Oh Cedarwood...

First things first: I thought I would jump around and give some background on what essential oils are. They are the volatile liquid that is within many plants, flowers, trees, roots and seeds and is usually extracted through steam distillation.  An essential oil is highly complex and may consist of hundreds of different and unique chemical compounds. Because they are so concentrated, they are much more potent than dried herbs or the plant itself. This is just one reason why essential oils pack a powerful punch of therapeutic benefit.


More and more studies are coming out with the benefits of aromatherapy (simply smelling an essential oil) on the immune system, repairing damage at a cellular level. It's pretty amazing!

As I referred to in my previous post, research has shown that fragrance can have a powerful effect on the brain, most notably, the hypothalamus (hormone command center of the brain) and the limbic system (seat of emotions). Cedarwood is one of the oils high in sequesterines, which significantly increases oxygenation and activity to the brain and may directly improve the function of many systems of the body. Oxygenation to the brain is important for almost every mental process.

Some basics about cedarwood: It has antibacterial properties and is known as a lymphatic stimulant. It stimulates the limbic region of the brain (center of emotional processing), as well as stimulates the pineal gland, releasing melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that induces sleep. Sleep is essential for getting rid of cortisol (stress hormone), producing neurotransmitters as well as proper immune function. It is an antioxident as well which means that it is useful in preventing oxidative stress.

I'm going to focus this post mainly on its effect on the production of melatonin, which is what we purchased it for. Melatonin is produced by serotonin. Serotonin (among other "happy" transmitters) gets depleted by exposure to stress. Who doesn't have stress??! I have yet to meet one person. At any rate, depletion of serotonin means depletion of melatonin which leads to lack of restorative sleep, disruption of hormones and the inability to get rid of cortisol, thus perpetuating the whole cycle.

My husband has been experiencing an inordinate amount of work related stress, and some mild depression due to the stress and physical exhaustion. I began researching various essential oils and which ones might benefit him the most and we decided to give cedarwood oil a try. It does seem to be boosting his mood!

At first, I didn't love the smell, but let me tell you, it's growing on me! I bought him a little car diffuser so he could enjoy the benefits on the way to and from work, I diluted it with some olive oil for him to use on his dry skin and also to apply to the Vita Flex (reflex) points that correlate to the brain for added benefit.

As I began reading more about  the oil, I thought maybe we could try it with our almost 5 year old, very high energy child. She has trouble shutting down at night and falling asleep, and also seems to have trouble sitting still during the day, needs a lot of stimulation, etc. With the knowledge in hand of how cedarwood benefits the limbic system, I figured it can't hurt anything. So, for her, I apply it to the tip of her big toes, the bottom of her feet, the inside of her thumbs (brain reflex points), and the back of her neck as well as diffusing it in her room along with lavender at night. It does seem to be calming and grounding her.

I'm diffusing it in the car now, for those special car rides where I'm trapped inside with a grumpy preschooler and crying baby. It definitely has added a new level of calm to my day.

To learn more about ordering your own essential oils, click

Black Friday Promotion!

You may have found my blog through Instagram or any number of avenues.

I want to give you the nuts and bolts of this awesome deal! I'll let you refer to my previous posts about why I chose Young Living essential oils, how I have used them so far as that information is helpful for making your own personal decision.

This is my personal promotion. The premium starter kit is already an incredible deal: 11 essential oils, a high-quality difuser, multiple sharing samples as well as supplement samples. It's is valued at over $300 but is sold for $160. That is also your membership, which means every purchase from then on is 24% off the retail price.

If you purchase through me, you will receive a $20 bonus reference material that is a huge resource for all your essential oil use! Not only that, but I will personally provide a $15 Amazon gift card just in time for your holiday shopping.

When you sign up through me, I become your personal connection and can help you navigate the vast world of oils, answer any questions you may have about the company, your oils, building your business, etc.

 

The Premium Starter Kit contains: 11 essential oils including Frankinscense, DiGize, Stress Away, Lemon, Thieves, Copaiba, Purification, Peppermint, Lavender, PanAway and RC, Dew Drop Diffuser, roller Fitment, travel bottles and Supplement Samples. 

