Lavender Love Affair
Recipe for Body, Mind AND Spirit
Is there such a thing as well-being in a bottle? I think that one of the most potent remedies that anyone can have in their medicine chest, gym bag, desk drawer, or purse — is a 10 milliliter bottle of lavender essential oil. This is considered to be the most universal of all of the essential oils, and if you’re just learning about this extraordinary healing tool, it’s a good starting point. Just to give you an idea of what lavender oil can do to improve your life (and this is only the short list):
- It is an instant mood elevator and can help relieve depression.
- It is effective in the treatment of tension, headaches, migraines, and high blood pressure.
- It rapidly heals skin conditions, including serious burns, sunburn, eczema, insect bites, and abscesses.
- It can soothe muscle aches, including sprains.
- It encourages restful sleep and can lessen insomnia.
A six-month trial study at a hospital in England showed that vaporizing lavender oil through the air caused patients to sleep in a more natural pattern, and made them less aggressive throughout the day. The calming effect that lavender has on the brain helped some of the patients to be completely weaned off their tranquilizers. During a six-year period I traveled more than 50 times to Japan, as well as other destinations in Asia. Most of my flights averaged 12 hours of breathing recycled air. One year I got the flu four times, the last one resulting in pneumonia. Following that experience, I learned that spraying a few drops of lavender oil, mixed with water or witch hazel, on the seat at the beginning of the flight (with a few well-spaced spritzes throughout) is a great way of preventing contamination from germs. Upon arriving at my hotel, a few drops in my bath water (along with some other revitalizing oils) helped mitigate the effects of jet lag. A drop or two on my pillow also helped me to sleep, and if I had a tension headache, rubbing a few drops of lavender, diluted with a carrier oil, around my temples and forehead would often relieve the pain within a matter of minutes.
What are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are the extraction of the volatile liquids of fruits, flowers, herbs, spice plants, seeds, leaves, shrubs, and fragrant trees. Through a method using low pressure and low temperature, the life force of the plant is extracted. This highly oxygenated liquid can be likened to the blood of the plant. They have an extremely high bio-electric frequency, much greater than that of food and herbs, so they can rapidly transport nutrients to the cells of the body. Because they contain the immune defense properties of the plants, essential oils make excellent antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-fungal agents. They also repel microbes and insects. For instance, the oil in a eucalyptus tree makes the bark toxic to insects, as a form of protecting itself from invasion.
Aromatherapy for Motivation, Well-being, and Success
If I were given the option for one single product to use in my baths, I would choose lavender (and if I were given a second option, it would be Epsom salts!) Ideally, I would be mixing lavender with epsom salts! Essential oils work through both inhalation and absorption, making warm and steamy water and ideal medium for a few drops of lovely lavender oil.
A) Inhalation Smell is our most primordial sense. The olfactory bulbs were likely precursors to the brain. Odor molecules float back over the receptor cilia in the nose, where five million of these cells fire impulses to the olfactory bulb, which are direct extensions of the brain. When we inhale a scent, neurotransmitters in our brains trigger the production of biochemical secretions that affect our moods, feelings, and emotions. There is an instant link between the sense of smell and the memory centers, a route that carries us nimbly across time and distance. Smells are linked with memories and feelings. Helen Keller said, “Smell is a potent wizard that transports us across thousands of miles and all the years we have lived… odors instantaneous and fleeting, cause my heart to dilate joyously or contract with remembered grief.” I know that when I smell a certain perfume, I am instantly transported to the time in my life when I wore that scent. When scent molecules reach our nose, they are subsequently converted into electrical impulses in the brain, causing a cascade of instinctual reactions and emotions. This is why specific aromas invoke certain reactions — there is a coding that exists in our primitive brains, which is automatically triggered. Therefore, by simply inhaling an essential oil, we can have an immediate shift in our mood.
B) Absorption Permeating the skin (through bath, massage, or direct application), the oil penetrates the epidermis, stimulates our lymph duct system, and enters the bloodstream, oxygenating our blood, and restoring the nerve endings. The high frequency of the oil helps to stabilize and balance the electrical and nervous systems so that the body can get on with the business of fighting off the problem. The contact of the oils on your skin increases circulation, which improves cellular and organ function, but it is recommended that they be diluted in a carrier oil (sweet almond, coconut oil, for example), rather than applying directly to the skin.
Our products feature pure lavender oil:
Ten years ago I created a product line that is designed to work on many levels: 1) Power of suggestion – when you tell a child that “3 sprays eliminate monsters, 5 sprays attract fairies” it’s very powerful as their subconscious is open to suggestion; 2) Coping Tool – many children have irrational fears and having something that can control their environment is very empowering and 3) Bio-chemical Shift – real essential oils affect the limbic system (fight or flight response) and feeling good is scientifically achieved! Check out these products that contain lavender (either click on the name) or see the whole line of over 100 “magical natural science” products @ www.fairyline.com.
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