Essential Oil Education

When we overdo it either in planting our spring gardens, spring cleaning our homes, or running or exercising outdoors, our bodies suffer and speak to us through pain. What is the mechanism of pain and can nuture’s medicines in the way of essential oils help relieve our symptoms?

Essential oils are great detoxifiers. They can relax, and decrease swelling in muscle tissue. They are anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic. A muscle responds to pain with a reflex contraction which causes blood flow to the area to be inpeded. Less oxygen and glucose and the decrease in circulation means that removal of toxins and waste products is slowed. Inflammation, muscular soreness and pain are the results.

General Instructions

Topically apply your chosen oils neat (undiluted), 2-4 drops to the aching area 1-3 times daily as needed. Or you could dilute the oils 50-50 and gently massage 4-6 drops on the affected areas 2-4 times daily. Use a warm compress if there is no inflammation but apply cold if there is inflammation–1-2 times daily as needed. Specifically for muscles–you might try basil, marjoram, lavender, or the blends of Relieve It or PanAway. When there are spasms present, try Aroma Siez with Ortho Ease or Ortho Sport massage oils.

PS: There is no need to suffer from bachaches from over-doing it. Make sure you are only using therapeutic grade essential oils and not perfume grade. How can you tell the difference? For one–if it does not work! You need to be able to get your oils from a reliable source–from a company that checks each and every batch of oils for purity and effectiveness. For more informtion go to http://www.YoungLiving.com/HTSMSmith

It’s springtime and many people are out digging up their gardens and planting flowers–bending, shoveling and basically just over-doing it. We forget that each year our bodies grow a little older and a little stiffer.  Essential Oils are a great rescue team when our backs, hips and legs start aching from the strains of lifting, kneeling, pushing and pulling. Here are some great “rescue” remedies.

Rescue Remedies for Strained Muscles

Nutmeg, marjoram, black pepper, basil, spruce, Roman chamomile, wintergreen, rosemary, and peppermint. I recommend topically diluting your chosen oil(s) 50-50 and massaging 4-6 drops into sore muscles three times a day. Palo Santo is also a great essential oil choice. It is high in limonene which makes this oil an excellent anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic oil. Other anti-inflammatory oils include elemi, lavender, German chamomile, Idaho balsam fir, and cypress in addition to the oils already listed.

For Sciatica

You can use helichrysum, peppermint, nutmeg, thyme, spruce, wintergreen, basil, rosemary, clove, tarragon. Some great blends include Aroma Siez, PanAway, Relieve It, Aroman Life. Again topically dilute your oils 50-50 and use 6-10 drops on location twice a day or as needed. Also Raindrop Technique is great for Sciatica.

PS: For more information on how to use essential oils properly for your holistic health, I suggest you investigate our Aromatherapy courses that are taught throughout the United States. go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com for a schedule of courses near you.

If you have a healthy immune system, your chances of catching the “flu” are slim. Why? A healthy immune system keeps opportunistic pathogens from taking advantage of you. You see, bacteria and viruses are all around us yet we don’t catch every bug out there when our immune system is optimized. Some viruses like the H1N1 are pretty viralent so extra precautions are in order. What do I recommend to keep your immune system perking along at optimum?

Recommendations

Rest–I suggest 8 hours of down time out of every 24–that means horizontal rest not necessarily sleep.

Diet–lay off the sugar. A diet with sugar is a great breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. Eat your greens, vegetables and fruits. Go light on the meat, heavy on the veggies.

Wash your hands as our president suggests! Wash them often and before and after you eat, visit the restroom, cough, sneeze or shake hands with anyone. Can’t get to soap and water? Then carry Thieves waterless hand purifier in your pocket. It’s small enough and inexpensive especially in comparison to being sick.

Take supplements. Yes, our diets even though they may be “healthy” lack the vitamins and minerals they once had. We live in a toxic world and that toxity unfortunately is in our food and water supply. Here are a few suggestions on supplements: Vitamin C, Super Cal, MultiGreens, ImmuPro, Inner Defense, Tru Source vitamins, minerals, Exodus, and Longevity capsules which contain frankincense, thyme, orange and clove. Also, keep your gut happy–use enzymes, Digest and Cleanse, and Comfortone. Young Living oils are the only ones that contain therapeutic grade essential oils. What a great easy way to get your oils internally!

Drink water. Lots of purified water. Make sure it is not chlorinated water which leaches calcium out of your bones.

