Autumn is here. The leaves are falling like snowflakes outside my window. Along with the beauty of the season comes the potential for congestion, runny nose, sore throat, cough, etc. Unfortunately, our family has already experienced these symptoms. Whether they were from allergies or cold virus, I don't know. What I am thankful for is the practice of using essential oils to help alleviate these symptoms.
At this time of the year, my family gets back into the habit of putting Thieves oil on the soles of our feet every morning before putting on socks and shoes as a foundational practice to strengthen the immune system. Thieves is a blend of clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary essential oils. When one of us starts to get symptoms, we increase the frequency of this practice, putting it on at bedtime and other times during the day to strengthen the immune system's response. Additionally, we use our Home Diffuser during the day to help the affected family member get well and to help protect the unaffected ones. Diffusing Thieves helps eliminate airborne bacteria. When I was having some symptoms last month, in addition to putting Thieves on the soles of my feet, I brought my diffuser and Thieves along to my yoga classes for a nice aromatherapy experience as well as protection from and intervention for illness for my students and myself. Last year, I did this for all of my children's yoga classes as well.
In addition to using Thieves, we use the blend RC to help with congestion. RC is a blend of three types of eucalyptus, myrtle, pine, marjoram, lavender, cypress, tsuga, and peppermint essential oils. We apply to chest and back or diffuse it to breathe it in. It is a pleasant aroma to experience whether with cold symptoms or not.
Also for nasal congestion, we use Peppermint oil. I like to put a drop on my hand and rub them together. Then cup my hands together and breathe in the Peppermint. Start slow. It can be a strong scent depending on your response to it. If it isn't too strong, cup your hands all the way to your nose and breathe in deeply. You will notice a difference within a few breaths, maybe the first. Just be careful not to get it in your eyes because it will burn. If you accidentally do, close your eyes gently to let it pass.
I am happy to report that my daughter's symptoms lasted only a day. My symptoms lasted a few more days; however, they weren't as intense or debilitating and didn't stay around as long as they could have. I feel the foundational practice of using Thieves daily and the intervention of using it along with RC and Peppermint as needed, helped us navigate this first episode of the season. We will continue our practices with essential oils throughout the fall and winter. And, I will continue to share our experiences with you. I would love to hear about your practices with essential oils. Let me know if you are interested in using any of these blends or products for yourself and your family.
Perhaps I'll see you in yoga class or at the next Holistic Moms Network Meeting.
Wishing you all the best!
May we know peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, and peace in the world.
Angela
Monday, October 7, 2013
Sunday, August 11, 2013
How we used essential oils on summer vacation, Part 3
My daughter and I had so much fun exploring Disneyland, California Adventure Park, and SeaWorld SanDiego (thanks to recommendations from friends). She loved meeting the characters at Disney and seeing the shows at SeaWorld.
The thing about SeaWorld compared to Disney is the lack of shade. So even though we did our daily sunscreen routine and wore our sun hats, I still got some sunburn on my upper back. When we got back to the hotel, late, my daughter asleep, after driving back to the hotel with the gas tank on empty -- I mean the indicator was on the last line by the time we pulled into the hotel -- I put on my favorite Indu aromatherapy lotion and added a few drops of Lavender oil to soothe my skin and calm my nerves. I did the same to my tired and blistered feet. Applying the lotion and adding lavender helped to soothe my sunburned skin as well as help me to relax after a long and overstimulating day and have a good night's sleep. I did the same to my daughter as she was sleeping even though she fared better in the sun - just a rosy pink to her skin - thank heavens. I found that my sunburn didn't sting or bother me for this episode as it has in the past.
I recently read a newsletter post from my friend, health coach, and essential oils mentor, Amara Wagner about making a spray bottle of water with Lavender and Peppermint in it to soothe sunburn. I still need to do that. Sounds like a great idea with the cooling qualities of Peppermint, the soothing qualities of Lavender, and the anti-inflammatory properties of both.
