Do you suffer from recurrent throbbing headaches accompanied by nausea and/or disturbed vision? Would you like to find natural solutions to reduce their impact? Then I can thoroughly recommend considering essential oils.
What Are Essential Oils?
Essential oils are naturally occurring, volatile (meaning they evaporate easily at normal temperatures) aromatic plant-based compounds, which give countless benefits to your body and home.
They come from many different parts of the plants – they can be extracted from flowers, bark, resins, leaves, roots, rinds and seeds. Essential oils provide benefits to plants which human beings can also harness, when applied appropriately. They can provide both physical and emotional support, and as long as they are of the appropriate quality, are safe with almost no known side-effects.
How Do They Work?
Essential oils can affect the body quickly and powerfully. There are three ways of using essential oils:
- Aromatically – which means we inhale them, and as they interact with the systems in the body associated with smell, they can create therapeutic chemical changes in the body.
- Topically – which means we apply them to our skin, where they can directly support concerns such as skin irritations, dryness, itchiness or pain. A carrier oil would normally be used to help the essential oil penetrate the skin and reduce the risk of skin irritations.
- Internally – which means we drink them, and they can support entire body systems for health benefits. It should be noted that most brands of essential oil are not pure enough for internal use, so this must be thoroughly checked first.
How Can Essential Oils Help?
Essential oils can help to reduce the throbbing headaches, nausea or disturbed vision by increasing the circulation and relieving pain.
There are a number of doTERRA oils or oil blends that can help with all these different elements. It should be noted that other brands may not have the same properties unless they are guaranteed pure therapeutic grade.
Frankincense – Top Choice
Many people reach for Frankincense as soon as they feel migraine symptoms coming on. A drop on the thumb, pushed up on the roof of the mouth, can for many people provide immediate relief. It certainly is top of my list!
Frankincense has anti-inflammatory properties and can help ease stress and tension. It is thought that anti-inflammatory properties of monoterpenes, of which frankincense has 34, helps reduce the swelling of blood vessels that can lead to pain.
Other Options
Other products that can help are the Tension Blend, Peppermint, the Soothing Blend and Copaiba. These, as well as Frankincense, can be applied to on the bottom of the feet, around the temples, forehead or back of the neck. Or they can be inhaled from cupped hands when needed.
The Tension Blend (also known as Past Tense), contains wintergreen, lavender, peppermint, frankincense, cilantro, marjoram, chamomile and rosemary, and blended to provide relief from head or muscle tensions, as well as being calming, reducing inflammation, muscle cramps and swelling.
Peppermint is an energising blend, with analgestic and anti-inflammatory properties. It also can help relieve head tension and muscle pain.
The Soothing Blend (also known as Deep Blue), contains wintergreen, camphor, peppermint, blue tansy, helichrysum and blue chamomile, and is one of the top blend for relieving muscular pain, inflammation, joint pain, bruises and injuries such as whiplash or tendinitis. The Soothing Blend is usually rubbed directly in to the area of concern.
Copaiba is a very soothing essential oil, with analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties. Layered with the Soothing Blend and Frankincense, it can support very powerful pain relieving properties.
How Do I Know Which One To Choose?
Essential oils are very personalised, and different people will respond in different ways, depending on our underlying health, circumstances and what might be causing the pain and discomfort. Most people will start with one or two oils targeted at their needs, then explore other options depending on how much relief they experience.
Does It Matter Which Essential Oil I Use?
Yes, it absolutely does matter, because essential oils are not regulated, and they can be extracted using practices that render the oil impure and non-therapeutic, and still be called an essential oil.
What is crucial, therefore, is that the essential oil is extracted in a way that ensures it remains pure and therapeutic. It should be harvested appropriately, then either steam distilled or cold pressed, and stored, transported, and distributed in a way that maintains its 100% purity.
Not all brands are the same, and the brand I recommend and work with is doTERRA as all its products are triple checked and are Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade CPTG ™
How Do I Get Started?
If you’re new to essential oils, it is important to have someone to support and educate you to ensure you are getting the most from your oils. There’s nothing worse that getting excited, buying a bottle, then wondering what on earth to do with it!
That’s where I can help. I offer free classes or individual consultations to help you explore whether using essential oils would be helpful for you. Once you have started your essential oils journey with me, I provide ongoing support, training and education to ensure you continue to make the most of your oils and are using them for the wide range of powerful properties that they offer.
I would be delighted to be able to help you – please email me mary@bloomwithmary.co.uk or you can see further details at www.bloomwithmary.co.uk
About The Author
Mary Nash, from www.bloomwithmary.co.uk is a Health Coach and Emeritus Programme Development Director and Operations Director for the UK Health Coaches Association. She has worked within coaching and training fields for many years, including the Trusted Coach Directory, running her own training business, and Citizens Advice.
She helps people who have wellness concerns such as sleep, stress, anxiety, pain, lack of energy, mood, immune support, hormone balance and much more to confidently use and feel empowered by the amazing natural synthetic-free solutions offered by doTERRA essential oils to enhance their physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Due to her own menopause journey, she has a particular interest in working with women struggling with menopause-related symptoms to make lifestyle changes to reduce their symptoms and feel better, much as she did herself. She runs a private Facebook group providing support for women looking for non-medication solutions. www.facebook.com/groups/bloomingmenopause.
One of the most significant changes she experienced was a reduction in her sleep. However due to her own personal development and education, she discovered ways to dramatically improve her sleep through natural and lifestyle changes, including essential oils, and now provides regular training and support for others wishing to improve her sleep. www.facebook.com/bloomwithmary/events