Take a Deep Breath

I love walking into someone's home and being welcomed by a pleasant scent.  Since the time the time that I have had my own space, I have used many different products to achieve this (candles, room fresheners, carpet scents etc).  But with that came that "chemically" scent or finding out that many of the products that I liked weren't all that good for you to be exposed to for long periods of time.  

Last Christmas, I was gifted a essential oil diffuser and a variety of oils from a family friend. I had used oil diffusers previously but with a candle and found them pesky to use as you had to pay close attention that they didn't run out of water or you would be burning oil which is a very  unpleasant...trust me on this one.

So, essential oils in hand, I have began to experiment with the oils and have since tried to learn more about them as the year as gone on.
 
Our favourites to use are by far Theives and PanAway.  Thieves is antibacterial and helps prevent and reduce illness. Being a teacher....you can understand how this very much appeals to me...and those that are closets to me. Interestingly enough, you can use this oil internally.  We both have at the early onset of flu symptoms and it does seem to work to reduce the onset and the length of time of the illness.
   
PanAway helps with relieving pain and muscle soreness.  We use this after especially hard workouts to help reduce DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness). The jury is still out as to wether the DOMS are diminished but somehow we don't want to experiment with not using it!

What I love about the diffuser is that it is aesthetically pleasing (you can make it glow ambient lighting of your choosing) and it shuts off automatically once the water is gone (no more burning oil!!). Which means I put it on before bed and then easily spend the three hours or so with the full effects of the oils.  

To go along with my new found love of essential oils, last fall I was on an excursion with my class.  We attended an event at a local historic park where different aboriginal activities were taking place.  On elder had something on the boil and I asked what it was. He said it was cedar and began to tell me the many benefits of boiling cedar at home.  He said that he boiled cedar throughout the winter months to help combat illness.  I decided to do my own research and discovered that cedar also has many antibacterial and cleansing properties.  With this information in hand, this fall, we began to forage cedar from our area and now boil cedar throughout the week.  Again, not knowing if it actually doing anything for our health, I have found that it at least leaves the air feeling fresh and clean without any staleness.  A tip for keeping cedar that you foraged is to clip them off the branch and put them in ziplock bags in the freezer.  They keep and easy at your disposal when you want to boil a few bits of foliage.  Also, we use a dedicated pot to simmering them as the leaves secrete their oils as they are heated and it is difficult to clean to use afterwards for cooking.

Like anything else, I feel it is best to do your own research and know that not everything is going to be a good fit for you.  For instance, you might find you are allergic to an oil or plant and not have a good reaction at all.  What I wanted to share is my own experience with oils and how I have noticed improvement in my own health.  Of course, I know that there could also be a pretty good chance that it is a pseudo effect happening.  If that is the case, I am also more then ok with that scenario too!  If my body can help itself, I think that is a pretty good skills to have! Also, I am not a purist and still use candles and the occasional wall scent but I think what is important is I try to make better choices about where these products come from, when I use them and what they are made of.  You only get one shot at this and I want to make it my best one yet!

#oilsofmytrade