One of our last uses of the oils on vacation came during the plane ride home. All was going well with the exception of some serious turbulence that my daughter thought was fun just having come off of 4 days of amusement park rides. It was getting late and we wanted to try to get her to sleep but she had other plans. So I got out my Peace & Calming, put some on myself, had my husband smell it because he was also tired and a bit stressed, and then put some on my daughter to help her calm down and get some rest. She did then allow us to put on her pajamas and she drifted off to sleep. I think it helps that she knows that is part of our nighttime routine at home. Just about every night we put an essential oil on her feet and our own before bed (as well as diffuse a second oil sometimes). Usually, Peace & Calming or Lavender to help get a good night's sleep or Thieves if we were around someone who was sick that day to boost our immunity. For example, the night we arrived in CA and had just spent 6 hours on the plane, we all rubbed a couple drops on the soles of our feet before bed. My husband asked, did you bring the Thieves? Of course. And also, the night we arrived home from our trip -- round 2 of 6 hours on the plane, we put it on. Probably some of you feel the same way about being on the plane for so long and breathing the same air with so many people. The potential to catch an illness seems pretty high. We all stayed healthy during our vacation and after : )
And so, that is how we used essential oils on our vacation. I'm so glad we had them.
Stay tuned for more sharing about how we use essential oils. We use them everyday, multiple times a day. How about you? I would love to hear from you. And if you have any questions about the oils I use or how to get them, drop me a line: angelacays@aol.com. I would be happy to support you on your journey into essential oils.
And, one final reminder about the free essential oils workshop Amara Wagner and I are giving at Highland Yoga in Butler on Tuesday, August 13th from 10:30am-12:00pm after my 9am yoga class. Let us know if you are coming. We look forward to seeing you there to share our passion about essential oils in person.
All the best to you!
May we know peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, and peace in the world,
Angela
The thing about SeaWorld compared to Disney is the lack of shade. So even though we did our daily sunscreen routine and wore our sun hats, I still got some sunburn on my upper back. When we got back to the hotel, late, my daughter asleep, after driving back to the hotel with the gas tank on empty -- I mean the indicator was on the last line by the time we pulled into the hotel -- I put on my favorite Indu aromatherapy lotion and added a few drops of Lavender oil to soothe my skin and calm my nerves. I did the same to my tired and blistered feet. Applying the lotion and adding lavender helped to soothe my sunburned skin as well as help me to relax after a long and overstimulating day and have a good night's sleep. I did the same to my daughter as she was sleeping even though she fared better in the sun - just a rosy pink to her skin - thank heavens. I found that my sunburn didn't sting or bother me for this episode as it has in the past.
I recently read a newsletter post from my friend, health coach, and essential oils mentor, Amara Wagner about making a spray bottle of water with Lavender and Peppermint in it to soothe sunburn. I still need to do that. Sounds like a great idea with the cooling qualities of Peppermint, the soothing qualities of Lavender, and the anti-inflammatory properties of both.
One of our last uses of the oils on vacation came during the plane ride home. All was going well with the exception of some serious turbulence that my daughter thought was fun just having come off of 4 days of amusement park rides. It was getting late and we wanted to try to get her to sleep but she had other plans. So I got out my Peace & Calming, put some on myself, had my husband smell it because he was also tired and a bit stressed, and then put some on my daughter to help her calm down and get some rest. She did then allow us to put on her pajamas and she drifted off to sleep. I think it helps that she knows that is part of our nighttime routine at home. Just about every night we put an essential oil on her feet and our own before bed (as well as diffuse a second oil sometimes). Usually, Peace & Calming or Lavender to help get a good night's sleep or Thieves if we were around someone who was sick that day to boost our immunity. For example, the night we arrived in CA and had just spent 6 hours on the plane, we all rubbed a couple drops on the soles of our feet before bed. My husband asked, did you bring the Thieves? Of course. And also, the night we arrived home from our trip -- round 2 of 6 hours on the plane, we put it on. Probably some of you feel the same way about being on the plane for so long and breathing the same air with so many people. The potential to catch an illness seems pretty high. We all stayed healthy during our vacation and after : )
And so, that is how we used essential oils on our vacation. I'm so glad we had them.
Stay tuned for more sharing about how we use essential oils. We use them everyday, multiple times a day. How about you? I would love to hear from you. And if you have any questions about the oils I use or how to get them, drop me a line: angelacays@aol.com. I would be happy to support you on your journey into essential oils.
And, one final reminder about the free essential oils workshop Amara Wagner and I are giving at Highland Yoga in Butler on Tuesday, August 13th from 10:30am-12:00pm after my 9am yoga class. Let us know if you are coming. We look forward to seeing you there to share our passion about essential oils in person.
All the best to you!
May we know peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, and peace in the world,
Angela
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
How we used essential oils on summer vacation, Part 2
I bought a diffuser last year which I love. Then I bought a second one so we could have one for upstairs and one for downstairs. We used it daily during cold and flu season last year, often diffusing Thieves blend to help boost our immune system and kill cold and flu germs in the air, or diffusing RC to help alleviate cold symptoms of cough or congestion (in addition to applying these oils topically which I'll discuss more in depth in another blog post). We also used it nightly diffusing either Thieves or Frankincense or Lavender or Peace & Calming in our daughter's room to help boost her immunity, fight cold and cough, or help her calm down and get a good night's sleep.
