My Oil Collection (Part 4) – Joy and Peace and Calming

In this post, I am going to talk about 2 oils which I didn’t enjoy at the start but now I am loving it and diffusing them every other night!!  Here is goes…..

One of the recommended oils that my friend intro me to purchase when I first get to know about Young Living Essential Oils is Peace and Calming. She told me that it has helped her alot in terms of dealing with a child having a tantrum and herself losing her temper. Peace and Calming keeps them both calm. It was her favourite oil.

Alright, so I got Peace and Calming. I didn’t really like the oil at first because I am not a person who is very into flowers and Peace and Calming contains a flowery kind of scent (I believe it is ylang ylang, because my hubby hates the smell ylang ylang when I diffused it and so does my colleague who says my bottle of ylang ylang smells Indian). Well, I didn’t totally dislike but it wasn’t a preferred fragrance.  But after diffusing it occasionally during these 6 months, hoping to get my boy to sleep earlier (still haven’t found a solution yet haha), I have start to love this oil and cant get enough of it. Normally, I would diffuse Lavender over Peace and Calming for bedtime, but now I would make Peace and Calming my first choice.

They have a saying that if you dislike a oil, it means that your body needs it as it lacks the component that the EO contains. If you start to love the oil, it means that you have achieved balance with the oil.

So how true is it? Another oil that I didn’t really enjoy is Joy. I find that the scent is even more powerful that Peace and Calming because it is much more a flowering scent than Peace and Calming. Joy is a oil blend that consists also of Ylang Ylang, Rose, Jasmine and other eos. But I read that Joy has also helped with kids with their negative thoughts and feelings. My boy has been crying to school for almost a week and we had totally no idea what happened. He was usually fine, although he never was enthusiastic about going to school. I saw a testimonials where the mom diffused Joy at bedtime, and the child didn’t fuss the next day to school. So without much luck with Peace and Calming, I tried Joy. Surprised, it did helped a little and he didn’t fuss the next day.

Sometimes, the application of the essential oil makes a difference. Some people uses a eo for a long time and see no benefits, but later when they tried applying on a different location and wah-la! problem solved! Using essential oils requires alot of trial and error and everyone’s body is build differently!

After using Joy more regularly, I start to love the scent. Especially in the morning when I wake up, the sweet sweet scent still lingers in the room. I am really surprised, because no other oils that I diffused at bed time lingers around like Joy. It helps my day with a delicious sweet fragrance. Simplify loving it. I am definitely going to purchase my Joy again.

 

Thankfully, I had my everyday 10 oils which comes with a bottle of 5ml Joy. Otherwise, I would never would have considered Joy as my first option, knowing I am not a flowering person! The premium starter kit is a great a kit for starters and I got it free when I signed up! Contact me to find out more.

How I recovered from sore throat and cough

As a teacher, sore throat and throats infection is the last call for us.. Without our voice, we can’t teach.  I try not to miss any of my classes unless I’m so sick that I can’t deliver.

So one day I started coughing. I tried using RC and applying it on my chest. I didn’t use it diligently because I was still very new to the oils and didn’t know that frequency plays a part too. My lungs and throat was ticklish and irritated that I kept coughing at night andI couldn’t sleep. It lasted for almost 2 weeks, till I couldn’t take it anymore. I went to see the doc, as it has come to a stage that it was disturbing my sleep and people sleeping around me.

The doctor prescribed me antibiotic because I have been coughing for way too long. The bill came to like $80+ if I remembered correctly, the antibiotic costed me a bomb! While I was collecting my medication, the nurse wanted to explain to me that if I have diarrea after taking the antibiotic…. then another nurse cut her off before she could finish, she said that the antibiotic is okay. Okay, I took the first dose and the next day I was having diarrea!! I remembered I was going to Young Living to attend a class, and I couldn’t hold on to “it” and there wasn’t a toilet in sight because in Singapore, there are no toilets in the MRT stations!! (read more about my incident here and how peppermint saved me) When I felt better, I called the clinic because the nurse did tried to warn me. She told me over the phone to take half a dose instead. After finishing the originally 5 days of antibiotic (then became 10 days), I still didn’t recover at all…. What a waste of $, my time and gave me a terrible diarrea experience. I continued oiling after that with my RC and I took “Pi Pa Gao” to help soothe my throat. It took me a long time to totally recover, that my colleagues kept asking me why I am still coughing!

