If you haven’t discovered the wonderful and healthy benefits that come from incorporating essential oils into your life yet, your health and happiness are missing out. Essential oils have been around for ages. There is even evidence that King Tut may have been buried with some oils and that Cleopatra used oils in her beauty regiment. Don’t believe me? Give them a try and you’ll be amazed at how rejuvenated essential oils can make you feel, and how many benefits they can afford your life.

Essential oils are natural oils derived from plants, stems, and botanicals. When you integrate these oils into your life, you’re getting a gift directly from Mother Nature. There are a wide variety of essential oils and essential oil blends, too many to name in this blog post. Though, I will tell you about some of my favorite oils here.

Understanding how to use essential oils is simple. There are three ways: diffuse, ingest and apply topically. Diffusing them is one of my favorite ways to utilize oils and one of the simplest. You can purchase a diffuser online or from a store. The directions will depend on your diffuser, but typically you’ll dispel five or so drops of your favorite essential oil in the diffuser. Some of my favorites to diffuse are Thieves, Lavender, frankincense, and peppermint. You should experiment to find your favorite.

You can also ingest them by including them in your cooking, smoothies, juices, water, or even taken in a capsule. I love incorporating lemon oil in my water, and ginger, oregano and basil oils in my sauces and veggie dips. In fact, you can substitute any dried herbs with essential oils. It only takes two-three drops when cooking and one drop in a smoothie or juice.

The options are endless for how to consume delicious essential oils though it’s a good idea to dilute your oils before cooking. To do this, add a drop of essential oil with one teaspoon of honey, olive oil, or any cooking oil. If you’re adding oils to a smoothie, dispel the oil directly in your milk or coconut oil before mixing.

In addition to diffusing and ingesting oils, you can also apply oils topically in places like your wrist, the nape of your neck, on the bottom of your feet, behind your ears or under your armpits. To do this, you’ll mix a carrier oil such as almond, coconut, grapeseed, or evening primrose oil with your essential oils. You can also mix essential oils into your homemade face cream and moisturizers. To create your own moisturizer you can add some of your favorite oils, I use lavender especially before bed (sometimes alone or else mixed with frankincense and myrrh). I also love to use clary sage.  I either mix them with coconut oil or a plain organic cream that is unscented and apply as a body lotion.

One of my favorite oils before bed is lavender applied to the bottoms of my feet. The oils absorb very
quickly through the skin of your feet and help me get a very rested and peaceful sleep. When I feel congested, I like to mix a blend of lemon and eucalyptus with some coconut oil to make a homemade vapor rub.  Breathing this blend in will give you a refreshing and natural boost of vitality. I also enjoy rubbing frankincense on my temples to boost my concentration on days I’m feeling sluggish. Inhaling peppermint on a long car ride can prevent you from becoming car sick and if you are already nauseous it will help you feel better.

Be sure that when purchasing oils, choose therapeutic-grade oils that are completely free of toxins. My preference is the Young Living brand of essential oils and I am happy to speak to you about them further.