Have you entered the world of Essential Oils yet or are you still in discovery mode and don’t know what to do about it? Have you been evangelized by someone like me who has gone over to the oily side? Or are you hanging back, and looking for a no nonsense i.e. simple guide to help you decide? If you have heard of Essential Oils but don’t understand all the fuss, you might like to hear my story. This blog starts the story but I have lots to say so if you are really interested you might like to keep reading over the next few posts too! I will also give you a few ideas about how to safely learn about the uses and benefits of Essential Oils without too much commitment.
Here is my story….
A few years ago now I noticed that my yoga teacher had stopped using candles in the studio and was using a diffuser with ‘something that smelled nice’ in it. Gradually over time the ladies at the studio started to have conversations about oils and my teacher started to hold workshops on the use of oils. She would also offer us a sample of an oil on our wrists during the relaxation session at the end of class.
So I became a bit curious and then very interested!
I don’t know about you but I really don’t like to be left out of a good thing so just over 12 months ago I took the plunge and asked about how I could buy a diffuser and some oils. I bought my diffuser and on the advice of my yoga teacher and, a my first kit of 10 essential oils. This kit is one of the enrolment kits and so I could purchase products at wholesale prices. I found that I could even build a business around essential oils if I wanted to! I learned that my yoga teacher was now my ‘upline’ and my mentor in this new world. I will admit, it was all a bit daunting and mysterious but I was ready for the challenge.
Getting this far was the easy bit – working out what to do next took a little more effort.
Over the years when life has thrown its curve balls at me I have found that new opportunities also pop up, ready to take me in a new direction. At the time I bought into the world of Essential Oils I was coming through a very dark period in my life (a story for another day) and definitely looking for a challenge and a hobby. So I felt that even though I had jumped in a bit naively that it was worth pursuing. Andrew and I are also fast approaching retirement and starting to think about the next phase of life and we would like to be as healthy and active as possible. So learning about ways to improve lifestyle e.g. using Essential Oils, seemed to us to be a good idea. However, whenever I make a change in my life I find that I need to know the whole background story before I can move forward. I guess my research science past will never leave me in peace! Its about being logical, ordered and having some control in a new situation. Learning about Essential Oils was no exception, I wanted that knowledge so I could act with authority and make the most of my investment. So I took the plunge into the world of Essential Oils information online.
Information Overload!
What I found is that there is SO MUCH information out there that it is difficult to work out what is relevant and helpful.
What I did learn quickly is that plants and their extracts including Essential Oils have been used for hundreds or even thousands of years for medicinal, beauty, anti-microbial reasons and to support general health. In an age where we are exposed to so many toxic chemicals in the form of bug sprays, hairsprays, fake fragrances and a multitude of other household cleaning products, it makes sense to take a step back and ask what are all of these things doing to our health and what is the alternative? The answer I found was that Essential Oils can be used to support our general health and replace so many of those toxic chemicals.
I would like to point out here that essential oils are chemicals or a blend of chemicals themselves and that if used inappropriately can also be toxic to us. However, if used wisely they can be beneficial. We just need to be informed before we use them.
A year down the track, I still have lots to learn but I have some strategies worked out to find the information I need and how to discern what is good and bad information. I will be writing about my experiences, and will share with you how I have used essential oils to make a whole range of DIY products for my house so that I can help reduce the load of toxic chemicals within my own household environment and that of friends and family.
Find an ‘Oily Friend’
If you find yourself bogged down with too much information try the following approach:
- Ask yourself this questions: Why am I interested in Essential Oils? What would I do with them if I bought them?
- Find and talk to an ‘oily friend’ who you trust and ask for their story i.e. how and why they use Essential Oils.
- Ask that friend to share with you about how they use the oils and how they have benefited from using them.
- Join a group of Essential Oils users e.g. on Facebook or another platform that you like using and watch what they talk about, where they go for information and what they are doing with their oils. (If you sign up for doTERRA via my website you can join groups that I am part of – see below on how to do this.)
- Take your time to learn from these contacts and don’t feel that you have to hurry along on your journey into the world of oils.
- Test the information you are given from these sources by reading further. If you have a science background like me you will be happy to learn that there are many published papers about oil use and benefits. There are also lots of publications about dangers so you can read and decide for yourself. My particular interest is the impact of oils on microorganisms and how we can use the antimicrobial properties oils to help us on a daily basis.
- Do start using a few oils so that you can start to appreciate their benefits.
Getting Started
Try these ideas to get you started in a simple way……
Choose an oil that takes your fancy or one that is commonly used and either just buy it and try it or do some research. To get you started, Lavender, Peppermint and Lemon oils are the most commonly used oils and for good reasons. Here are a few ideas of how to use these oils each day:
- I use Lavender oil every night to help me sleep. I diffuse the oil and also have it diluted with a carrier oil like Fractionated Coconut Oil in a roller ball bottle to roll on my wrists or on the bottom of my feet. My sleep has been very settled ever since I started doing this. I also love to use it in bath salts, soap and handwash.
- I keep Peppermint oil by my side every day in a roller ball to wake me up, help ease headaches and to open my nasal passages when I have a cold. I use it in a spray to cool me down in hot weather, and I use it neat to freshen up the bathroom. Peppermint oil is also great to use to smarten up your cooking – ever made peppermint chocolate slice with real peppermint oil?
- I put a drop of Lemon oil in my water each day to freshen the taste and as a detoxifying agent. I also use it to make my cleaning products like dishwasher tablets and dish washing liquid – but that story is for another day!
What Next?
If you are ready to enter the world of Essential Oils and you decide to go the doTERRA way, I would love to help you get started and support you if you want some help. Here is how you can do this: go to my doTERRA website to find out about the range of oil and oil based products available for purchase. You can also sign up to become a member on this site. Once signed up you can purchase oils for wholesale prices! But if you would like some more information click on the Contact Me on the doTERRA website and I will respond to your questions.
We hope you will also join us at Helpful by Nature by subscribing to our email list. We would love to hear from you, take your questions and provide answers if we are able.
Until next time,
Gillian (and Andrew)
