By Indyah Conte
Ancient cultures that proved longevity often used essential oils— highly-concentrated liquid extracts from the leaves, herbs and barks of plants. They used them by inhaling or applying topically in order to restore both physical and emotional health and wellbeing.
Essential Oils have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties, working to boost your immunity as well as neutralising free radicals in the body caused by environmental factors. Certain oils allow the body to be more successful if it needs to protect itself against any oxidative stress that, if not taken care of, could later lead to illness and disease.
Lavender Oil, with it’s mellow and floral scent, works as an anxiolytic and a sedative, therefore relieving anxiety and increasing levels of relaxation to encourage better quality sleep. This oil also interacts with the neurotransmitter, by quieting the brain and nervous system activity. Studies show that inhaling lavender oil, spraying on your pillow or taking oral capsules, all improves sleep quality by increasing the time spent in deep and slow-wave sleep.
Lavender Oil is also an effective treatment for migraine headaches, dilute with a carrier oil and massage into the temples and across the forehead or create a DIY lavender lemonade (with dried flowers) for summer.
Peppermint Oil may be inhaled or used orally (capsules) or topically. As an antispasmodic, it helps to relax the muscles in the intestine, along with reducing indigestion, gas and bloating. This oil has been studied and proved to be more effective for irritable bowel syndrome and digestive issues than placebo in clinical trials. I like to give myself a stomach massage using peppermint oil whenever I’m feeling bloated.
Rose oil is another oil that helps to reduce anxiety and stress, and it also smells delicious!
Oregano oil is a great immune booster and is typically administered in a liquid that you ingest to help combat or prevent a cold or flu.
With all of the current added stresses to our lives in the modern world, whether work or environment related - it’s important for us to look at what power and control we can have regarding our health and well-being. By incorporating new patterns of thoughts and actions that are productive of health, we can allow for old patterns to dissolve and truly transform our lives.
