NATURAL HEALING WITH ESSENTIAL OILS

It’s been a while since I last dabbled with Essential Oils but with this pandemic in full swing and stress levels often jumping into overdrive, I’m keen to add more ‘holistic’ approaches to my life and perhaps Essential Oils might just be what I need?    

Eager to learn more, I spoke with certified Essential Oil enthusiast Kelli Paulson who with her husband and three children moved from the USA to Bangalore in early 2021. She began building her wealth of knowledge on Essential Oils while living in South Korea seven years ago…. Here’s what we discussed:

KR: WHAT SPARKED YOUR INTEREST IN ESSENTIAL OILS?

KP: I’ve always been more of a fan of natural ‘healing’ remedies. When I first moved to South Korea, being in a new country I was picking up a lot of colds and bugs and felt that I needed something to help strengthen my immune system. It’s also hard to know what kinds of medicines you should turn to when you are in a foreign country with small children so it was then that I started looking into Essential Oils and listening to the stories of how they had helped other people. I was completely blown away by the ‘life-changing experiences’ that others had had with using Essential Oils. However, it wasn’t until we actually moved back to Texas and my daughter developed severe allergies to the surrounding woodlands that I started to delve deeper into how Essential Oils could possibly help us and I gained my Specialist Essential Oil Certificate during lockdown 2020.

KR: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVOURITE ESSENTIAL OILS AND HOW HAVE THEY HELPED YOU?

KP: There are several oils, which, serve different purposes but here are my favourites:

Peppermint – in my household we use peppermint every single day, it’s great for cooling down the temperature of the body, it relieves head tension, when taken internally it can give you a boost of energy and can help to relieve seasonal threats.

Oregano – This is a great one in helping to support the immune system and also aids in skin irritations.

Tea tree – This too can support the immune system and aid in sinus problems as well as helping with a range of skin irritations.

Frankincense – This is known as one of the ‘King’ oils because it helps on a cellular level – it will give you a glowing appearance when applied topically on the face, when taken internally it can help with head tension and it can help with acne and skin discomforts. It can also help to lift your mood and overall energy.

Lavender – This common oil is known as the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of Essential Oils due to its multiple uses. It helps with sleep and seasonal threats such as reducing itchiness and soreness caused by insect bites. It can also help to sooth high emotions and reduce anxiety and stress amongst a whole host of other things.

Lemon – This is a great oil for a light detoxification, boosting the mood and you can also use it as a natural option for cleaning.

Wild Orange – It’s energising and has anti-septic and immune stimulant properties. It’s also known to have anti-depressant properties. Different companies will also have different blends of this, for example, a calming blend, a respiratory blend, an immune support blend etc etc. I tend to use the calming blend, which is great for anxiety and stress – it’s a combination of wild orange, lavender, spearmint, magnolia and rosemary so it’s got quite a few different oils in there all blended together to help give you the benefits of each – it helps you to feel centered as it has a calming effect – you can put a few drops in the palms of your hands and breathe in deeply. There is also something called, a Restful Blend and Grounding Blend, which can be used together to really help with de-stress.

Blended Peppermint/Ginger/Coriander/Tarragon/Fennel – this is a great one for any kind of tummy troubles, it really soothes any kind of stomach irritation by rubbing it on the tummy area or adding a couple of drops to water and taking it internally.

Deep Blue Blend – this really helps with pain and sore muscles, head and neck tension and has a kind of ‘icy-hot’ feeling to it when applied to the affected area – it cools and it heats in the same instant. It’s a good one to keep in your gym bag if you do a lot of exercise.

 

KR: WHAT’S THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY TO APPLY ESSENTIAL OILS?

KP: The first way I would suggest is aromatically, so just inhaling directly from the bottle, or rubbing a few on the palms of your hands and inhaling, or just wearing a few drops as a perfume. Alternatively, you can always use a diffuser for a more surrounding scent. Aromatically the scent travels through the nerves in the nose and sends signals to your brain for the properties to ‘kick in’ and have the desired effect on your body, the same way it works when you are put under general anesthetic.

The other way to apply Essential Oils is topically to the bottoms of your feet as your feet have a lot of nerve endings, so it’s a quick way to get the Essential Oils into your bloodstream – this is especially helpful with children who are not keen on taking things through the mouth. You can also apply topically on the back along the spine which is also a quick way for the oils to enter the bloodstream but you want to make sure you use the Essential Oil in combination with a ‘carrier’ oil such as coconut oil or avocado oil (any oil you have at home will do) when doing this because Essential Oils are quite potent and you want to avoid any sensitivities you may potentially have. The recommended ratio is 1 drop of Essential Oil mixed with 5 drops of carrier oil when applying topically. The benefit of applying topically is that you can focus on the localised area of concern, for example, if you have a sore muscle or a sore head, by applying directly to that area the Essential Oil can specifically target that area.

So last but not least you can also use Essential Oils internally where you can place one or two drops under the tongue – this is what I really like to do with Frankincense and Peppermint. Another way to ingest internally is by adding a couple of drops to a glass of water or you could even add a couple of drops to a veggie capsule. Veggie capsules are little containers the size and shape of a pill which you can open up and add in the drops and swallow as you would with a regular medication – these are good if you don’t like the taste of the actual Essential Oils. When you take them internally you get the most potent dose and it’s the most effective way of dealing with any internal issues you may want to resolve. However, not all Essential Oils are safe to ingest, such as those derived from the needles of trees or bark oils, so you must ensure that you check the labels of the Essential Oil to see if it’s safe to take internally or how much is safe for internal use. This is why you want to be sure that any Essential Oil you are using are 100% legitimate (my go-to is Doterra) – you want to ensure that you know exactly where that particular bottle of oil have come from, where its been sourced and derived from ensuring you know exactly how and when to use it.

KR: IS THERE ANYTHING TO AVOID/REMEMBER WHEN APPLYING ESSENTIAL OILS?

KP: You want to avoid applying Essential Oils in or near the nostrils or directly in the eyes, on broken skin or any other ‘sensitive’ areas of the body – so you don’t ever want to put it directly on an open wound, in that case you would mix it with a carrier oil and apply it like that. Essential Oils with strong chemistry such as Oregano, Cassius, Clove and Thyme should always be diluted with a carrier oil no matter how you are using them. Essential Oils that are citrus will cause sun sensitivity so you should always avoid exposure to direct sunlight at least 12 hours post-application. Remember to keep your Essential Oils out of excessive light and heat, and always store them away from children.

https://www.doterra.com/US/en

For a FREE consultation with Kelli please drop her an email [email protected]