I started my journey with essential oils about 2 years ago. I was introduced to Young Living, started to do my research, and ordered my starter kit within a few days. You guys, within the first two weeks I was absolutely OBSESSED! I initially started using my oils for sleep support, and now I use them for just about everything in my day-to-day life – energy boost (totally need this with a 5mo baby), immune support, pain and headache relief, grounding and meditation, plus so much more. Currently in the midst of the global pandemic of COVID-19, I’m pumping all the emotional support oils ALL day, EVERY day! In today’s post I want to share a little more about the basics of essential oils – what they are, how we use them, my favourite oils, and why quality is SO important. Keep reading!
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are a concentrated liquid that contains naturally-occurring chemical compounds found in plants. In short, they are basically the essence of a plant. They’re extracted using steam distillation, although other methods do exist. Most commonly essential oils are used in aromatherapy and have therapeutic benefits based on the compounds found in each plant. They also smell incredible!
How do we use them?
There are three ways that you can use essential oils. Since Young Living’s oils are 100% pure therapeutic grade oils, they are safe to use in each of the following ways.
(1) Aromatically. This is probably the most common way that people use essential oils – you can use a diffuser, inhale directly from the bottle, or place a drop in the palm of your hand and cup over your nose. I usually have my diffuser running throughout the day with different oil blends for different times of the day (an energizing blend for the morning, a relaxing/calming blend for the evening when I need some down time, and a sleepy blend for night).
(2) Topically. Applying oils directly to your skin either undiluted or diluted with a carrier oil such as coconut oil or jojoba oil allows for targeted application to the source of concern. There is a great blend called Deep Relief which is absolutely AMAZING for muscle pain, and I love applying it directly to sore muscles for almost instant pain relief.
(3) Internally. Since Young Living oils are therapeutic grade, they are safe for ingestion but this is completely up to your comfort level. You can add them to water, cook with them, or make capsules. Please note, not all of Young Living’s oils are compatible with all 3 methods as some oils are not recommended for ingestion – each oil is labelled accordingly.
Why Young Living?
Before I really jumped all in with my essential oil journey, I had tried out a few store-bought brands here and there and although they smelled good, they didn’t actually DO anything for me. I had read about the benefits of essential oils, but never actually experienced it myself. When I was introduced to Young Living oils, I hopped online and started doing a ton of research (because your girl isn’t about to make a big investment for some oils that just smell pretty). The more I read, the more this company stood out to me, and why I ultimately chose to invest in them was because of their Seed to Seal process. www.seedtoseal.com
First of all, they are the ONLY company in the world to actually own their own farms so they can control the entire process of growing their crops to distilling the oils and bottling them. SEED. TO. SEAL. Everything from the seed itself to the crop that is harvested must pass super strict quality control measures. AND they are harvested under strict conditions to ensure the most potent and therapeutically beneficial oil is distilled. While other essential oil companies are produced as “fragrance grade” meaning they are used for aromatic purposes only, Young Living’s oils are “therapeutic grade” which means you WILL feel the benefits of these oils. They are 100% pure essential oils and they are 100% amazing. There’s a reason why I refer to them as plant magic – because their therapeutic benefits are so potent! All this to say – where you buy your essential oils from MATTERS. It may be a larger investment than store-bought oils, but it is SOO worth every single penny.
My favourite oils.
Not gonna lie you guys, I don’t think I’ve met an oil that I didn’t like *so far*. Here is a rundown of some of my absolute faves. For an energy boost in the morning I have two favourite blends: Joy + Citrus Blend and White Angelica + Grapefruit + Orange. Citrus oils = amazing for waking up! A drop of Eucalyptus in the shower first thing in the morning is also super rejuvenating. For emotional support I always turn to the blend Sara. When we’re feeling sick and stuffy I turn to Thieves and R.C. to clear up all the stuffiness and boost our immune systems. In the evenings when I need some ME-time and want to relax and re-charge I gravitate to White Angelica, Sacred Mountain, Grounding, and Jade Lemon. And for sleepy-time I’m obsessed with various blends of Lavender (duh!), Cedarwood, Northern Lights Black Spruce, and Dreamcatcher.
I absolutely LOVE using my little bottles of plant magic in my daily life. Essential oils were a huge part of my pregnancy journey, my postpartum journey, and my daily life in general. The best part? They WORK! We sleep better, our immunity is stronger, we are less stressed, and we feel good! Plus, ditching chemicals has made our home and health so much BETTER! Not only have I learned so much about essential oils, I’ve also learned a ton about plant-based, non-toxic living and that has made such a HUGE difference in our household. I’ll be sharing more about plant-based living in another post, but for now I’d love to help you start your journey with essential oils. If you’re interested, have more questions, or want to dive in, send me a message or get your starter kit here. Once you do, I’ll send you a surprise welcome package and add you to our amazing community of fellow oilers.
Cheers,