And use your essential oils. Thieves on the soles of the feet every day. You can also use a drop of Exodus II on the soles of the feet or Egyptian Gold. Think you are beginning to come down with something? ticke in the back of the throat? Then use Tea Tree–one drop on the tongue every five minutes for 5-10 times will knock a cold. It won’t taste that great but it is worth doing to keep from getting sick. We are in a change of season moving from winter into spring so the weather is chaotic and that is when people are the most stressed. Stress will bring down your immune system very quickly.

PS: Want to learn more about essential oils and how to properly use them? Consider becoming a certified aromatherapist through our program. For information go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com

PSS: Already have some knowledge about the oils but want more and just don’t have the time to take a course? Then check out our ISHA Virtual Aromatherapy Circle. This is a weekly teleseminar for members who pay a monthly fee to belong. Topics cover 9 different categories of health issues. Go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com for details on our Healing Store page.

Stop your panic! The pharmaceutical industry which stands to make billions of dollars is fueling American panic over a flu pandemic. It simply does not exist. I do not recommend taking the flu vaccine. The vaccines in this country are tainted with mercury and have never really been proven to be effective against viruses.

What do I recommend?

Common sense. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, get plenty of rest and stay home if you are sick. Then use the essential oils we have learned to be anti-viral like Melissa, Ravensara, oregano, thyme, and lemon. These are highly anti-microbial and specifically anti-viral. Use the Thieves line of products like the foaming hand soap or the waterless hand cleaner. Use the household cleaner for bathrooms and kitchen. Protect your internal environment with Thieves toothpaste and mouthwash. Use the Thieves essential oil on the soles of your feet and around the neck and ears. If you know you will be in areas where people are coughing or potentially may be infected, then use a face mask with Thieves oil on it so that you are breathing in the aroma of this blend. You can also use the Thieves spray and don’t forget–you can use this spray as a throat spray as well. You don’t have to catch the flu if you are taking care of yourself and using common sense.

PS: For more information on how you can protect yourself and your family, go to my web site at http://www.ISHAhealing.com

PSS: To order Thieves or any of the other therapeutic grade oils, go to http://www.youngliving.com/HTSMsmith

Frankincense Tree

Recently it has made big news all over the internet that frankincense oil (Boswellia carteri) successfully kills bladder cancer cells without harming surrounding healthy cells. Those of us who are not researchers but healing practitioners are not the least bit surprised at this news. We have seen and heard of many testimonials on how frankincense has countered cancer cells from skin to brain, to internal cancers to breast and now bladder cancers.

What Can We Identify in the Chemistry of Frankincense that Can Account for It’s Cancer Fighting Ability?

Frankincense is high in monoterpenes which can be 64-90%. It also has 5-10% sesquiterpenes, 2-5% alcohols, and about 1% sesquiterpenols. (Remember, even 1% of a compound is considered a large amount and can totally influence the behavior of an oil.) So what does this mean in practical terms? We are going to see actions that are anti-inflammatory, anti-tumoral, immune stimulating, anti-depressing and muscle relaxing. It stimulates the limbic system as well as the pituitary and pineal glands. It is strongly anti-viral, antioxidant, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, antiseptic and expectorant. It’s chemistry proves that it is an all-around healing oil, good for just about everything.

In recent years, there have been many research papers published showing th effacacy of frankincense in treating cervical cancers, breast cancers, and now bladder cancers. These researchers are from reparable universities. In the bladder cancer study, researchers used a therapeutic grade frankincense oil from Young Living Essential oils.

PS: Want to know how you can get therapeutic frankincense oil? Go to http://www.YoungLiving.com/HTSMsmith to order yours today.

PSS: Learn about frankincense and many other Biblical oils through a certification in clinical aromatherapy program. Go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com to find out obout our educational program on essential oils. Be sure to check the schedule of courses being offered throughout the United States.

Rose Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) is like a companion oil for clary sage and has a much more pleasing fragrance then clary sage. If we look at its chemistry we see it has lots of alcohols and esters, some oxides and terpenes with about 7% ketones. The effect on the reproductive system will be more subtle than the clary sage. It is used primarily for breast engoregement, vaginal thrush, painful periods, PMS, and uterine hemorrhage. It has a calming, uplifting and strengthening effect. Some find it very good for hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

Of course the primary effect of geranium is for skin care but it works well with the clary sage for hormonal imbalance. Geranium is used in a lot of European face creams to reduce aging and wrinkles. Used in a cream it can counter vaginal dryness. Add a little vitamin E oil to improve the strength and flexibility of the vaginal lining when it is too dry. 

