Essential oils have been used throughout history for their aromas as well as their effect on the body.

And they have been essential in my home for years now.

My passion started when I took the intro to essential oils course offered by Alypsis here in Peterborough. After 2 full days I left with a book full of notes, a brain exploding with ideas, and a rapidly expanding list of oils that I had to have!

So how do I use essential oils?

Diffused, rollerballs, skin care, massage oils, inhaler tubes, and baths are the main ways we use essential oils; but we do use them in disinfectant spray, deodorizing spray, and hand sanitizer from time to time.

When applied topically, essential oils are absorbed through the skin and into the blood stream where they migrate to the organ they need to go to (or the organ system the oil has an affinity for); they can also have an effect directly on the skin. Inhaled essential oils are absorbed through the respiratory tract and into the blood stream; however inhaled oils will not only work physically in or on the body, but also as an emotional connection through the limbic system … think the smell of warm cookies baking makes you remember baking with your mom as a kid and all the warm gooey emotions that come with that.

Often when you apply oils to your skin you get a combination of the inhaled and absorbed benefits ... as long as you can smell it you are inhaling it.

One of my favorite ways to use essential oils every day is through my rollerball blends.

Try this … roll a blend on the palm of your hands (absorbed), rub you hand together then cup them over your nose and mouth, take 5 deep breaths slowly inhaling and exhaling (inhaled). This covers all the ways you can benefit from the oils and can quickly bring a sense of calm when used with a relaxing or stress relief oil blend.

An alternate is to roll your blend under your jaw line, on your neck, behind your ears … as the oil warms with you body, you will be able to smell it (inhaled) in addition to the oil being absorbed through your skin.

Diffusing essential oils in your space is a wonderful way to enjoy the smell and the benefits all day. I usually run something in our diffusers every day (yes, we have multiple in the house). One thing to note when you diffuse essential oils … only diffuse straight essential oils, not ones that are blended with a carrier oil, or it will just gunk up your diffuser.

What are my most used Essential Oils?

This was a little tricky for me to narrow down as I currently have 46 individual essential oils and 14 blends (purchased blends not including the ones that I have made), but even out of all of that there are a main set of oils that I am always running out of.

So here you go, these are my most used individual oils …

1. Lavender
2. Frankincense
3. Vetiver
4. Rose
5. Jasmine
6. Geranium
7. Tea Tree
8. Lemon
9. Grapefruit
10. Mandarin

Want to know why these are my most used oils?

Next post I will delve into all of the reasons why I use each of these oils along with my most use rollerball blend!

​Be well.

Karooch oils are from Alypsis in Peterborough Ontario. Check out their website for their full range of Essential Oils, Carrier oils, containers and more.

So much of our world now is fast, fast, fast … even the physical speed we move at can be fast. How much can you accomplish in a small amount of time? How much can you cram into a weekend or a day off? How productive can you be?

But is that really what is best for us?

What would happen if you tried to slow down and be a little less busy? A little less productive? Move a little slower? Accomplished a little less?

One of my favorite ways to slow down is to head to a forest for a wander. Not a speed walk, but a dawdle through the trees with my camera. Taking in all that I can and capturing all the amazing things that I see along the way.

This way of basking in nature is actually referred to as Forest Therapy or Forest Bathing.

Forest Therapy in the simplest of forms can be described as mindfulness in nature. It revolves around spending time in nature, particularly among the trees.

​Taking your time to move slowly through the environment, or even just sit. Close your eyes and just breath … then open your eyes and open your senses.

What can you see … what do you smell … what can you hear … is it warm or cool … what does the light look like as it filters through the trees?

Taking the time to notice big & little things like tiny mushrooms on the forest floor or how the branches of the trees catch the falling snow.

Spending time in nature can actually be an antidote for stress!

It can actually lower you blood pressure and cortisol levels, decrease nervous system arousal, enhance immune system function, decrease anxiety, and improve mood.

I think that we have reached the point in time where everything is getting to be a bit much … or at least it is for me.
 
Working full time, kids learning online from home, technology problems, internet problems, covid rules/recommendations, lockdown fatigue, dire predictions, feeling disconnected from friends & loved ones … just a few examples of what is leading us towards feeling overwhelmed.
 
So what can you possibly do?
 
First … take a deep breath and saw out loud “I am feeling overwhelmed” … (substitute in whatever specifically you are feeling if it is different) … Acknowledging what you are feeling is always the first step to making positive changes.
 
