Essential Oil Education

Seasonal allergies manifest as sneezing, sniffling, runny nose and itchy watery eyes. Does that describe your symptoms in the spring time? What causes these reactiions? it is a result of hypersensitivity involving the mucous membranes of the nose and upper air passages to some kind of irritant–an antigen-antibody reaction obviously to something you have breathed in. It could be to airborne pollens, fungal spores, dust or even animal dander that causes a release of histamine. In the springtime it is usually to pollen from trees and in the summer to grasses and in the fall to wildflowers like ragweed.

How Can Essential Oils Help with the Symptoms of Allergic Rhinitis?

• Inhalation–direct as needed and diffusion 15 minutes every couple of hours
• Ingestion–00 size capsule 2 x daily

Here is a great essential oil that many have found to be very helpful. It is Eucalyptus globulus, commonly called Blue Gum. This is the strongest and the most common form of medicinal eucalyptus available. The oil is in the leaves. The aboriginal people of Australia used to roll the leaves and smoke them to treat respiratory ailments. This oil has expectorant, mucolytic, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and anti-aging properties. It may be diluted 1 part oil to 1 part vegetable oil or used neat (undiluted) on the body. It can be diffused, inhaled directly or taken internally. It is non-toxic, non-irritating and non-sentizing. Next post, I will talk about some more oils helpful for allergic rhinitis.

Find out more about the unique qualities and properties of medicinal grade oils by going to http://www.ISHAhealing.com . There you will find out about our certification in clinical aromatherapy program.

So you use an essential oils and you get a rash or little bumps all over your fingers and hands. We know that this is not an allergic condition caused by the oils but the oils are defintely causing the skin to react in uncomfortable ways. So what is happening? Is this an “allergy” to the oil?

First of all we know that we are living in a very toxic world where we are developing allergies and sensitivities to the pollutants in our water, air and food chain. We are walking time bombs of toxic waste from industrial wastes, herbicides, pesticides, food additives, and heavy metals that we get not only from our food and water but also from our cosmetics and lotions and potions we put on our bodies. Even the mercury fillings in our teeth leach heavy metals into our systems.

We eat far too much sugar and animal products which tend to make us acid and ferment in our guts and stay there longer than they should. This becomes trapped in the intestine’s many convoluted curves and putrefy–thus releasing heavy metals and other toxic myotoxins. Then we use an essential ol on our toxic bodies and not surprising, we get a reaction.

What’s the solution to this mess? Cleansing. When an essential oil produces a skin reaction, my response as a clinical aromatherapist is to tell the person to stop using the essential oils and go through a cleansing which could take months or years. If they are faithful to the process–then yes, they will be able to once again use essential oils.

i recommend the Stanley Burroughs Master Cleanse to start your cleansing process. You can go to the health food store and buy a copy of this cleanse. Do it for 7-10 days. cleansing allows the body to work towards fighting off disease–it helps us to clear up an overloaded system and clear away toxins, mucous, and parasites that may have built up over years. There are many other cleanses to follow up after the Master Cleanse like herbal colon cleanses, colon hydrotherapy, intestinal fiber cleanses, enzyme cleanses, and Parasite cleanses.

Don’t forget to support your immune system while you are going through a cleanse. Jusst remember that when you get a reaction to an essential oil it is not due to an antigen-antibody reaction but due to the interaction of the essential oil components with the toxicity of your body.

Learn more about the power of essential oils by going to http://www.ISHAhealing.com and signing up for our aromatherapy courses.

First of all let me describe what an allergen is. Typically it is an allergen that is the source of allergies–the culprit that causes some kind of hyper-reaction in the body. For an allergen to cause an allergic reaction–we must have been previously exposed to it, our bodies must have developed antibodies for that allergen and there must be a hyersensitive reaction every time we are exposed to it. The allergen may be airborne, in the water or food or it could be something we touched–like poison ivy leaves.

Allergens with only a few exceptions–are proteins or polypeptides composed of amino acids. if you asked the question–can essential oils be an allergen or contain allergens–we would have to say unequivocally–NO since they contain no proteins. What is interesting is that you can have a respiratory allergy to goldenrod or ragweed but not be allergic to the essential oils that come from that plant since proteins do not come across in the distillatin process.

What about Fatty Oils–Can You Have an Allergic Reaction to These?

YES–if you are alleregic to peanuts–you will react to peanut oil because the pressed oils will contain proteins and polypeptides from the seeds or nuts.

That should be good news. But you say you know of someone or maybe you yourself developed a rash after using an essential oil–does that mean you developed an “allergy” to that oil? Actually no–there is no allergy however the oils are doing exactly what they are programmed to do–go after petrochemicals. Your body is toxic and the oils are showing you that you need to cleanse your body. Can you continue using the essential oils? I wouldn’t advise it. Clean up your body first and that may take months or even a year to do but eventually you will be able to use the essential oils that caused the rash. More next post on how to clean up your body.