 

Well RC somehow didn’t worked so much for me. But it did helped with my MIL and she told me it helped her to sleep better at night, RC reduced her cough. So the second time, when I felted another sore throat coming, this time I did more research and asked around. I gave thieves a try. I put 1 drop of thieves into a cup of warm water, gargle a little and drank it. The taste was “unique” and if you didn’t drink it properly, it will burn your lips a little. Then someone recommended me this Thieves Tea. I didn’t have honey, so I used 1 drop of thieves and 2-3 drops of lemon to a cup of warm water, the taste was much better and easier to take. I remembered the first morning after I drank my first Thieves with water, the sensation of a sore throat was gone. I continued to take the Thieves Tea for about a week and it did helped with my cough. I stopped drinking thieves when I felt that my cough was getting better.

 

 

 

RC didn’t helped that much and my friend recommended me this Cough Mixture. Luckily, I had all these oils with me at that time. Raven, RC, Peace and Calming, Lemon and V-6. Whey, I blended a bottle for myself and my boy. (The whole family was coughing at that time). I applied for my LO in the morning and at night because he goes to Child Care. If I have the chance, during the weekends, I would apply more frequently. My LO was having a quite a lot of phlegm with his cough. I put 1-2 drops of lemon in a big glass of water and I would share it with him. He would usually take a few sips when he is in a good mood. (Remember to stir it well, otherwise the EO would be floating on the water, it burned his lips a little the first 2 times I gave him because kids have more sensitive skin, I applied V-6 oil to help dilute his pain). I am happy to say that my boy survived the cough without having to see the doctor. Now every time, he starts coughing, I would make this blend again. And for myself? It was a slow recovery I recovered naturally without the help of medication and I saved money on Doc’s bills!

 

 

 

 

 

How did Nat overcome his fever with Peppermint

Here’s my experience with oiling for a sick kid with high fever. It was a tough decision whether to feed him medicine or to oil him. But I’m glad I didn’t give up oiling and if necessary, medication is still unavoidable. But these natural remedies have helped him to cut down these medication. You can’t expect miracles or fast reliefs from oiling, rather a natural way for the body to recover on its own.

Here’s my story.

Just the night before, Nat was cheerful and energetic before he went to sleep. But that same night he started to run a fever. His temperature was 38°C+ (I cant remember exactly cos it was late and dark) I quickly took my peppermint essential oil with diluted it with V6-Veg oil. I applied onto his chest and back. I took Thieves and put 1 drop on his soles and rub his feet together. He fell back to sleep with the massage. I remembered it was 1am in the morning. I can’t remember what time it was when he woke up again, he was feel very uncomfortable. I repeated the same thing again. Ask him to go back to sleep and I slept beside him on the floor ( i did it knowing the floor is too uncomfortable for me and I would wake up later). I remembered waking up 4am+ and then 5-6am again and did the same routine and checked on his temperature.

 

Luckily it was my day off, so I could stay at home to oil Nat. I repeated the same procedure again. This time I included lavender too, because he was feeling lethargic and sleepy that he refused all food even his milk. Thankfully, he still takes water. I heard that Lavender can also help with fever as well and also to help him sleep better. I also alternate Thieves now with Lemon on his soles.

He kept sleeping and I kept oiling every hourly, and sometimes when I oil him, he wakes up and looks at me, tears roll out of his eyes. He was feeling horrible. Every time he wakes up, I will get him to drink some water. Water is very important to help him detox while the oils work on him. When he is awake he tears and will mumble “mummy, mummy” and that’s all he could say. I kept oiling but the fever was not going down quick enough and he was feeling horrible.

I couldn’t take it anymore, he looks at me, tears roll out and unable to describe the pain he is in.  I gave up, I fed him paracetamol. Just one doze, an hour later, his fever still didn’t go down, I continue to oil him and his fever went down after 2 hours, he felt better, he had the energy to walk and some appetite to eat just a little. He gargled down one full cup of ribena. His fever didn’t rise back that much after that, so I continue to oil him.

