaceful – May I be calm, may I be patient, may I be loving. Use Bergamot essential oil, it is relaxing, restoring and calming, wonderful for moving stagnant energy resulting from accumulated stress or repressed emotions particularly fear and anger.

5. May I live with ease. May I relax. May I let go. May I just be. Use roman chamomile essential oil and Breathe; it is harmonising, peaceful and soothing to the spirit helping to ease stress and tension and promote relaxation.

6. May I be free. May I be free of suffering. May I be free to be me. May I be liberated. Use German chamomile essential oil; it promotes a letting go of the old so that the fresh and new can evolve. Ask yourself what do you need to let go of or release from your life to bring you fully alive?

7. May you be safe, happy, healthy, peaceful and free. Visualise a loved one and repeat each phrase to them in your mind’s eye. Use a blend of vetiver, bergamot, cedarwood, and chamomile (roman and/or German).

8. May you be safe, happy, healthy, peaceful and free. Visualise a neutral person whom you don’t have strong feelings about and repeat each phrase to them in your mind’s eye. Use a blend of vetiver, bergamot, cedarwood, and chamomile (roman and/or German).

9. May you be safe, happy, healthy, peaceful and free. Visualise a person whom you may be having difficulties with and repeat each phrase to them in your mind’s eye. Use a blend of vetiver, bergamot, cedarwood, and chamomile (roman and/or German).

10. May you be safe, happy, healthy, peaceful and free. Visualise yourself with all your loved ones and repeat your aspirations. Use a blend of vetiver, bergamot, cedarwood, and chamomile (roman and/or German).

11. May you be safe, happy, healthy, peaceful and free. Visualise the wider community and repeat your aspirations. Use a blend of vetiver, bergamot, cedarwood and roman chamomile.

12. May you be safe, happy, healthy, peaceful and free. Visualise the light of your metta reaching out to shine upon all beings on Earth. Use a blend of vetiver, bergamot, cedarwood and roman chamomile.

The remaining aspirations are wishes for all beings including ourselves.

13. May all beings be safe. Use vetiver essential oil

14. May all beings be happy. Use sweet orange essential oil

15. May all beings be healthy. Use cedarwood essential oil.

16. May all beings be peaceful. Use any of the following; bergamot, roman chamomile, lime, mandarin, patchouli essential oils.

17. May all beings be free. Use German chamomile essential oil.

18. May all beings feel strong and supported. Use any of the following cedarwood, angelica, cypress, ginger

19. May all beings be loved and care for. Use lavender and rose essential oils. Lavender brings nourishment and heartening reassurance, rose aligns the soul with the higher angelic realms, opening your heart to allow you to engage in loving practices, show the people you love your love, love and nurture yourself.

20. May all beings breathe and relax. Use roman chamomile and bergamot essential oils.

21. May all beings go with the flow. Use German chamomile to let go, relax and go with the flow, let go and let be.

22. May all beings express our unique power. Use vetiver essential oil for strength and security and juniper essential oil to help bringing clarity and stability to stand in and live your truth.

23. May all beings open our hearts. Use rose essential oil to open and connect to your heart centre, practice loving kindness.

24. May all beings listen. Use lavender essential oil she listens to and remedies a thousand ills.

25. May all beings imagine. Use geranium to evoke imagination, intuition and sensory perception; also rosemary and juniper berry essential oils, two important oils for the opening the third eye chakra.

26. May all beings connect with our intuition. Use everlasting, basil, rosemary, these help us connect with our higher selves and bring clarity to our understanding of spiritual truths.

27. May all beings connect to our divine nature, use french lavender essential oil, rosewood, sandalwood links base and crown chakras facilitating spiritual development, and particularly frankincense which connects us with the divine within and without.

28. May we all love; use lavender and rose essential oils; rose is the supreme oil of the heart chakra, the centre of love for self, others and universal love.

29. May we all share; Use grapefruit essential oil, it is positive and generous, uplifting and cooperative.

30. May we all serve use lavender essential oil to take genuine care of ourselves and others.

31. May we all unite in peace and harmony; use a blend of Australian sandalwood, sweet orange, lavender and rose absolute essential oils. This is a beautiful blend to encourage spiritual awakening, heart centred nurture and connection, and harmonious joy to nourish and balance the collective body, mind and spirit.

I hope you enjoy taking this transformative journey to make the act of loving kindness part of your daily routine. Notice after a month how it is easier to let go of judgment both for self and others as the natural reflex becomes wishing yourself and others well.

If you would like me to make up an essential oil blend for you or to order a specific essential oil, please contact here.

Yours in Living Well,

Kim

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