Want to learn more about how these amazing oils actually work in the chemistry of your body? Check out our aromatherapy certification program at http://www.ISHAhealing.com

Here in Denver we have not had much of a winter. In fact, we are in severe drought and it is the lowest year on record for snow fall. It’s just plane dry and warm here. Perfect weather for colds and flu. People simply don’t know how to dress in this kind of climate. It’s imperative during climate changes to keep your immune system charged and ready to fight off opportunistic microbes. Essential oils can definitely help keep us healthy and strong.

How Essential Oils Can Help

Let’s look at the chemistry of essential oils. Many are highly anti-microbial, that is, they are antibacterial and antiviral. Some are even powerful enough to stimulate our immune systems. According to expert Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt, PhD, the success potential for essential oils is greatest in fighting infections. Various terpene alcohols can correct elevated or depressed gamma-globulin counts back to normal. For example in chronic bronchitis, the gamma-globulin count is depressed. It can be corrected upward with essential oils like savory, thyme, spike lavender and eucalyptus globulus.  Essential oils can also alter the terrain for pathogenic organisms. This means they can kill off the hostile pathogens without killing off normal flora in your gut. Antibiotics do not have that ability since they kill off both the bad and the good microbes.

How Can You Use Essential Oils Daily to Keep Your Immune System Functioning Well?

Let’s first remember that essential oils are not a panacea to cure everything. Healing involves the whole of the body-mind-spirt. Simple practices like getting sufficient rest, eating balanced nutritious meals, dealing with stress, exercise, and deep relaxation will bring the natural relationship among body, mind and spirit back into balance.  We are talking self-care here. With that said, using essential oils daily can help keep us in balance.  It’s important that we have joy in our life. So what oils bring you joy? Lift you up? USE THEM! Scientists have shown a tremendous link between our emotional life and our immune systems. My suggestion would be to vary the oils you use–don’t use the same ones all the time because our bodies do grow used to them. Once you get sick–your immune system is already compromised. That’s when you need to bring in the more potent antibacterial and antiviral oils to fight the oportunistic microbes. But to keep from getting to that point–use your essential oils to lift up your spirit, to relax and revitalize.

Want to learn more about how to protect yourself from opportunistic bugs and boost your immune system? You can learn a great deal by becoming a certified clnical aromatherapist. Check out our web site for details and a schedule of courses: http://www.ISHAhealing.com

One thing the pharmaceutical industry fails to tell us about flu vaccinations is that they don’t protect against all strains of flu. In fact, they can only guess which strain of flu will hit in any one season. Hmmm… That means we are playing Russian roullette with vaccinations, only guessing if the “magic bullet” will protect us.

Can anything from nature help protect us during flu seasons? YES! Although we can’t say that essential oils “prevent” colds and flu, we can say that essential oils boost our immune systems and thereby help protect us from catching the flu. Also, we can say that once we have a cold or the flu, essential oils can help us get over our symptoms quicker and back on our feet in much less time than taking antibiotics and other over-the-counter drugs.

Suggested Essential Oils for Preventing Colds and Flu

Since many essential oils have strong antimicrobial properties, they can be diffused to prevent the spread of airborne bacteria and viruses. Essential oils that have shown to be antiviral include ravensara, hyssop, rosemary, tea tree, clove, oregano and thyme. Any of these oils diffused throughout your household will help prevent the spread of germs.

Suggested Essential Oils for Lessoning the Symptoms of Colds and Flu

Diffusing oils near your bedside or even applying oils on the chest, back and neckeither diluted or undiluted can greatly reduce the symptoms of colds and flu. Some suggested oils include ravensara, blue cypress, lemon, Eucalyptus radiata, rosemary, peppermint, cypress, frankincense, oregano, mountain savory and thyme. Make sure you dilute 1 to 4 for oregano, mountain savory and thyme since these are considered “hot” oils.

Some Great Blends to Prevent and Treat Cold and Flu

I have run across several outstanding blends that have shown to be very effective in both preventing and shortening cold and flu symptoms by helping the body defenses fight colds/flu once an infection has started. They include Young Living’s ImmuPower, Thieves, R.C., Raven, Melrose, Australian Blue, Purification and Sacred Mountain. These blends are made up of highly antimicrobial single oils.

PS: Want to know how to get your arsenal of therapeutic grade essential oils to protect yourself and your family during this cold and flu season? go to http://www.Youngliving.com/HTSMsmith to order your antimicrobial oils today.