I did some research and came across this blog post. http://gianelloni.wordpress.com/2013/11/18/fevers-are-not-to-fear/

Fever reducers actually help to delay the recovering. Remember the doctor telling you that fever would usually last 3 days? Without fever reducers, let the body fight on its own and usually would come down within 12 hours. This post encouraged me and told me to keep oiling.

 

Finally day 2, morning I had to go back to work. I left him with my mil place. Luckily she didn’t objected against oiling and she continued to help him oil. In the noon, she told me that he was well and didn’t had fever.  Great news! After his fever was fully recovered, he started to having runny nose… oh dear.. now its RC’s turn to step in!

 

The key to Oiling, is Persistent and Consistent!!

 

My Collection of Essential Oils (Part 3) – Lavender

Lavender is the most versatile oil, it is even suggested to be the “swiss army knife” of essential oils. There is just so many things it can do and it is also a gentle oils that allows you to use directly even on cuts or open wound. It has also become my son’s favourite number one oil.

I (or even many of us) would always relate lavender to “de-stress”, “relaxation”. When I first started using aromatheraphy/oil burners, I never choose lavender because I didn’t like the fragrance and I do not think I need to de-stress. Haha. But now, I am loving Lavender as much as my son loves it.

I always love to send people this image that has a good illustration of the uses of lavender oil.

So how did I use/benefited from Lavender Oil?

1) Menstrual Cramp

I remembered the first few days after my oils arrived, I was feeling some cramps due to my period one night. I went to google to find out if any of my oil collection would help, and lavender was in the list! I applied it to my tummy and I felt better and I could sleep through the night without any cramps. As a side note: I am not a person who gets menstrual cramps often.

2) Mosquite Bites

My son, he gets mosquito bites and it would swell and itch that he will scratch and scratch till they leave a scar. Even if he doesn’t scratch them, when the bite heals, it leaves a black patch on the skin and take a long time to lighten. So I applied Purification and Lavender (using the layering method). Purification helps with the itch, I can see that after application, my boy stops scratching and he will continue with his play. Then I would layer with lavender, to help soothe his skin and help with recovering of the skin tissues so that there won’t be any dark skin or scars left over from the bites. Now, everytime he gets itchy skin, he will come to me and say “Mummy! Very itchy, help me to put oil” and he would say “More, More!!”)

3) Sleep and Massage

At night, when its time for bed, I let my boy choose the oils that he would like to diffuse that night and he would usually choose Lavender! He calls it the “Purple Oil”. While I drop the Lavender Oil into the diffuser, he would take the cap and smell it.  When I have the time, I would also help him to do a boy massage. I would pre-mix Lavender with some V6 Vegetable Oil into an empty reused Lavender bottle and help him massage his body and his legs.

4) Sunburn Skin

Just last weekend, my parents took my son to play at the Water Themepark, he came back all red like lobster due to the son. I was so worried that his skin will start to peel off the next day. I immediately use my lavender + V6 to help massage on the sunburn areas, including his cheeks. Then I also applied aloe vera for him as well. Luckily, he didn’t peel over the next feel days nor complain of any sun burn pain.

5) Aching Muscles

Lavender not only helps with his sunburn, I also helped to massage on his aching legs to prevent him from having muscle aches due to hours of water play.

We went overseas for a short trip to Korea recently. Nat was behaving very well surprisingly during the trip and he walked many many high flight of steps too. I was surprised he walked that much. We adults are having sore muscles but he was fine. I was afraid that this would happened so I brought Lavender and my V6 carrier oil with me for this trip. I helped to massage the oils on his legs before he sleeps every night. He had no complains of any muscle pain. But I ran out of Lavender by the last night, and I couldn’t help him massage. The next day, he actually looked more tired and wanted us to carry him more than the first 3 days. I wonder, if it was Lavender that helped him the last 3 days or he really is out of energy by the 4th day? Hmm..  I believe Lavender did help him with his aching muscles!

6) Laundry

I hear that Lavender can also be used in the laundry. I only tried once, I dropped a few drops of lavender into a damp piece of clothing that I wanted to wash. But then I forgot to check the results after that. Haha, I think the detergent and the softener has over-powered the smell of Lavender. But I would probably try again the next time.