This order MUST be placed by 11/28 at 1159pm PST in order to qualify for this promotion. 

Click HERE to place your order! And as always, please feel free to comment with any questions! 

Have a SAFE, HEALTHY and BLESSED holiday!

DIY Deoderant Spray and Health Benefits of Magnesium and Grapefruit

That may seem like a strange title...what do magnesium and deoderant have to do with eachother? Great question!

A few years back, I made the switch from conventional deodorant after learning about the harmful affects of chemicals. Aluminum being one of the main ingredients used in women's deodorant to stop odor and perspiration. It WORKS, but not without a cost.  Aluminum (among other chemicals/compounds) have been linked to both Alzheimer's and cancer. It's important to note that your there is one of the largest groupings of lymph nodes in your armpits. Lymph nodes are a part of the lymphatic system which is involved in removing wastes and toxins from the body. It is a very important part of the immune system.

Now that we understand a bit about the anatomy and physiology of the armpit, I think it's fairly easy to tell that great care should be taken to NOT expose this area to chemicals. But...how do you find a deodorant that actually works that is free of chemicals and toxins? I have yet to find a natural or organic deodorant that has ACTUALLY worked for me.

It has been estimated that upwards of 80% of americans are deficient in magnesium. This is due largely to the standard american diet which is void of many nutrients. Conventional farming practices and the use of pesticides deplete the soil of magnesium, which means that hardly any actually ends up in produce or the meat that we eat. Magnesium is soothing to the nervous system (in a nutshell). It is also important for muscular function. Eating a whole food diet, preferably organic, will ensure that you are getting the maximum magnesium content from food. But most of us need some form of supplementation to really get our magnesium levels up. Two of my favorite ways to increase magnesium are through magnesium oil and epsom salt baths.

I began researching DIY deodorants after the birth of my second daughter and my natural deodorant was no longer cutting it. Not to mention the cost of natural deodorants is just a little too spend for my taste. Anyway...I landed upon a recipe that I am just now trying out.

The recipe is as follows:
 4oz glass bottle
 2 tbs magnesium oil
 20-30 drops of your favorite essential oil  (I chose grapefruit and I'll explain why below).
 Witch hazel

(Its important to use a glass bottle because essential oils have been known to cause plastic to leech. Not something I want in my body!)

I chose grapefruit oil because it is known to stimulate lymph flow, and I figured this would be a great place to make use of this oil given the cluster of lymph nodes. Grapefruit is also known to help breakdown fat, help balance hormones and help maintain a healthy metabolism. It also smells great! Magnesium oil does have a slight tingling sensation when first applied and this deodorant definitely needs a few minutes to dry, so keep that in mind ; )

Witch hazel is a natural astringent and cleans while soothing the skin.

If you would like more information on Essential Oils, please visit my other pages for detailed information or comment below :)

***UPDATE*** It totally works! I'm thrilled to finally find something that actually works!

References:

      https://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/essential-oils/grapefruit-essential-oil.html

      http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21157018

      http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/03/22/aluminum-toxicity-alzheimers.aspx

     http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16045991

Why I Chose Essential Oils

I want to briefly explain how I got into essential oils and hopefully explain why I chose the brand Young Living.

Almost 6 years ago my dad was diagnosed with brain cancer at the age of 52. Terminal brain cancer. He lived for 15 months after diagnosis. At that point I realized that cancer was no longer something that just happened to other people...it hit me like a tidal wave that it could and was happening to us. There was no stopping it. At 25 years old, I naively believed everything the food industry, marketing and modern medicine told me about health. Watching my dad die of cancer changed all of that for me.  Disclaimer! I believe in all of the above listed...just not as much as I once did. I began examining my diet. I cut out aspartame (Diet Coke being my main squeeze at the time) which is known to cause a plethora of health issues, not the least of which is brain lesions! WHUT. I also began by slowing adding vegetables into my diet, exercising more and eating a whole food based diet.