Recently I have been putting together our application to renew our status as an approved school of aromatherapy. That has required me to go through our curriculum piece by piece and examine how we present information about nature’s medicines–the essential oils. Whether I am looking at the history of aromatics or the chemistry of oils, I am impressed with both the science and the art of aromatherapy and how far it has come in the United States in such a short time. Why study essential oils? Here are three good reasons.

Number 1: Essential oils are nature’s medicines and can aid us in healing our body, mind and spirit. What oil helps arthritis and painful joints? What can I use for skin infections? Can an oil help get rid of a sore throat, earache, bronchitis, the cold or flu? What do I use for improving mental functioning and clarity of thought? Can essential oils help me balance my hormones, menopausal symptoms or aid in relieving menstrual pain? What about pregnancy–are esssential oils safe to use?  Learning about essential oils can aid us in relieving common discomforts and promoting healing–if we know what we are doing.

Number 2: Learning about the chemistry of essential oils will help us to know how nature works in our favor. Essential oils are made up of hundreds and sometimes thousands of different chemical compounds–how do they work? Are they safer than drugs? Do they have side effects that I need to know about? How much do I use? Can I overdose or use too much? Learning about the structure of essential oils will better equip us in knowing how much and how often we should use nature’s medicines.

Number 3: Becoming a certified aromatherapist will add another dimension to the healing work you may already being doing. Are you a nurse? massage therapist? energy healer? physician? therapist? Americans know that pharmaceutical drugs are dangerous and cause major side effects. Nature’s medicines are far safer but need to be recommended by knowledgeable people who know their actions, uses and safety factors. Becoming a certified aromatherapist will give you the science as well as the art of applying and using essential oils.

PS: To find out how you too can become a certified clinical aromatherapist, go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com to find out more about our 240 hour course of study leading to a certification as a clinical aromatherapist.

Exactly one month ago, I fell and broke my arm–a neat fracture of the head of the radius.  Ten days in a splint and the last three weeks just being careful with my arm, exercising it daily. This past week I re-introduced swimming into my regime and this morning I swam 15 laps until the rest of me gave out–the arm did fine. So how did I manage to do so well while being in that over-60 age bracket? Essential oils were the key to my success.

I continue to heal by using lemongrass and Idaho Balsam fir and massaging them into the joint and surrounding tendons and muscles. Are they sore? You bet but I’m finding that my arm is getting better and better with each passing day.

Why these two oils? Let’s take a look.

Lemongrass is an excellent oil for the mending of tendons, ligaments and muscles that have been stretched, torn or ripped. The oil comes from a grass that grows primarily in India and Guatemala. The fragrance is rather heavy and very lemony. Besides being very good for ligaments and muscles, lemongrass helps to regenerate connective tisues and dilate blood vessels thus improving circulation and promoting lymph flow.  All of these reasons helped me to choose this oil above others to speed my recovery.

Idaho Balsam fir has a wonderful fresh fragrance of Christmas trees and is outstanding as an anti-inflammatory oil. Bone fractures can set up inflammation of the surrounding tissues, swelling and bleeding. Idaho balsam fir is a very non-toxic, non-sensitizing oil and thus an excellent choice to use after applying the lemongrass which has some aldehydes that can be quite warming to the skin. The monoterpenes in the balsam fir actually quench the aldehydes in the lemongrass.

PS: Have I interested you in wanting to find out more about therapeutic grade essential oils? The oils in the health food stores are only perfume grade at best and have little to no healing ability. Check out my site at http://www.youngliving.com/HTSMsmith to find out how you can get the best quality oils.

Bone fractures can be painful and a great inconvenience–aromatherapy oils can help the healing process and restore you to full health. My recent arm fracture from a fall on the ice has slowed me down a few degrees but thanks to therapeutic grade essential oils I am using twice a day, I am on the mend and able to do many of the things I couldn’t do following my fall. When fractures occur, there may be bleeding into the surrounding tissue, swelling, inflammation, and of course pain and inability to move the part of the body where the fracture is located. Want to know how my healing is progressing?

Essential Oils Have Been My Healing Balm!

Helichrysum was the first oil I chose for pain, swelling and inflammation. Also known as Everlasting, the oil comes from an aromatic shrub with silvery-grey lance like leaves and clusters of small yellow flowers. This oil has been around a long time and has quite a history in stopping hemorrhaging, relieving pain and inflammation. This is an extremely valuable oil for healing. Yes, it is an expensive oil but one every household should have for emergencies.

Then I have come to depend on lemongrass another anti-inflammatory oil that heals torn ligaments. this oil comes from a fast-growing perennial grass that grows in India. I primarily am using it to help regenerate connective tissues and ligaments that have been stretched or torn in my fall. Lemongrass can be a bit warming to the skin, so I have been layering other oils on top to quench the heat of the lemongrass.