7) Rashes 

Bet you didnt know that Young Living Essential Oils can also be used on animals too!! My mil has a pet maltese, he was getting old and started having skin disorders. He has itchy rashes and many times he has to wear his cone to prevent him from scratching. After knowing that these oils can help, she immediately asked me to get her a bottle of Lavender. She told me that after a few applications, the rashes have all cleared up. Amazing right!

Other Uses (I hear/read but not tried on myself)

Lavender is very well know to treat allergies too. Young Living’s Lavender is safe for ingestion and you can see the effects faster. I saw a video taken by a mummy who explains how she uses Lavender for her son’s allergies. Drop 2-3 drops of Lavender into honey or Blue Agave and take, she also applied some lavender neat under her son’s eyes for his water eyes.

Here’s the link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZEkWuBQ3qw

I read also a testimonial where a mummy was helping her infant cut her nails and accidentally snipped onto her skin. She immediately poured/rained lavender over her crying infant’s fingers and the baby stopped crying after that! Its just so cool.

Here is another testimonial about cuts on an infant. http://onedropsingapore.wordpress.com/2012/02/08/lavender-lesson-2/

Ning Xia Red

I have always wanted to find some tonic drink for myself. As I grow older and after having giving birth to one boy, my body hasn’t been the same anymore. I get tired easily and the headaches keep coming to find me. I feel that I do not have energy to do anything else. I wanted to look for something like DOM to drink hoping that I can feel more energised.

Well… I have tried Dom when I was doing confinement, knowing that I am not a person who likes tonic and alcohol, my mum only use DOM to cook food for me. She would cook chicken soup with DOM, kind of like steam the chicken and there would be some water, chicken oil and DOM all mixed together. Pardon my description as I actually didn’t go see how she cooked it. Haha. She will ask me to drink a little of the soup that contains DOM in it. I didn’t really like it but I knew I had to recover from my delivery and listen to the old folks always!

Well, then I wanted to try Choya. I have only seen those TV advertisment of this young girl drinking Choya and it seems like a nice and relaxing drink. And again, it is also an alcohol drink.

Choya Umeshu (plum wine) is a Japanese liqueur that is made from unripe Ume fruit that is steeped in Shochu and sugar. The result is a sweet and sour liqueur that is can be mixed with soda, green tea or just with ice. From olden times on to the present day, UME-fruit liqueur, Umeshu (Japanese Plum Wine) has been a familiar beverage in Japanese households well known and loved for its relaxing effect as well as its usefulness for keeping healthy.

I tried to find this in the store, hopefully a small bottle just to try it out. but to no avail. After some time, it was forgotten and I gave up. Then I came to know about Ning Xia red which many members of Young Living are talking about, how good it is and how it helped them. I had 2 sample packs in my basic starter kit but didn’t want to try it because anything that is consumable, I’m not too keen to try out, afraid that it turns out nasty. But that day, while I was attending the training on the workshop, they were kind enough to pass us one pack to drink. I was surprised they were generous to give each and everyone 1 packet! I thought, she would give us those small sample cups to test. Paiseh when everyone else is sipping theirs, so I also tried it. Wah.. it tasted sour at the first impression and I can also feel a little bit of warm sensation like when you drink alcoholic drink. But I believe that sensation could be from the essential oils in the Ning Xia Red.

(click for larger image)

 

So what is actually contained in Ning Xia Red? (extracted from http://www.youngliving.com)

NingXia Red® is a powerful antioxidant drink that contains whole Ningxia wolfberry puree—a super blend of blueberry, aronia, cherry, pomegranate, and plum juices, natural stevia extract, grape seed extract, pure vanilla extract, and orange, yuzu, lemon, and tangerine essential oils. Its health benefits include support from head to toe, via a whole body nutrient infusion. NingXia Red, has been cherished for centuries for its health, energy, and longevity benefits. Whole Ningxia wolfberries and other nutrient-dense fruit juices make NingXia Red the perfect choice for optimizing wellness and stepping up to a whole new level of health.

