When sadness hits, your energy may be low or you might feel paralyzed. In these times, you might just skip making a fancy inhaler or spray. Just grab the bottle of oil and take a couple sniffs every couple of hours, being careful not to spill it. If you’re going to be out and about, a spritzer is nice, as it’s easy to use and less of a disaster if it leaks in your bag.
Your lymphatic system is a network of vessels, glands and lymph fluid and is a critical part of immunity, the transport of hormones and other bioactive molecules, and detox (think “vacuum cleaner”). Herbalists have traditionally turned to “lymphatic herbs” to assist the body during
I recently wrote on citrus essential oils, my favorite oils for scent. Now, we’ll move on to conifer essential oils, another group I love. These are uplifting and motivating, and they blend beautifully with citrus oils for both scent and energetics.
Cypress essential oil is distilled mainly from the leaves and twigs of Cupressus sempervirens, the cypress tree. If you’ve seen the pointy evergreen trees in Van Gogh paintings, then you know what cypress looks like. The scent is warm, woody, green, and balsamic with some spiciness and sharpness. The leaves themselves have a wide variety of traditional medicinal uses, from the respiratory tract to the reproductive system.
When I first studied aromatherapy and learned that perfumery was part of the course I thought “Well, that part’s going to be boring.” Perfumery is now my favorite part of aromatherapy. Natural perfumes are fun to make and the more developed your nose gets from blending, the more nuanced your perfumes will be.
Healing our spirit is just as important as healing physically and mentally. Our spirit can get injured, sick, and tired just like our body and mind can. It is important to know what you can do to help heal yourself in all aspects.
The Indigenous and Native peoples of North America, as well as other those from other regions around the world, used what is referred to as The Four Sacred Medicines. These medicines consist of Tobacco, Sage, Cedar, and Sweet Grass. All of these plants are considered to be spirit medicine.