Essential Oils 101
Essential oils are naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. The essential oils of a plant are what give it its unique smell, and they can play a role in pollination. Essential oils have been used by humans for centuries for health care, food preparation, and beauty treatments. The nature of an essential oil varies from plant to plant, within botanical families, and from species to species.
ESSENTIAL OILS health benefits include:
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MENTAL: Benefits range from increased concentration, to improved memory, to treatment of issues like anxiety and confusion
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PHYSICAL: Benefits range from promotion of weight loss, to treatment of issues like migraines, inflammation, the common cold, and muscle pains
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EMOTIONAL: Benefits range from calming and soothing effects, to increased confidence, to increased cheerfulness, to treatment of issues like insecurity, anger, and depression.
Essential oils are commonly used either by themselves as potent stand-alone healing agents, or as complementary agents integrated into sessions centered around other healing modalities.
The volatile aromatic compounds that comprise essential oils are small organic molecules that tend to change quickly from their solid or liquid states, to gas at room temperature. The physical and chemical properties of their volatile aromatic compounds allow essential oils to move quickly through the air and therefore quickly hit the olfactory sensors in the nose once a bottle is opened.
These properties make essential oils particularly ideal for aromatherapy. It also so happens that aromatherapy blends beautifully with Reiki healings. A Flavored Reiki session at Laera's Lair combines the benefits of aromatherapy with a Basic Reiki session. A client can breathe in an oil catered to their personal health needs (or can choose from the selection at hand, based simply on what scent appeals to them most) for the entirety of their session.
A few examples of essential oils that are commonly used in this way include:
Lavender, with its sedative properties, can magnify an already deeply relaxing healing.
Sandalwood offers its own calming and harmonizing effects, enabling it to relieve tensions, anxieties, fears, or stresses carried out from the office after a long day of work.
Ylang Ylang is particularly useful for slowing rapid breathing and rapid heart rates.
The enthusiasm that I gained for essential oils led me to work for a short while as a doTERRA essential oils Wellness Advocate a few years ago; however, it wasn't too long before I decided that the company's multi-level marketing structure was simply not my jam (regardless of however passionate I may be about the oils themselves).
Though I no longer work with doTERRA, I still offer essential oils consultations, and do own a supply of Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade oils that I can sell from. I continue to promote essential oils because they enabled me to reclaim my life.)
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