KEY BENEFITS

Seven times more pure—- therapeutic-grade essential oil—- Carefully selected for their health and flavor profiles, the blend of orange, yuzu, lemon, and tangerine essential oils found in NingXia Red is packed with 93% d-limonene- a potent antioxidant and a marker for bioactivity. Along with NingXia Red’s premium flavor, these essential oils also aid in maintaining the body’s normal cellular function

Preferred great taste—The new NingXia Red, now Halal and Kosher certified, contains no artificial sugars and has a unique, balanced flavor profile that captures the pure essence of the Ningxia wolfberry. The natural flavor is further enhanced by zero-calorie stevia (Rebaudioside A), essential oils, plus blueberry, cherry, and aronia juice. In fact, when compared to other similar superfruit beverages in a major university study, the new NingXia Red was preferred by 77% of participants over all other options in a blind taste panel!

Long-lasting energy support*—Long-term use of wolfberries (Lycium barbarum) may contribute to agility, longevity, and vitality. In fact, recent studies indicate that drinks containing wolfberry exhibit longer-lasting supportive effects on energy and caloric metabolism. NingXia Red is an easy way to get pure, premium Ningxia wolfberries and experience natural, sustained support for energy without the crashes and harmful side effects of coffee or energy drinks.

Fortifies the body and replenishes key nutrients*—The combination of whole wolfberries—the juice, peel, seeds, and fruit—with pomegranate and plum juice delivers vitamins, minerals, carotenoids, and phytonutrients. NingXia Red also contains zeaxanthin, a carotenoid suggested to enhance healthy visual function. Recent studies on the consumption of wolfberries and whole fruit juices recommend 2 to 4 ounces for optimal support.

Revitalizing, full-body protection*—The combination of blueberry, grape seed extract, aronia, and pomegranate—some of the world’s most antioxidant-rich fruits—helps increase the S-ORAC level more than 30% over previous formulations. These levels were independently tested and may help defend against damage caused by free radicals

Ingredients

Proprietary NingXia Red Blend 29g Ningxia Wolfberry Puree (Lycium barbarum), Blueberry Juice Concentrate (Vaccinium corymbosum), Plum Juice Concentrate (Prunus domestica), Cherry Juice Concentrate (Prunus avium), Aronia Juice Concentrate (Aronia melanocarpa), Pomegranate Juice Concentrate (Punica granatum)Proprietary Essential blend 50mg Grape (Vitis vinifera) seed extract, Orange EO (Citrus sinensis), Yuzu EO (Citrus junos), Lemon EO (Citrus limon), Tangerine EO (Citrus reticulata) Other ingredients: Tartaric acid, natural blueberry flavor, pure vanilla extract, malic acid, pectin, sodium benzoate/potassium sorbate, natural stevia extract.Supplement Facts:Serving Size:: 1 fl ounce (29.5 ml) Servings per container:: About 25 Calories: 20 Total Carbohydrates: 5g Dietary Fiber: <1gSugars: 2g Sodium: <5mg 

Will do a comparison of Ning Xia Red with other similar products in my next post and more about its benefits.

My Collection of Essential Oils (Part 1 – RC, Myrtle, Thieves)

In this post, I am going to talk about the uses and function of these essentials from my collection and why I choose them.

As mentioned, I have a 34 month boy at home who is frequently down with running nose and cough with phlegm almost every month. So these are the oils that I have chose for him. I will talk about what I know about them and what information I found when i google-ed them.

CAUTION: Whatever discussed here are solely meant for Young Living’s Therapeutic Oils. The application methods do not apply for other oils that are in the market as we do not know what is their ingredients.

1) RC (which represents Respiratory Congestion)

R.C.™ contains powerful therapeutic-grade essential oils that are invigorating when applied, especially to the chest and throat area. R.C. is a wonderful blend to diffuse during winter.

What I know: RC is used to open up the airway. So when you are having blocked nose or running nose, RC is the blend for you. You will find that it’s function is similar to vick (however vick is petroleum based, any oil-based medication shouldn’t be used under or inside the nose, inside the mouth or swallowed. Any oil-based product can get into the lungs if used improperly)

How I use it: For children, we will need to dilute them. As for my 34 month boy, the dilution ratio is 1:1 with V6 veg oil and then apply it to his chest and back. And I will ask him to inhale the oil that is left on my hand. 

What I google-ed and found useful:

(source: http://www.experience-essential-oils.com/rc-essential-oil.html)

What is in RC essential oil? There are nine different essential oils in RC Blend. They are listed below along with a brief description of each oil.