Next, I may add one or more other oils like peppermint, Palo Santo, frankincense, or wintergreen. Balsam Fir is always my final oil. This is a great oil made up of 98% monoterpenes which will quench the irritants in the lemongrass. This oil is also anti-inflammatory and an anticoagulant. It has a wonderful relaxing effect on muscle spasms and since it is so high in monoterpenes is very soothing, non-toxic and non-sensitizing to the skin.

Yes, we can definitely help the healing process with bone fractures by using essential oils. Don’t scrimp and use perfume grade oils from the health food store–you will find they won’t work.

PS: Want to know more about how essential oils heal the body? Go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com and click on our clinical aromatherapy program. We are teaching courses all over the country. Find out how you too can use essential oils to help keep your body/mind/spirit healthy.

Yesterday I gave myself a new opportunity to learn about the oils. You see I slipped on ice and fell and broke my arm. Yes it hurt at the time but not enough to make me run to an emergency room. However this morning I realized that I couldn’t bend or straighten my arm. So after a few x-rays it was confirmed that indeed my arm w as broken. As the doctor was splinting my arm–I asked him to make sure I could get to my elbow area where ther fracture was located so that I could use my essential oils for the swelling, pain and bone healing. He not only complied but wanted to know which oils I was using and could he have one of my business cards so that he could learn more about essential oils.

Bone Healing with Essential Oils

First, think through  the cause and type of injury and select oils to address each problem. So for my simple fracture of the head of the radius, these are the oils I have chosen to use.

Helichrysum for pain, swelling and bleeding. I started to use helichrysum almost immediately. This great oil that goes by the common name–Everlasting, it is an excellent anticoagulant, anesthetic, and antispasmodic. It is also a detoxifier, stimulant, regenerates nerves and is a liver protectant.

Lemongrass was my second choice since it helps to regenerate connective tissues and ligaments. It dilates blood vessels, improves circulation, and promotes lymph flow. Lemongrass is high in aldehydes though and may  feel warm to the skin–when that happens, simply dilute it with a little vegetable oil.

Peppermint for pain and inflammation. It has great  pain-relieving qualities. In addition it is antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, a digestive stimulant, and is great for opening up the respiratory passages. I found using peppermint as the last oil helped to drive the other oils in and provided a cooling to the skin.

Wintergreen is a wonderful oil that is 90+% methyl salicylate.Therefore it is a great oil for pain. It is an anticoagulant, antispasmodic, highly anti-inflammatory, a vasodilator, and analgesic/anesthetic.

Spruce oil is a great antispasmodic, anti-inflammatory, contisone-like and immune stimulant.

Idaho Balsam Fir is another anticoagulant, anti-inflammatory oil. Great fragrance–it’s the Christmas tree smell!

PS: Want to learn more about the healing qualities of essential oils? Go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com to find out how to become a certified aromatherapist.

Yes I know, after the holidays lots of people have picked up a few unnecessary pounds and when their clothes get tight–it’s time to think about the gym or walking or exercising. Let’s face it–”diet” will always be a four-lettered word that is most distasteful. What if I told you how to create your own weight loss program that involves pleasant taste? Essential oils can do that. I’m not going to say there isn’t exercise involved–everyone needs to move their body even if you use a walker or a wheel chair.  The secret though is decreasing the amount of food, particularly calories that come from junk food. Some diets say you can eat whatever you like just not as much as you like. Our bodies quickly feel “deprived” when we start to cut back so how can taste provided by essential oils help us eat less?

Peppermint is a great example. By placing just a trace of peppermint essential oil on your tongue, it actually helps to curb your appetite and you eat less. As a child, my emotional memory is one of delight at getting some peppermint candy at Christmas. That seems to be the only time it was available so tasting anything with peppermint in it brings back pleasant memories for me.

Other oils like lemon, orange or grapefruit in your water will help you have a feeling of fullness and satisfaction. My favorite oil is to use tangerine or mandarin in my water. It is such a pleasant taste–you will thank me for that suggestion once you’ve tried it.

Here’s a suggestion–place a few drops of your favorite tasting essential oil in your bottle of water and take a walk! Enjoy the sunshine even in the winter months. Today it is Sunny and in the 70’s here in Denver and it’s January! So take advantage of those warm days when they come and when it is snowy and dismally cold outside–then go to the gym or put on a DVD and exercise! Get your bones and muscles moving and if you overdo it, the essential oils can help! Use basil, marjoram, wintergreen or birch oils to massage those tight sore muscles.

PS: Want to know more about losing weight and exercising with essential oils? Then learn this and much more in our aromatherapy courses. Go to http://www.ISHAhealing.com and check out our schedule of classes.