Given that we were going to be spending 6 nights in a hotel, I decided to pack my diffuser. You know how hotel rooms can get smelly and really dry at night when you sleep. When we arrived and made a shopping trip for some supplies, I purchased a gallon of distilled water to use in the diffuser. I ended up diffusing Peace & Calming each night to settle us down from the activities of the day so we could enjoy a good night's sleep. And, beyond enjoying the scent of the oil, the diffuser sends out cool mist that humidifies the air so that the hotel room would be less dry through the night. Then every time we came back to the room following our adventures to Disney or just to the hotel pool or restaurant, we were met by a wonderful smelling room that had been cleaned by someone else. Yay!
On the days we went to the pool, my daughter made fast friends with the children and some of the adults who were present. One day, there was a mom there with her two children, one of whom appeared to be on the Autistic spectrum. I could see that she had her hands full when they first arrived at the pool and the daughter was putting gobs of sunscreen in her mouth in a matter of seconds. My heart went out to her. A good bit later as the mom was trying to get her daughter to pack up and go back to the hotel room, the daughter got upset and started thrashing her body and slammed her head into her mom's jaw. I could read the mom's distress in her body language from across the pool. I felt compelled to approach to see if she was ok and if there was anything I could do to help. When I asked if she was ok, she responded that she could feel her jaw swelling and she was in pain. (I immediately think of oils these days with any issue. I had Lavender, Peppermint, and Deep Relief Roll On in my little purse that I brought to the pool.) So I told her I had some Lavender essential oil which has anti-inflammatory and calming properties and she could put some on her jaw to help reduce the swelling which she did. Then I offered that it may help her daughter calm down if she wants to rub a few drops on the bottom of her feet. I also told the mom to smell the oil in her hands and to put her hands in front of her daughter's nose so she could also breathe it in so that they both could benefit from getting the effects via aromatherapy as well as topical application. She did and felt that it was helping them. She was so thankful for the kindness. And it felt good to be able to offer something to her. I think compassion and presence is a wonderful gift to offer anyone and beyond that it lessens my sense of helplessness or powerlessness when I can offer an essential oil to help alleviate physical, mental or emotional suffering. The loving action and ritual of rubbing essential oils on the body and smelling the oil which invites deep breathing and the symbol of care in human touch is all part of the healing. I especially feel good about being able to offer this to my family. As a mom and a wife, it empowers me to feel like I have some additional tools to take care of my daughter, my husband, and myself and I like that feeling.
If you think you would like to utilize some of these essential oils in your life, I am happy to talk to you about the line of oils I use personally with my family and how you can get them for yourself. Feel free to drop me a line: angelacays@aol.com or RSVP to join Amara Wagner and me at a free information session about essential oils on Tuesday, August 13th from 10:30am - 12pm at Highland Yoga in Butler, NJ.
Stay tuned for one more installation on essential oils from our vacation...
May we know peace in our hearts, peace in or homes, and peace in the world.
Angela
Given that we were going to be spending 6 nights in a hotel, I decided to pack my diffuser. You know how hotel rooms can get smelly and really dry at night when you sleep. When we arrived and made a shopping trip for some supplies, I purchased a gallon of distilled water to use in the diffuser. I ended up diffusing Peace & Calming each night to settle us down from the activities of the day so we could enjoy a good night's sleep. And, beyond enjoying the scent of the oil, the diffuser sends out cool mist that humidifies the air so that the hotel room would be less dry through the night. Then every time we came back to the room following our adventures to Disney or just to the hotel pool or restaurant, we were met by a wonderful smelling room that had been cleaned by someone else. Yay!