I began my own journey of discovering the beauty of good and healthFUL foods. The nerd in me got excited as I began to learn how food changes us, for better or for worse, down to our very DNA (check out Deep Nutrition for a great resource on this). Fast forward to my dad passing away and me giving birth to our first daughter. My body was in shambles after years of neglect and the standard American diet which, sadly, is devoid of the nutrients we need to maintain health. I sought the care of a skilled naturopath after getting the run around at our primary care and very little help. Slowly but surely, I began to heal by giving my body the nutrients it needed and removing the various food stressors!

I became something I never thought I would be: an advocate for healthy food and all things "crunchy!" So it really was only a matter of time before I landed upon essential oils. I had been hearing about them for years, had had friends try to sell them to Me, but just wasn't in the place to do the research of my own and take the dive. After all...there are probably dozens of brands of oils on the market today...how on EARTH was I to choose the right one? What is the difference?

So I began some market research. There are two main differences in oils: therapeutic grade and what are labeled as pure essential oils. Most of the oils that you will find at the grocery store are fragrance oils or what are called pure essential oils.  They often contain synthetic chemicals instead of the actual plant and can this be harmful if applied directly to the skin or even diluted as recommended. This is why they are so inexpensive. I don't have much experience with these oils as I decided to go a different route.

I began researching Young Living oils specifically and was very impressed with their quality. They do not use pesticides in the growth and maintainance of their plants. They do all their weed control by hand. They have a top of the line distilling process that preserves the quality of the oil. They compensate well! They also do third party testing on every batch of oil so you know the quality is insured! (Source)

I never intended to sell the oils. I really just wanted a good deal so I could get started and learn how to use the oils. However, you kinda cant help but promote something that has benefited your life so much! We use them for almost everything! I first started using them for emotional support (Lavender, Frankincense,and Stress Away), but then began using the other oils to support my and my little family's immune systems (Thieves and Tea tree), joint and muscle recovery (Pan Away),  purify the air and get stains out of various areas of the home (purification), encourage more fluid intake by adding Lemon or peppermint, support healthy breathing during the winter months (R.C.), and helping troubled digestion by DiGIze.

The BEST deal is to order the Premium Starter Kit. It comes with 11 bottles of essential oils (Lavender, Stress Away, Lemon, Thieves, Purification, Tea Tree, Frankincense, Pan Away, Digize, R.C., and Peppermint) a diffuser, Essential Oil samples, travel or sharing size bottles, $160. Plus I through in my favorite Essential Oil Reference material ($25 value), and connect you with a whole team of support people to help you get the most out of your essential oils! This is an investment in your overall health and wellness and I promise is completely worth every penny! For the month of September, when you sign up to become a member, you will also receive a FREE bottle of Thieves Laundry Soap!                                                                                                                                                                    

When you purchase this PSK (Premium Starter Kit), from then on out, you pay the wholesale cost vs retail cost of every purchase. That's 24% savings on every order. You don't have to sell anything, but should you decide you WANT to, you will be well compensated. I'll post more on that in another post : )

I hope this has helped you to understand this brand of oils and why I decided to purchase!

You can click the link HERE to order!

Oils and PTSD

I began using essential oils about a year ago, and have researched their many and varied uses as certain issues arise.

One of the most amazing things about essential oils is their work in the limbic system in the brain.

The limbic system is the part of your brain that many psychologists and neurologists would consider primitive. It is responsible for fight or flight, the stress response, breathing, heart-rate and temperature.  This is why essential oils are so incredibly helpful for any kind of emotional issue, be it heightened stress, anxiety, depression, grief, and even PTSD!

When someone experiences a traumatic event, that event can become hardwired in the brain to the point that anything that resembles the memory can trigger a heightened response. Without getting too clinical, there is a spectrum of PTSD. It can occur from one seemingly minor event or it can be more of a complex PTSD where one was exposed to highly stressful or traumatic events over an extended length of time.

When someone experiences what is called a trigger, they will experience increased respirations, increased heart rate, slowing of the intestines, pupil dilation, sweating, sensitivity to light and sounds, irritability and sleeplessness. This can come and go or it can be a prolonged trauma response and hang around until something snaps them out of trauma.