To counter menopausal symptoms, some enterprising companies are now even making rose geranium “patches.” I personally have not tried these but they do sound interesting.

PS: want to learn more about treating menopause with essential oils? Our virtual aromatherapy circle will be addressing menopause in a Circle Presentation May 13th. Join up at http://www.ISHahealing.com

Clary sage (Salvia Sclarea) is probably the most well known essential oil for treating hormone imbalances. If we look at its chemistry we see that it is high in esters and alcohols which are very healing for the body. It has one small ingredient though that makes the difference–it is a compound called sclareol which could be as high as 7% but is usually less. Sclareol is a diterpene alcohol making it estrogen-like in its effect on the body. Other medical properties include anticoagulant, antioxidant, anti-diabetic, antifungal, antispasmodic, a relaxant, cholesterol-reducing, antitumoral and anesthetic.

Clary sage has a euphoric effect on the body so yo definitely don’t want to be taking this oil internally and drinking alcohol! You will appear to be drunk. As a bit of history–the Germans used to throw clary sage in with their hops when they made their beer–it gave a greater buzz to one’s drinking!

What kind of hormonal imbalances can clary sage help with? It’s considered a good uterine tonic, helps with amenorrhea, hot flashes, post-natal depression, panic attacks, impotence, and frigidity. it is considered an oil that is a “gift to the female.” It can get rid of monthly bloat, can regulate menses, can balance the endocrine system including the pituitary and the pancreas making it helpful for diabetics.

This is a great oil for perimenopausal and menopausal symtoms. Start with just a few drops on the soles of the feet or the belly. If that doesn’t work, consider putting a few drops along with some olive oil in a capsule and take it as a supplement. There is no need to suffer and most women can deal with their symptoms in a natural way rather than drug therapy which brings so many potential side effects.

PS: Want to learn how you can use essential oils for hormone balance? Join our Virtual aromatherapy Circle. May 13th we will present a Circle presentation titled: “Hot Vs Cold–the Woes of Hormone Imbalance.” go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com to sign up.

Night sweats, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, palpitations, hair growth where you don’t want it, mood swings, weeping, irrational fear, depression, sleeping problems, weight gain, cravings for sweets… Sound familiar? These are all too common symptoms when female hormones start to decline. When ovulation becomes erratic, with it comes a decline in progesterone. At about the same time the ovaries decrease their secretion of estrogen. Hormone balance goes out the window and women end up with a collection of symptoms they wish would go away. Besides HRT which has now been proven to cause problems like cancer, what alternatives are available to deal with the “changes in life?”

Essential Oils Are Proven to Be Helpful. Here is a short list of oils and how they can help.

For Painful periods and backache–Basil, marjoram, Eucalyptus globulus, lavender, pine, and peppermint are all analgesic, antispasmodic and decongesting. In addition the lavender is also calming, sedative and a tonic for the nervous system.

For heavy periods–cypress is an astringent and is hormone-like; melissa is calming, sedative and regulates secretions.

For fluid retention and cellulite–cypress, fennel, and juniper all have diuretic properties. Sage  and geranium are decongesting.

For depression and fatigue–basil is a nervous system regulator (anxiety) and is a good tonic for the nerves. Roman chamomile is calming and good for nervous depression. clary sage is neurotnic and geranium is a good relaxant for anxiety and nervous fatigue. Juniper,marjoram, rosemary and pine are all neurotonic.

Insomnia–basil again is a good nervous system regulator; Roman chamomile, lavender and melissa are all calming and sedative.

Headaches–Roman Chamomile, lavender, melissa, peppermint, and rosemary are all antispasmodic; Roman chamomile and lavender are calming and sedative; lavender, marjoram and peppermint have analgesic properties.

Hot flashes and sweating–here you are looking for estrogen-like oils so clary sage is the primary oil I recommend. Cypress is good for excessinve perspiration; peppermint is cooling and pine is good for excess sweating.

PS: Want to learn more about hormonal balance with Essential Oils? Join our Virtual Aromatherapy Circle. Go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com and check out our virtual aromatherapy schedule of teleseminars/webcasts.