On the days we went to the pool, my daughter made fast friends with the children and some of the adults who were present. One day, there was a mom there with her two children, one of whom appeared to be on the Autistic spectrum. I could see that she had her hands full when they first arrived at the pool and the daughter was putting gobs of sunscreen in her mouth in a matter of seconds. My heart went out to her. A good bit later as the mom was trying to get her daughter to pack up and go back to the hotel room, the daughter got upset and started thrashing her body and slammed her head into her mom's jaw. I could read the mom's distress in her body language from across the pool. I felt compelled to approach to see if she was ok and if there was anything I could do to help. When I asked if she was ok, she responded that she could feel her jaw swelling and she was in pain. (I immediately think of oils these days with any issue. I had Lavender, Peppermint, and Deep Relief Roll On in my little purse that I brought to the pool.) So I told her I had some Lavender essential oil which has anti-inflammatory and calming properties and she could put some on her jaw to help reduce the swelling which she did. Then I offered that it may help her daughter calm down if she wants to rub a few drops on the bottom of her feet. I also told the mom to smell the oil in her hands and to put her hands in front of her daughter's nose so she could also breathe it in so that they both could benefit from getting the effects via aromatherapy as well as topical application. She did and felt that it was helping them. She was so thankful for the kindness. And it felt good to be able to offer something to her. I think compassion and presence is a wonderful gift to offer anyone and beyond that it lessens my sense of helplessness or powerlessness when I can offer an essential oil to help alleviate physical, mental or emotional suffering. The loving action and ritual of rubbing essential oils on the body and smelling the oil which invites deep breathing and the symbol of care in human touch is all part of the healing. I especially feel good about being able to offer this to my family. As a mom and a wife, it empowers me to feel like I have some additional tools to take care of my daughter, my husband, and myself and I like that feeling.
If you think you would like to utilize some of these essential oils in your life, I am happy to talk to you about the line of oils I use personally with my family and how you can get them for yourself. Feel free to drop me a line: angelacays@aol.com or RSVP to join Amara Wagner and me at a free information session about essential oils on Tuesday, August 13th from 10:30am - 12pm at Highland Yoga in Butler, NJ.
Stay tuned for one more installation on essential oils from our vacation...
May we know peace in our hearts, peace in or homes, and peace in the world.
Angela
Monday, July 29, 2013
How we used essential oils on summer vacation, Part 1
This was our first vacation since I have immersed our family in essential oils. I wasn't sure which ones to take so I ended up taking a bunch. I put most in my suitcase in a small case with my vitamins and some in my purse. I always have a stash on hand in my purse anyway. I got nervous when we were approaching security check at the airport because my husband wasn't sure how security would handle them. So we put the oils I had in my purse in a clear pouch and put them in a bin for security check. No problem. By the way, we did the same for the flight home but I paired down the number of bottles I kept in my purse and we had no problem on the way back either.
Now, which oils did we use?
In the car on the way to the airport and even before leaving the house as we were packing, I could feel my anxiety coming up about getting everything packed, the house cleaned, and getting to the airport on time so I put a couple drops of Peace & Calming into my hands, rubbed it onto the back of my neck, and then cupped my hands in front of my nose and inhaled it a bunch of times to "keep calm and carry on." My husband often comments when I put it on like that in the car how nice that smells then both he and my daughter get the benefits during the car ride as well.
When we boarded the airplane just on time at full capacity, the air conditioning had been broken and was being repaired, and the outside temperature was 104 degrees F. It was so unpleasantly hot and my breathing felt a bit labored. So I put a couple drops of Peppermint into my hands and rubbed it onto the back of my neck and whoosh....instant air conditioning. Such a cool feeling on the back of my neck. I also inhaled it a bunch of times as well which helped me to breathe easier. Just be careful with Peppermint. It has an intense sensation on your skin and some people may not like using it neat (straight out of the bottle) because of that. You may like to put a drop in a carrier oil like olive oil and then use it to decrease the intensity.
Then we finally departed after sitting delayed in the airplane for over an hour and we were on our way. Once we had been airborne for a couple of hours, my knee pain (which I have been dealing with for several months) was really intensifying possibly due to the cabin pressure. I was so thankful my sister-in-law mentioned how she was using her Deep Relief Roll On then applying Peppermint on top of that to deal with pain. Thankfully, I had just received my Deep Relief in the mail and packed it since I had just run out of Pan Away. When she told me how she was using it when her family "gets it in the neck" I thought, "Wow, that's a great use of her intuition which led her to that smart application." I remembered learning that Peppermint is a driver oil, meaning it strengthens the effect of oils placed on underneath it. Remember the intense sensation I talked about a minute ago with Peppermint? Well when dealing with pain, it is a welcome effect (for me anyway). I did find in that intense situation I needed to take some acetaminophen (which I rarely use) and then go walk up and down the aisles. I was so thankful to get relief from that episode. Then throughout my vacation when I felt my knee twinge a little, I just put on the Deep Relief Roll On and it was a nice relief for the minor pain as well. I am really liking the roll on application. It is so quick and easy.