How could essential oils be beneficial for someone with PTSD? Well, for starters, Essential oils bypass the cognitive centers of the brain (the part of the brain that is responsible for logical thought, rationalization and reasoning that often gets shut down during periods of stress) and lands right in the limbic system, stimulating any number of emotional responses. (link) This is beneficial because it can bring someone out of a heightened state to a state of calm so that they can reduce the trigger response.

Why would you choose essential oils over a prescribed anti-anxiety medication? I will start off by saying that I am an RN who has worked in the medical field for almost 8 years. I can definitely speak to the benefit of pharmaceutical medications, especially when it comes to mental health issues. They can definitely increase functionality in many people. My issue with them is that it can suppress and can inhibit emotional processing.  More research is showing the harm in taking anti-anxiety medications long term,  affecting the liver and other organs, as well as the potential for addiction.

More evidence is showing the benefit of essential oils on the brain. One of those surprising benefits is increased oxygenation by inhaling various scents. Increased oxygenation leads to increased cognitive abilities, learning, and focus.


Lavender and Rosemary essential oils have demonstrated the ability to decrease cortisol levels in the brain which would prove to be very beneficial for someone with PTSD or any sort of anxiety disorder.

Personally, I have found Stress Away and Lavender to be very beneficial in reducing anxiety!

Click the link for information on ordering :) 

Oil it up, baby!

I never thought when I purchased my first set of essential oils through Young Living that I would want to sell them. After all, I HATE selling things. Don't put me in a position to do cold calls or anything like that because I just hate it. However, I fell in love with these oils and their numerous uses that to NOT share with others simply feels selfish.

I originally purchased the Premium Starter Kit because I wanted to try Joy oil, as I was coming off of my antidepressants and wanted some added support during pregnancy. I was NOT disappointed! Joy is definitely an amazing combination of calming/relaxing, and uplifting to where my mood just feels brighter, or "normal". Since it was winter when I first purchased the oil kit, Thieves was also diffused and used NEAT (I'll explain that later) almost daily to kill off bugs in the air, as well as help boost the immune system. Thieves also smells like Christmas so you can't really go wrong with that ; )

I diffuse lavendar if we all need to chill out just a bit (which happens more regularly than I'd like to admit with a newborn and 4 year old fire-brand of a child). Oh and let me not forget Stress Away! This oil is truly a beautiful blend. It's immediately calming and smells like you are on a tropical island.

The beauty of these oils is that the process really does preserve the integrity of the plants and flowers used, offering a super high quality product with so many benefits it's amazing.

I spent a lot of time researching oils because it was so new to me. I mean, why would I pay $15 for a bottle of Essential Oil when I can buy another brand for $7 at the store? For starters, Essential oils aren't really monitored. So they can say 100% pure essential oils but does that mean their oils are free of pesticides? How are they taking care of their crops? Where do the oils come from?

Young living oils have an excellent process called Seed-to-seal. Meaning that from seed to the point that the oil is sealed in the bottle, they are taking great care of the product. They make sure that their crops are grown sustainably, extracted with care and tested by a third party to ensure safety and purity ( http://www.seedtoseal.com/en/seedtoseal ).

I felt really comfortable after learning how they care for the oils and made my purchase.

Here is what you get when you order the Premium Starter Kit:

* An Everyday Oils Collection with 10 of Young Living’s most popular oils!

Lavender 5-m
Peppermint 5-ml
Lemon 5-ml
Copaiba 5-ml
Frankincense 5-ml
Thieves® 5-ml
Purification® 5-ml
R.C.™ 5-ml
DiGize™ 5-ml
PanAway® 5-ml
Stress Away™ 5-ml
AromaGlide™ Roller Fitment
10 Sample Packets
10 Love It? Share It! Sample Business Cards
10 Love It? Share It! Sample Oil Bottles
2 NingXia Red® 2-oz. samples
Product Guide and Product Price List
Essential Oil Magazine
Essential Edge
Member Resources

This is valued at over $300! And let me tell you...it is well worth the money.

When you sign up ( here ) to become a member, you will automatically receive 24% off your order and every other purchase from here on out. You are not required to sell oils, but you can if you want to. The only OBLIGATION is that at some point during the following year, you make a purchase of oils equaling $50 (50PV) or more, which is not hard to do because the oils are amazing!!