Live Well Naturally and Holistic
It should be no surprise that eating organic and locally grown food has become a way of life for so many of us. Historically, we lived naturally and holistically before the introduction of the agricultural revolution and the industrial age. Our true beginnings as homo sapiens made us landlubbers, and like most large mammals, we survived on a diet of raw fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins. These provide the building blocks for what our bodies are made of and what we were meant to live off of to grow healthy and strong.
We are dependent on plants’ ability to convert the sun’s energy into food that gives us our sustenance. Our bodies’ complex systems break down the plants and animals we consume into their smallest components and then utilize them for our own bodily needs. Every day our bodies are growing, with old cells dying and new cells growing at a phenomenal rate. This is why it is so important to constantly feed the body healthy and nutritious food to stay well! One simply cannot grow healthy cells with diet sodas and Oreo cookies coursing through ones veins!!
Another aspect of the plant world that is lesser know than the carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals we gain from our fruits and vegetables and proteins we get from our meats, are the phytonutrients that are in our herbs and spices. These chemical components in the herbs and the volatile oils in plants can be extracted as essential oils or utilized as tinctures, brewed teas and supplements. Most of our modern medicines come from extracting these active components from herbs that we know are helpful, and then synthesizing these items in the laboratory. It’s so much better for our bodies to get these “actives” right from the source! That is why using essential oils and herbal medicines are becoming increasingly popular.
Incorporating herbal supplements, tinctures and essential oils into one’s daily routine can add a new dimension of living naturally and holistically, instead of turning to over the counter medications for our everyday physical and emotional ailments. Below are some examples how using essential oils are a natural and holistic approach to everyday concerns for enhancing your healthy lifestyle!
Sinus and allergies:
o Add a few drops of Eucalyptus globulus oil to a bowl of boiling water and put a towel over your head and breathe in the vapors, instead of using OTC medications for drying out the sinuses.
o Diffusing Rosemary ct camphor or Spike Lavender (Lavendula latifolia), in a nebulizing diffuser will help clear mucus from the chest and nasal passages.
Insomnia:
o Many essential oils help quiet the mind and can aid in settling the nervous system at the end of the day. Adding the essential oils of Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata), vetiver,(vetiveria zizinoides) or sandalwood (Santalum album) to a lotion, oil or liquid soap to apply at the end of the day before bedtime will help reduce anxiousness and create a calmness that helps send you off to dreamland.
Pain relief
o Pain is one of those things we can’t easily ignore! And with the addition of exercise into our bag of healthy tricks, we also experience sore muscles, aches and pains. But who wants to pump pain pills when your efforts are to keep your body clean and healthy? Certain essential oils have wonderful anti-inflammatory actions, as well as pain receptor blocker such as terpinine-4-ol in Juniper (Juniperus communis). Myrrh ( Commiphora myrrha) also has anti-inflammatory effects, while Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) has pain reducing qualities, bringin fresh blood to sore areas. Any combination of these oils diluted to 5% will bring muscle relief when applied to areas experiencing pain.
While using any one of the above oils for each of the mentioned conditions works well, you can also blend the oils into a carrier oil or lotion to create a synergistic effect of relief, but always to remember that 3-5% dilution for essential oils is the maximum you would want to use at any one time unless under the discretion of a clinically certified Aromatherapist.