Healing Essential Oil Remedies

The benefits and pleasures of essential oil healing can be enjoyed from purchased products or from the plants themselves.

Smell a rose and feel at peace.

Rub lavender flowers in your hands, breathe in, and let out a stress-busting sigh of relief.

Crush a rosemary leaf, inhale deeply and feel your head clear.

Essential oil remedies are said to affect healing at different levels. For example, on a physical level, lavender is useful for acne, pain, and sunburn. On an emotional or mental level, lavender helps lift depression, relieve stress and calm anxiety.They are used as vibrational remedies in energetic healing.

For year round essential oil healing, consider purchasing therapeutic grade essential oils. They are more expensive than lower quality oils, but are pure and more effective. They last a long time because you use so little.

Common therapeutic essential oils of good quality are usually available through local health food stores and on-line. Look for high quality oils from companies you trust such as Mountain Rose Herbs.

Fragrance oils are not essential oils, they are totally synthetic and have no health benefits.

Essential oil remedies are very easy to use. If mixing your own blends, you do need to follow some basic guidelines to achieve the desired actions and to use them safely. Consult an aromatherapy book or good on-line source for instructions and recipes.

If you prefer, prepared blends are readily available for a variety of needs. Follow the directions on the bottle. Remember, in aromatherapy, less is more.

Don't be tempted to use essential oils internally. Unless you really know your oils and what you are doing, this is unsafe. Although therapeutic grade essential oils are sometimes administered internally by skilled aromatherapists, most essential oil remedies are for external use only.

Always test the remedy on a small patch of skin first to make sure it doesn't cause a reaction.

Essential Oil Remedies

Here is one of my favorite ways to enjoy lavender oil. Put a drop in your hands and rub them together. Cover your nose and mouth with your hands. Close your eyes and inhale deeply for instant relaxation and stress-relief. Put a drop or two on a cotton ball and carry it with you. Sniff anytime for an instant stress-buster. Heaven!

You can also dab a bit of lavender oil on a sunburn, an insect bite or a pimple. Use five-to-ten ten drops mixed in some oil or salts and add to bath water. Add a few drops to skin lotion.

Peppermint oil A whiff of peppermint oil delivers an instant pick-me-up. It can be used alone or combined with lavender oil to counteract nervous stress and mental fatigue.

Eat a strong peppermint candy to help with flatulence or intestinal upset. Use one drop added to water as a gargle for bad breath or sore throat. Some people find this oil irritating on their skin so be sure to test first.

Peppermint oil is added to commercially made mint candies. These candies are offered after meals because peppermint helps with digestion.

Tea tree oil can be used straight or "neat". If it irritates your skin, dilute with a carrier oil or a little lotion. Inhale to counteract negative thinking, nervous exhaustion or shock. Can also be combined with lavender.

Use as a steam inhalation for respiratory infections or add a few drops to the humidifier. Tea tree oil is useful for disinfecting around the house. Add several drops to your natural cleaning spray or laundry.

Beyond Essential Oil Healing

"Forgotten" memories buried in the subconsciouscan bubble to the surface in the presence of an associated aroma. Students who sniff certain scents while studying find it easier to recall information when sniffing the same scent during an exam.

When you have specific goals in place, everyday smells can activate these goals. People who smell lemon, a common cleaning fluid scent, are more likely to tidy up than those who don't.

Realtors suggest that people use cinnamon or bake a pie when showing a home. It makes the house feel like home.

Lemon oil is diffused in Japanese stores because people buy more when they smell lemon. Perhaps this is because it is an uplifting scent.

A few drops of good quality lemon or orange oil added to a marinade on fish or chicken are yummy smelling and tasting. This is one of the few exceptions to the external use only rule.

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