Essential Oils for The Beginner

What Are Essential Oils/Aromatherapy?

Essential oils aromatic, volatile liquids distilled from shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds. Aromatherapy is a term coined in the 1920's by a French scientist named Rene Maurice Gattefosse for the use of essential oils in the treatment of disease. The essential oil is the process of extracting the chemical properties of the plant so that it may be used for treatment. Plants, in addition to playing a vital role in the ecosystem of our planet, have been used since the beginning of time to aid in the physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of mankind.

Essential oils are the most powerful part of the plant and have been used dating back to 4500 B.C. to kill bacteria, viruses, and fungi. The provide fragrances to lift our spirits, balance moods, create a romantic atmosphere, and dispel negative emotions. Essential oils can stimulate the regulation of tissue and nerves, as well as, carry nutrients and oxygen to the cells.

Quality

All essential oils are not created equally. Don't be misled. Most aromatherapy oils sold in stores are often "perfume" quality that have been adulterated in processing or deliberately diluted with potentially harmful solvents. There are also "organic" oils that are processed incorrectly leading to chemical impurity, changing the fragrance, chemical constituents, frequency, and pH of the oil. Any oils you use must be of "therapeutic" grade. To ensure quality, your essential oils must meet the following guidelines:

1. It starts with the plants. The right plants must be planted in the right soil and harvested at exactly the right time.

2. Preparation of the oils, or distillation, is key in preserving nature's living energy of the plant in a manner as close to its natural state as possible. Steam distillation, using pure mountain water free of additives, ensures better preservation of the plant's properties, capturing the pure essence of the plant, and preserving the quality of the oils.

3. Purity is important. You want your oils to be processed with meticulous care and not through ultra-refinement. You only want 100% pure oils that are unadulterated, uncut, and free of chemicals, heavy metals, and pesticides.

4. Potency is important to ensure that the finished oils' phytochemical profile delivers optimal amounts of every key plant compound.

Where to Purchase Essential Oils

You'll find hundreds, if not thousands, of aromatherapy sites online. The only two that I recommend are Young Living and Mountain Rose Herbs.

Just click on the photo above to go to the Young Living website. If you're not online right now, just go to:

https://www.youngliving.org

The next time you are!

If you decide to make a purchase, it would be nice if you used my distributor ID. I'm not really into the selling aspect of essential oils, but the products are only sold through distributors anyway. You'll need to enter someone's distributor ID and, since you're here, it might as well be me, right? My Young Living ID# is: 1002299

Just click on the photo above to go to the Mountain Rose Herbs website. If you're not online right now, just go to:

http://tiny.cc/mtnrose

The next time you are!

Young Living is phenomenal and offers many choices of single and blended oils. These are, without doubt, the purest anywhere. Their Everyday Oils collection is a great way to get started and you'll be able to purchase all of your oils at wholesale pricing. Young Living also offers a basic distributor kit which comes with lavender and peppermint oils as well as Ning Xhia Red, a powerful and delicious anti-oxidant juice that I drink everyday. Young Living has the sole distributor rights to import this product from the Ning Xhia region of China. They'll send you a video with your kit. It's not unusual and, in fact, accepted that the people of this region live well over 100 years of age -- in perfect health!

Mountain Rose Herbs is also excellent. In addition to essential oils, they offer teas, herbs and bases for mixing your own oils at very good prices.

Research

Although many people scoff at the idea that Essential Oils offer any real therapeutic benefit, thousands of years of use and current research proves this wrong. This isn't just wishful New Age thinking. God provided every substance needed to sustain life on this planet. And, remember, although scientists can now chemically "mimic" the properties of plants in medications, the original and God-created source are the plants themselves.

The Europeans have conducted research on essential oils for decades. Because this research supports the therapeutic value of essential oils in the treatment of disease, North American research is growing considerably. Healthcare professionals worldwide are now using essential oils to protect and restore the health of their patients. In France, essential oils are prescribed, pharmacies sell them, and insurance company's pay for them! The effectiveness, low cost, ease of use, and virtual lack of side effects makes their use the preferred choice of more and more enlightened professionals and laypersons.

How/Why It Works

This subject would be a whole book in itself. I'll just giive you the basics here. Each essential oil may contain up to 100 chemical components. The oils act differently, depending on which component is predominant in an oil. Scientific studies have shown that these compounds can produce specific effects on the mind and body. Some oils are relaxing (e.g., studies with brain wave frequency show that smelling lavender increases alpha waves in the back of the head associated with relaxation). The inhalation of jasmine increases beta waves in the front of the head which is associated with a more alert state.

Though inhalation is probably the most common method of delivery, pure therapeutic grade oils may also be applied topically and/or ingested. CAUTION: Be sure of the quality of your oils!

Stay Tuned. The next post will include a list of essential oils and their uses, how to use the oils, blending, and safety. In the meantime, feel free to contact me with any questions.