Springtime allergies can bring very uncomfortable symptoms like sneezing, itchy red eyes, and constant nose blowing. What is happening–an allergic reaction to tree pollen than can start early in the season and last into the beginning of summer–just in time for summer allergies to grasses! Many essential oils have been found to help with these symptoms if not eliminate them all together. In this post, I want to specifically look at the melaleuca oils whic are high in 1,8 cineole–the compound that is the respiratory tract’s best friend.

Melaleuca cajuputi, commonly called cajuput is native to Australia. Its high cineole content (50-70%) gives it many of the same great qualities as Eucalyptus globulus, polybractea and radiata.  It is used for many purposes including respiratory congestion, asthma, urinary problems, coughs, hay fever (allergies), toothaches, bursitis, psoriasis, insect bites, and sore muscles. “Kajuputi” is a Malysian word meaing “white tree.”  Its main action is that it fights viral, bacterial and fungal infections. Traditionally it has been used for its antiseptic, antiparasitic and local analgesic properties by the Australian aborigines. This is a relatively safe oil that can be diluted and rubbed on the body or put in a capsule and taken up to 3x a day as needed.

Melaleuca quinquenervia, commonly called Niaouli is 35-65% 1,8 cineole. Also native to Australia, this is a very safe and gentle oil that can be applied liberally and undiluted to the whole body. it is noted for its hormonal balancing properties. The pollen of niaouli trees is a powerful allergen and is considered responsible for the great increase in allergic conditions in Florida since many of these trees were transplanted in the everglades area. This points to one of the most important qualities of niaouli. It is one of the most powerful anti-allergenics in aromatherapy acting in a homeopathic fashion–like cures like.  It’s action is similar to tea tree in that it is anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-parasitic and vasodilating. It main effect though is expectorant. It can be inhaled and rubbed on th body but is not recommended for internal use.

Melaleuca ericifolia, commonly referred to as Rosalina is 34-45% linalool and only 10-20% 1,8 cineole. This is a relatively new oil from Australia and is considered gentler than tea tree oil. The cineole makes it an effective decongestant and expectorant. The high linalool content will make it a very relaxing oil therefore it should be used in the evening before going to bed. It is an excellent choice for children’s infections especially infections of the ear, nose and throat. You can dilute 1 part oil to 1 part vegetable oil or use it undiluted on the body. It can be directly inhaled, diffused or used as a dietary supplement. It is an exceptionally gentle oil when applied neat.

There you have it. In the last few posts I have looked at several eucalyptus and melaleuca oils that are helpful in addressing the symptoms of springtime allergies. To find out more about how you can live a healthier life by using nature’s medicines, go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com to see our courses in clinical aromatherapy.

Most people will recognize the name Eucalyptus globulus but did you know there are many other species of eucalyptus that can be helpful for springtime allergic reactions? Many people who have springtime allergies begin sniffling, sneezing, aching, and watery eyes as early as February with full blown reactions in April and May to tree pollens. Many different forms of eucalyptus have been found to be very helpful for these symptoms. Let’s take a look at a few.

The most famous of the eucalyptus oils is Eucalpytus globulus or Blue gum. it is 60-75% 1,8 cineole. This is the strongest medicinal form of eucalyptus available today. This oil can be diffused, rubbed on the body or taken internally. It is non-toxic, non-irritaing and non-sensitizing. as a clinical aromatherapist–this would be my first choice in working with the symptoms caused by allergic rhinitis.

Eucalyptus polybractea, commonly called Blue Mallee is native to Australia and is usually used in the same way as E. globulus. its main effect is that of being an expectorant. Today most aromatherapists primarily prefer this oil for acne, urinary tract infectiions and viral infections like Herpes. But can it help with allergic rhinitis? Try it and see if it helps your symptoms.

Eucalyptus dives is peppermint eucalyptus and has a minty fragrance. it too is native to Australia and is strongly antibacterial. It’s main effect is mucolytic. It is non-toxic, non-irritating and non-sensitizing but this form of eucalyptus is usually not taken internally.

Eucalyptus radiata is sometimes called black peppermint. This one is extensively used for respiratory infections and particularly sinus infections and viral infections. Next to globulus–this is the most popular eucalyptus. Radiata has a milder and more mellow fragrance than globulus. Its main effect is expectorant and antiviral.

As you can see there are many choices. In my next post I will look at some of the melaleuca oils used to decrease the symptoms of springtime allergies. To learn more about essential oils and how they can help us maintain a halthier life, go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com to find out how you too can become a certified clinical aromatherapist.