• Eucalyptus globulus Essential Oil – has mucolytic, antiviral, antibacterial and antiseptic properties. It is a strong antimicrobial germ killer. It reduces any throat infection!
• Eucalyptus radiata Essential Oil (Black Peppermint Oil) is anti-infectious, antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and an expectorant. It combats bronchitis and sinusitis.
• Eucalyptus citriodora Essential Oil (Lemon Eucalyptus) has anti-inflammatory, anti-infectious and antispasmodic properties. It decongests and disinfects lungs and sinuses.
• Myrtle Essential Oil (Myrtus communis) has antiseptic, antibacterial and decongesting properties. It oxygenates and expels mucus from the respiratory system.
• Pine Essential Oil (Pinus sylvestris) has antiseptic, antibacterial antimicrobial antiviral and expectorant properties. Dilates and opens up the respiratory system, particularly the bronchial tract.
• Marjoram Essential Oil (Origanum majorana) has antibacterial and anti-spasmodic properties. It reduces spasms and is relaxing to the body.
• Lavender Essential Oil (Lavandula angustifolia) has analgesic and anti-spasmodic properties. It helps relief stress, sore muscles, menstrual cramps and nervous tension in the body.
• Cypress Essential Oil (Cupresus sepmervirens) strengthens the vascular system. It increases circulation and supports detoxification of the lymphatic system.
• Peppermint Essential Oil (Mentha piperita) has anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic and pain blocking properties. It is soothing, cooling and dilating the respiratory system.

What are the Documented Uses for RC Essential Oil? Bronchitis, allergies, colds, cold sores, pneumonia, sinusitis, sore throat, mucus, respiratory inflammation and congestion, decongestant, expectorant, lung infection, sleep apnea, snoring, bone spurs (dissolves), acne, bacterial and viral infections, chronic inflammation of the mucus membranes, breathing, coughs, deodorant, emphysema, fungus, Lyme disease, mononucleosis, lymphatic congestion, nose polyps, pancreas, pimples, tuberculosis and typhoid.

What Body Systems are Affected? Respiratory System

What is the Aromatic Affect on the Mind? Uplifting and energizing.

What is the Spiritual Influence? RC essential oil opens the solar plexus and heart chakras. It helps us to express our self better in the world better by releasing congestion of the lungs and lymphatic system and embracing joy and hope.

Those who feel depleted and are holding deep sadness and grief in the heart and lungs can see relief with this oil.

How do I use it?

Use diluted – 50:50 dilution (one part essential oil: one part of vegetable oil). Then,

• Apply several drops (2-4) on ears, wrists, neck, forehead, temples or feet
• Apply to chakras/vitaflex points
• Directly inhale, or
• Diffuse.

2) Myrtle 

What I know: In the case of cough, we usually would use eucalytpus. However, eucalyptus is not suitable for children below 3 years old due to its strong menthol ingredient. Hence, myrtle is a replacement for younger children with cough to help them dissolves phlegm. I later on found out that is also very good for ladies as it helps to prevent thyroid problems.

How I use it: I use myrtle together with RC using the layering method. To layer means to apply one oil, wait 1-2 minutes for the oil to absorb and then apply the second. With 2 benefits of both oils, they help to battle the cough, the runny nose and the phlegm.

What I Google-ed and found useful:

(Source: http://www.experience-essential-oils.com/myrtle-oil.html)

What are the Documented Uses and Benefits of Myrtle? Bronchitis, coughs, flu, hypothyroidism, insomnia, infection (throat, lung, sinus, respiratory, ureter), prostate conditions, hormone balancing, skin conditions (acne, blemishes, bruises, oily skin, psoriasis,) cancer (prostate and breast) and muscle spasms.

What is the Aromatic Affect on the Mind? It is uplifting and euphoric. Has a sweet, slightly camphorous aroma with a light floral overtone.

What is the Spiritual Influence? Myrtle oil helps balance the male and female energies of the body by releasing anger and inner conflict. It will help those who feel suppressed or confused by life as well.

Balancing the male and female energies is important to becoming whole in our spiritual evolution. Often times we are taught to be one sided and avoid masculine or feminine traits. This creates unbalance in our body and is often manifested in our lungs/heart (respiratory conditions) or the endocrine system (thyroid, hormonal imbalance).

