Of our 5 senses, smell is often the most neglected when we think about healing. But smell is a way for our brain to receive powerful messages quickly. Studies have shown that there are only a couple synapses between the smell receptors in the nose and the brain. This means that when we come in contact with a volatile substance, it can act on the brain very quickly. It also quickly is up-taken in the blood stream through the respiratory system to act throughout the whole body.
This is why people can sniff things and get high, and why volatile chemicals are used to put people to sleep, to decrease pain, and to improve nausea and headaches in Allopathic medicine. In the natural world, nature has provided us with many fragrant treats to also communicate with our brains and bodies. I was so blessed a few years ago to be introduced to the many health benefits of essential oils. Essential oils work synergistically with herbs and healthy nutrition to provide all sorts of support for our body systems.
Essential oils work. Several years ago, my sister-in-law and her family moved away. They are in the army, and her husband got stationed across the country. Wyatt was heartbroken by this, and every day for months he talked about visiting his cousins where they were stationed and sometimes he would cry, he missed them so much. We planned a trip for him to go with grandma and grandpa cross country to visit them, and he was SO EXCITED. Unfortunately, the night before they were to leave, someone was sick, and we had to tell him he was not going to get to go after all.
Wyatt was devastated.
He screamed and wailed at the top of his lungs, and sobbed. All of us were crying for him, he was so heartbroken. No amount of hugging or consoling was working to calm him down. This went on for several minutes, at a level of hysteria that I started to get worried about him. It was at that moment I had the "Aha". I quickly went and got doTerra Console essential oil blend, and mixed with a little lotion, rubbed it on his feet. Within 15 seconds he stopped screaming and sobbed quietly. He said, "I am still really really upset, but I don't need to scream any more." After that he was able to accept this loss. He got to go on his trip a few months later, and it really helped him accept their move. But I never forgot that nearly instant response to the oil.
Essential oils are multifaceted.
When doTerra starts you with a kit of 10 oils, you can literally do 100's of things with them.
Every essential oil has dozens of different molecules that are bio-active and do different things in your body. That means that every essential oil can be used for many different things. For instance, I use Wild Orange in my cooking to add flavor and nutrition, my cleaning to kill germs and sanitize, as immune support to boost the immune fighting power, and to help give me an emotional lift if I am having a down day.
Frankincense oil has a complex mixture of monoterpenes such as alpha-pinene, Limonene, alpha-Thujene, and beta-Pinene. All of those constituents act on our cells in our body.
Read more about a lot of really amazing uses for frankincense oil HERE
If you get them from a conscientious company, essential oils are natural and environmentally friendly. Once I started using essential oils, it was really really important to me to know that I was using a company that practiced truth in advertising, and ethically sourced their products. DoTerra has impressed me over and over with their third party testing showing that their oils are 100% pure (up to 95% of essential oil companies put synthetic ingredients in their oils or dilute them). Also, I love their ethically sourced oils. In the years since I have become a doTerra Wellness Advocate, I have watched them do some awesome things in third world countries to make the people who harvest the plants' lives better. I have also watched them look for other alternative oils or sources if the area was getting over harvested and caring about sustainability and the fragile eco systems where many of these plants grow. Those things matter a ton to me because I want my children and my children's children to be able to harvest medicinal plants too! Essential oils are safe and strong!
I won't weird you out with a bunch of foot pictures, but a year ago a few days before Christmas, I wore bad shoes on an extended jaunt and got blisters on my toe. Being the busy mother that I was, and prepping for the holiday, I neglected to care for these. Christmas Eve I ran around crazy all day trying to get the last minute stuff done. By evening not just my toe hurt, but my whole foot hurt. About 9PM that night, I took off my shoe and saw why. My blister had taken a turn for the worse, and my whole toe was red. But even more worrying, I had a red streak running from my toe up my foot to my ankle. Now, 9PM at night Christmas Eve, my medical options were few. I could go to the ER, or I could try to treat it myself. Because I did not yet have a fever, I opted to try to try wholistic treatments with the promise to my husband that if I got a fever I would go in right away. I made a foot bath of hot water, epsom salts, and a few drops of Melaluca essential oil and Myrrh essential oil (it was Christmas after all). I also used some herbs internally that strongly support body wellness. I soaked my foot in that hot water until it was cooled off. Later that evening, I repeated the soak, then top dressed the wound with some melaluca, Lavender, and a bandaid and went to bed. The next morning the red streak up the foot was completely gone and the toe looked much less angry. I repeated the treatment again, then we went about our Christmas festivities. I didn't have to treat again after that. It got completely better. I didn't have to spend hours at the ER on Christmas, I didn't end up with stomach distress secondary to antibiotics or any other weird side effects! I was able to heal naturally.
Essential oils are exciting!! I have loved learning to take care of myself and my family with the help of essential oils! I have also loved using essential oils for crafts, gifts, and lastly, to help make a small income for my family. I don't know about you, but I get sick of paying a ton for things knowing that most of the money goes to the middle man or people who are paid to market the product without using or knowing much about it. With direct to customer marketing, if you decide to participate in doTerra's preferred buyer program, you can be happy knowing that the marketing portion of the proceeds that doTerra is charging goes to your upline, and to other real people who are actually using the products. If you choose to share doTerra's beautiful oils with your friends and family, you can make some of that money for yourself as well. Also, having a direct upline person as a mentor and resource is awesome! My uplines Michelle and Shauna have been able to teach me so much, unlike the folks on the billboards, or the high school student that stocks the aisles at the store. I love the versatility of essential oils in supporting body health. I would love to share them with you as well!