Second … take a deep breath … not to minimize what you are feeling, but we are all struggling with the same things right now. So join the club and let’s figure this shit out!
 
Third … figure out what issues are in your control to fix and what issues aren’t … There is absolutely no point stressing about something you cannot control. I will let you in on a little secret that I just figured out for myself this morning … grade 6 success does not hinge on your kid’s ability to connect to their google class meet for the full 225 minutes each day, and if the internet goes down, there is literally nothing that you can do about it … so just take a deep breath.
 
Forth … make a list of activities, people, places or things that help you relax, feel connected and fill your heart … there is a way to navigate while making sure to follow covid guidelines, it just takes a little creative thinking sometimes.
 
Fifth … prioritize something from that list every day … with one conscious step at a time you can shift towards being in a place where you feel less overwhelmed and more relaxed and happier.
 
Sixth … try including some conscious breathing exercises in to every day (as often as you need) … here are some breathing exercises that I really like … conscious breathing directs your awareness to the qualities of you breath, is it shallow and fast or deep and slow, and can allow you body to shift away from a sympathetic nervous system response (fight or flight) and back to a more restful and restorative pathway.

​Don't forget, we will get through and be better for our experiences in the end.

Breathe in ... breathe out ... and repeat as often as necessary ... YOU HAVE GOT THIS!

We have reached the point in the year where all the Christmas prep is done, all the gifts are wrapped and the groceries bought.

It is a time of year where you can sit back and appreciate what the last year has brought us before we turn our sights forwards again to the new year.

Now, in all brutal honesty, I have never been one to set new years resolutions or intentions. Why set myself up for failure and disappointment when I don’t meet my goals?

BUT

I am all for the practice of choosing how I want to feel next year … or more specifically, how I want to feel every single day.

About a year and a half ago now, I was introduced to this idea in a book called The Desire Map (bless you Jane for the recommendation and Danielle Laport for all of your wonderful inspiring work).

As soon as I started reading my copy from the library it struck such a cord with me that I knew I needed to actually get a physical copy of the book. I needed to be able to hold the book in my hands, press it to my heart, and be able to revisit it regularly.

​It felt like Danielle Laporte was speaking directly to me.

The idea is that through a series of exercises you identify your Core Desired Feelings … the feelings that you ultimately want to be the driving force behind all of your choices and actions.
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Once you have identified the feelings that resonate most you then make a list of intentional actions that answer the question …

What I found was that rarely were my intentional actions big and unspecific (like typical new years resolutions), but rather things I could easily fit in to my day, week, or month.

So … Where do you start?

First … I highly recommend checking out a copy of the book The Desire Map (either to buy directly from Danielle or from your local Chapters Indigo store or borrow it from your local library or online library ); if that is not possible for you there are lists of possible core desired feelings available online (like this one) … but really these are just to get you thinking … the options are limitless as long as they resonate with you and are how you want to feel.

Second … Once you settle on a couple of Core Desired Feelings (5 or so), sit with them for a bit … post them on your fridge, write them down in your planner … I ended up adding a word to my list about 6 months after I started, and this past fall I actually went back and redid the workbook because I just wasn’t quite feeling some of my words anymore (well really what I was feeling was that rather than being a CDF on their own they were actually ways to feel another CDF completely … nourishment for me is actually about Love rather than 2 separate things I wanted to feel).

Third … Find both little and big intentional actions to include in your life for each of your chosen feelings. This way, no matter what happens during the year you will have succeeded in feeling all your feels!

Forth … Go and live you life to the fullest with actions and choices that make you feel the way you want to feel.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday season and a blessed new year filled with all your feels!

The holidays are a time when our regularly scheduled program goes out the window and stress can run out of control.

Social commitments, family traditions, and financial strain, on top of work and school and normal life can be a recipe for a stressed-out holiday. And although some things may not be able to happen like normal this year, that doesn’t mean the stress will be any less. In fact, it will probably lead to higher stress levels.

When you have worked hard to create a more holistic life for your family It can be hard to figure out a way to balance holistic living and the holiday season.

Holistic living is living a life that nourished you body, mind & soul.
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So holistic living during the holidays needs to be exactly that. A holiday season that nourishes you body, mind & soul, while still honoring family traditions (even if it’s in a modified way).