Essential Oils are pure and power-full wellness friends.
Mother Nature provides herbs and natural medicines for human beings and our animal friends. She has a complete ‘apothecary’ (Greek for medicine storehouse) for our health, specific to our land and climate. Amazing!
Wikipedia informs us the profession of apothecary (our modern chemist or pharmacist) can be traced back to 2600 BC in ancient Babylon with medical texts recording symptoms, prescriptions, and the directions for making remedies.
People indigenous to the land, have amassed vast knowledge of the specific chemistry of beneficial trees, herbs and roots.
Indigenous people and migrants to our shores (including us!) have all brought their traditional medicine cabinets, too – adding a wealth of different remedies and health philosophies to our choices. Tai Chi, Qui-Gong, Homoeopathy, Yoga and meditation are now valued practices, sitting beside western medicines. Over thousands of years, that knowledge has been valued, refined and passed down, in forms like acupuncture (chinese traditional medicine), ayurveda and the ‘doshas’ (indian vedic ), and rongoa (maori ). All cultures have a trusted medicine cabinet of tinctures (herbs soaked in alcohol), balms and salves (active plant healers in beeswax or plant gels), recipes and potions.
Did you know that your T-bags are a modern version of a herbal potion, picked, dried and blended especially for your complaint, by an experienced herbalist? Real tannin tea is a tincture of ‘Japonica’ made from the Camellia genus, highly prized in Europe from the mid 17 century.
And then there is smell.
Aromatherapy is part of all cultures’ ancient wellness practices!
Why? A pure oil* produced from plants is absorbed by the nasal nerves at the back of your nose, (very close to the brain), within seconds. Wham – instant medication! When a specific herbal plant or tree is distilled (usually heat-distillation), a complete chemical profile, termed “essential” becomes available to us for our healing. We have befriended plants and herbs for all of our human history, our whole body ‘remembers’ how to heal. Essential oils stimulate this “inner physician” wisdom, especially at the tiniest molecular sites – our cellular RNA and DNA. Modern science confirms what ancient peoples learnt – whole plant remedies remind us how to be whole and healthy again. Why was the christ child gifted Frankincense, Myrrh and Gold? They were highly esteemed as medicines and spiritual/endocrine healers. As valuable as gold! Today, we have access to them again.
Single oils can be used in many ways:
- in a diffuser, oil burner, or spray to enhance your environment
- applied to your skin, glands, soles of your feet before sleep,
- a drop in hot water
- sensational on food.
Some good basics to invest in
- Marjoram for muscles, mood and mind
- Lavender for ligaments, liveliness, pain, and sleep
- Peppermint for foggy brains, clarity and direction
- Lemon for immunity and liver (cleansing and uplifting)
- Orange for happiness (depression and hormone balancer).
Blends to enhance the benefits
All the single oils have many culinary and therapeutic uses, but the magic quantifies when experienced producers blend specific oils for their chemical constituents: phenols clean the cellular receptor sites, monoterpenes “reboot” our cellular batteries and cleanse our gut biome and organs, sesquiterpenes re-write our DNA software, after injury and illness. Essential oils have few side effects, because our bodies remember thousands of years of effective and safe use.
One of my clinic client favourites is “Stress Away”, a therapeutic grade* blend of oils proven (scientific studies) to calm your emotions, clear brain fog, re-balance high cortisol hormones (stress), bring smiles back. Phew! All that in a bottle?
My other “home apothecary must-have” oil blend is “Thieves”, the flu and viral support oil. If I can respond to my bodies’ immune alarm bells early enough, Thieves usually defends from most lurgs. But it assists the gentler progress of a cold or flu, (the bodies natural way of detoxing), too. It especially supports nasal and lung congestion, fever and that pesky lingering cough which is so fatiguing.
I recommend it to anyone flying short or long-haul, for immunity and travel fatigue.
Get started!
So, are you ready to befriend an essential oil? Would your family benefit from some Orange happiness?
The oils are not expensive and last indefinitely, if kept cool, dry and away from light. Many are useful in cooking too. A drop of Orange EO ( 15 ml – $25) in hot water is comforting, uplifting and equivalent to the peels of 5 oranges, grown on organic farms for purity* and full therapeutic chemical profile. One drop in baking or on icecream lifts the flavour to new levels, but also creates magical medicine-food.
Article by Barb
Holiday Season PS
Dr Bruce Berkowsky says: “Holiday seasons aren’t what they used to be, although most people still go through the motions. You have the choice as to whether to argue with the passionate, yet clueless know-it-all in-law or cousin, or wisely keep your mouth shut, yet feel your repressed knowing boil over as indigestion in your gut.”
His suggestions for essential oils to consider using leading up to family gatherings are:
- Lemongrass: specific for the thymus gland. Strong support for the immune system.
- Clary sage: Keeps the mind clear. Supports the adrenal glands.
- Frankincense: Encourages slowing and deepening of the breath. Helps one stay true to one’s own inner understanding.
- Carrot seed: Helps one stay in touch with the nurturing Cosmic Mother and the deep understanding that emerges from her.
- Ravensare: Supports invisibility of one’s aura and inner world.
- Cedarwood: Strengthens faith and will.
- Lavender: Relaxes the nervous system and calms the breath.
More tips for summer
We have concerns about the safety of many sunscreens. This helpful article lists some essential oils that can be used for sun safety instead.
brooklynwellness.nz 