Episode 43: Relaxing with Aromatherapy

Transcript

Welcome back to Essential Oil Solutions with doTERRA. Over the next few weeks, we're excited to be doing a series of special episodes highlighting some timely and relevant topics. By listening, you'll learn useful, natural, and simple solutions to everyday issues. If you like what you hear today rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. We always appreciate hearing from you. Today's episode features Megan Newmans talking about some aromatherapy tips to encourage relaxation.

Hi there, my name is Megan Newmans. I'm a Wellness Advocate with doTERRA. I’m also a holistic health coach and a yoga instructor. I'm here to talk to you tonight about aromatherapy for relaxation. It goes hand-in-hand with what I do as a yoga instructor. I love providing a sensory experience for my students and when working with essential oils it actually affects the limbic system of the brain when you inhale them. It's responsible for shifting the state of our emotions.

So, what is aromatherapy? It's the practice of using plants—essential oils—to improve our overall well-being, to support our mood, and to affect our feelings. Working with the limbic system of the brain, we can shift our state in an instant. A great way to do that is by putting a couple drops in your hand, and rubbing your hands together. I have my favorite, Vetiver, with me right here. And so, just closing the eyes, taking a moment, taking a deep inhale, and deep exhale. Just that moment of stopping, closing the eyes, and being with your breath really allows yourself to feel grounded, more relaxed. And it happens within the instant, like I mentioned. Having your essential oils with you at all times is a great way to practice relaxation wherever you are. It can really just be one minute with the breath. It's really effective. 

There are three ways that we can use aromatherapy—topically, internally, and aromatically. Aromatically, like I just showed, where your hands are a little diffuser. Behind me, I have my diffuser going. So, you can use aromatherapy within the home. You can start your day with it; you can end your day with it. What I love to share with my clients is aromatherapy jewelry, necklaces. We have some that are created with lava beads and it really holds in the scent of the essential oils. You can put a drop on your lava bead in the morning before you leave home. And in any moment throughout the day when you're feeling a little wound up you can just close the eyes and breathe in and you have your personal diffuser with you.

A topical application for using aromatherapy would be a massage. You can do self-massage, or you can have a friend or partner massage you. The last way to take oils is internally. We only like to take CPTG Certified Pure Tested Grade^TM oils, which is what doTERRA’s standard of quality is. You can do this in your water, you can do it in a vegie cap, or you can make a recipe and put the oils that way. And so, you're going to have that internally as well. It really just helps overall wellbeing, boost your sense of your palate, and it's just delicious. It's a great way to get your oils internally. 

Some of my favorite oils for relaxation would be Lavender. You can think of Lavender as all things calming. Vetiver, which I just used, is the oil of tranquility and Spikenard, which is going to provide a grounding effect and it's great before bed. One of my favorite sleepy-time bath blends is those three—filling your bath, putting a couple drops of each, soaking in it, being in the aroma, and just taking time to calm your mind. A lot of us are constantly working with screens and having this outside distraction, so when we take some time for ourselves we can really go internally and allow ourselves to rest. 

I really became a self-love junkie about three years ago. I started my career in fitness as a personal trainer teaching group fitness and yoga. I would run from class, to client, to class, to client and I was very high strung and high energy. I have a tattoo showing my favorite yoga pose. It's called Shavasana, which is the final relaxation posing yoga. It’s the chance that our body gets to rest and ground down. And I chose to get a tattoo on my arm to remind myself in those times when I am, you know, high energy, running here and there, to take a look down and remember to relax and to calm down. 

In my yoga classes I love using oils in the beginning where we sit and we ground with meditation and breathing, and then also in the end for Shavasana. I always love to give a drop into my students hand. I cue them to rub their hands together, cup their face and take some deep breaths in. What I love about sharing aromatherapy in my classes is that you can instantly see the students relax and rest. It's very important. We need to balance our bodies. 

There are some blends that are my favorite as well, which would be doTERRA Serenity^®, doTERRA Balance^®, and doTERRA Peace^®. You can put these in the diffuser before bedtime. What I like to do is set up my diffuser about a half hour before I go to sleep. I shut all the doors so as I walk in I smell that aroma. It kind of works like brain training, signaling my brain that it's time to rest, it's time to go to sleep. 

I like to do my personal Shavasana. I love to grab Rose oil and apply it over the heart, or any of the favorite oils that I mentioned in the hands. Take some deep breaths in, and set some intentions and then really just melt and relax and shut down the brain. Essential oils can be used so many ways, but getting your own relaxation practice with your oils is gonna be great for you to own your personal power and to fill your cup, so that you can give to everyone else. I hope you like my tips. Please share which tips you love to use for relaxation. And I hope you have a great day. 

Thanks for joining us and congratulations on living a healthier lifestyle with essential oils. If you liked what you heard today, check back on Thursday, when we'll hear from Christine Thethi about how essential oils can help you breathe easier at night. Also, if you want to try any of the products you just learned about, go to doTERRA.com, or find a Wellness Advocate near you to place your order today.