So, I am realizing I have so much more to tell you (including how we used them in the hotel room and to deal with sunburn etc), but I think I'll stop here to put this into more manageable chunks for reading and writing. This is just me sharing how I use these essential oils. How do you use them? I look forward to reading your comments here or on facebook or hearing from you via email or the next time I see you in yoga class or at a Holistic Moms Network meeting, etc. We learn from each other and we benefit from knowing we are not alone in navigating our lives in this world. Thanks for being part of my journey.
May we know peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, and peace in the world.
Angela
Now, which oils did we use?
In the car on the way to the airport and even before leaving the house as we were packing, I could feel my anxiety coming up about getting everything packed, the house cleaned, and getting to the airport on time so I put a couple drops of Peace & Calming into my hands, rubbed it onto the back of my neck, and then cupped my hands in front of my nose and inhaled it a bunch of times to "keep calm and carry on." My husband often comments when I put it on like that in the car how nice that smells then both he and my daughter get the benefits during the car ride as well.
When we boarded the airplane just on time at full capacity, the air conditioning had been broken and was being repaired, and the outside temperature was 104 degrees F. It was so unpleasantly hot and my breathing felt a bit labored. So I put a couple drops of Peppermint into my hands and rubbed it onto the back of my neck and whoosh....instant air conditioning. Such a cool feeling on the back of my neck. I also inhaled it a bunch of times as well which helped me to breathe easier. Just be careful with Peppermint. It has an intense sensation on your skin and some people may not like using it neat (straight out of the bottle) because of that. You may like to put a drop in a carrier oil like olive oil and then use it to decrease the intensity.
Then we finally departed after sitting delayed in the airplane for over an hour and we were on our way. Once we had been airborne for a couple of hours, my knee pain (which I have been dealing with for several months) was really intensifying possibly due to the cabin pressure. I was so thankful my sister-in-law mentioned how she was using her Deep Relief Roll On then applying Peppermint on top of that to deal with pain. Thankfully, I had just received my Deep Relief in the mail and packed it since I had just run out of Pan Away. When she told me how she was using it when her family "gets it in the neck" I thought, "Wow, that's a great use of her intuition which led her to that smart application." I remembered learning that Peppermint is a driver oil, meaning it strengthens the effect of oils placed on underneath it. Remember the intense sensation I talked about a minute ago with Peppermint? Well when dealing with pain, it is a welcome effect (for me anyway). I did find in that intense situation I needed to take some acetaminophen (which I rarely use) and then go walk up and down the aisles. I was so thankful to get relief from that episode. Then throughout my vacation when I felt my knee twinge a little, I just put on the Deep Relief Roll On and it was a nice relief for the minor pain as well. I am really liking the roll on application. It is so quick and easy.
So, I am realizing I have so much more to tell you (including how we used them in the hotel room and to deal with sunburn etc), but I think I'll stop here to put this into more manageable chunks for reading and writing. This is just me sharing how I use these essential oils. How do you use them? I look forward to reading your comments here or on facebook or hearing from you via email or the next time I see you in yoga class or at a Holistic Moms Network meeting, etc. We learn from each other and we benefit from knowing we are not alone in navigating our lives in this world. Thanks for being part of my journey.
May we know peace in our hearts, peace in our homes, and peace in the world.
Angela
Monday, July 15, 2013
Essential Oils Information Session
with Angela Cays and Amara Wagner
Tuesday, August 13th
Highland Yoga
www.highlandyoga.com
Rt. 23 North, Butler, NJ
10:30am-12:00pm
Come learn about essential oils:
What are they?
How do they benefit me?
When should I use (fill in the blank) oil?
How do I use it?
Angela will share about the oils she uses and diffuses in her yoga classes as well as the oils she uses for herself and her family.
Amara will share about how essential oils are made and what to look for when choosing an essential oil to use given the manner in which we consume them to benefit us body, mind, and spirit.
Questions are welcome about specific oils, methods of use, and health concerns you're wondering might benefit from essential oil usage.
Angela Cays teaches yoga class at Highland Yoga on Tuesdays at 9am and Saturdays at 10am and has been filling in for Audrey this summer on Mondays at 9:30am. She also teaches at Ananta Yoga in Wayne, NJ on Wednesdays at 7:30pm and Parisi Sports Club on Wednesdays at 6:00am. She maintains commentary from her yoga classes and life on her blog: www.yogawithangela.blogspot.com
Amara Wagner is a wonderfully knowledgeable, grounded, and spirited health coach. Visit her website at www.amarawellness.com to learn more about her.
There is no charge for this information session.
Please RSVP to amara@amarawellness.com to reserve your spot.
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