3) Thieves

What I know: Thieves is comes from the story of 4 thieves who stole dead bodies for profit but didn’t get infected. When questioned, they revealed that they rubbed a combination of oils on them to protect them. This is how thieves came about. Thieves is the only essential oil that is able to kill air-borne bacteria when diffused.

How I use it: A drop on the sole for my boy every morning before he goes to child care and at night before bedtime. Keeps him protected from germs, bacteria and virus in school. Lowers his risk of getting infected by other children and also the risk of HFMD. During this period, everyone in the family was down with cough. I diffuse Thieves every night as we all sleep in an air-conditioned room and I didn’t want my virus or my hubby’s virus to spread to my boy.

Caution: Thieves is a hot oil, always dilute when applying on the body. I tried to applied on my hubby’s sore throat and he said it was very hot. My boy accidentally took the cap of the bottle to sniff and rubbed some oil on his nose and upper lips then he was crying in pain. Luckily I had a bottle of v6 to help him dilute the pain.

 

Essential Oil Pocket Reference (5th Edition)

Pretty impress with this book, good for a beginner like me. This pocket reference is a simplified version of the Essential Oil Desk Reference. The publisher is from LSP Life Science Publishing, shipped all the way from US. Just a quick glance through, the book sorts mainly by the essential oil types (chapter 4 and 5) and also sorted by the symptoms (chapter 6). I am just so amazed at the different kinds of symptoms it can help with.

For example, it talks about men and women issues. Eg impotency, infertility, menopause, menstrual and hormone issues, ovarian and uterine issues, sexual dysfunction), it includes those big illness like AIDS, cancer, stroke, thyroid problems etc. I love especially the part they have for irritable bowel syndrome which I suspect I have. (Pardon the poor pictures, I will tried to get better ones to replace them when I have time!)

 

Basically on the content page are 7 chapters.

Chapter 1: Yesterday’s Wisdom, Tomorrow’s Destiny

Plants not only play a vital role in the ecological balance of our planet, but they also been intimately linked to physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being of mankind since the beginning of time. An essential oil is that aromatic, volatile liquid that is within many shrubs, flowers, trees, roots, bushes, and seeds that is usually extracted through steam distillation. The chemistry of an essential oil is very complex and may consists of hundreds of different and unique chemical compounds. They are highly concentrated and far more potent than dried herbs.

Essential oils are not simple substances. Each oil is a complex structure of hundreds of different chemicals. A single eo may contain anywhere from 80 to 300 or more different chemical constituents. Essential oils derived from a second or third distillation of the same plant material are usually not as potent as oils extracted during the first distillation. Yet with certain oils, there may be additional chemical constituents that are released only in the second or third distillation.

Unfortunately, a large percentage of essential oils are adulterated, engineered, or “extended” with the use of synthetic-made compounds added with the oil.

This chapter also talks about the different schools of application which I shall discuss more in my future post.

Chapter 2: How Essential Oils Work

This chapter talks about the chemical constituents of essential oils. There are 13 categories of essential oils constituents which I will not discuss here as it is too technical.

The chemical constituents can be affected by a vast number of variables including the part(s) of the plant, soil condition, fertilizer (organic or chemical), geographical region, climate, altitude, harvesting methods and distillation process. The key to producing a therapeutic-grade essential oil is to preserve as many of the delicate aromatic compounds within the essential oil as possible. The plant material should be free of herbicides and other agrichemicals which can react with the essential oil during distillation to produce toxic compounds. Because many pesticides are oil-soluble, they can also mix into the essential oil.

Essential oils have a unique ability to penetrate cell membranes and diffuse throughout the blood and tissues, When topically applied, it can travel throughout the body in a matter of minutes. 98% of essential oils produced today are used in the perfume and cosmetic industry. Only 2% are produced for therapeutic and medicinal applications.

Then it goes on about the standards and testing of YL’s oil. It also discuss about adulterated oils and their danger.

This chapter also talks about the powerful influence of aromas and the limbic system which i will discuss in future. The 3 models were also discussed.

Chapter 3: How to safely use Essential Oils

This chapter talks about basic guidelines for safe use. I will do up a post on the FAQ for this and also guidelines on how to use them.

Chapter 4: Single Oils

This chapter describes over 80 single essential oils, including botanical information, therapeutic and traditional uses, chemical constituents of each oil, extraction method, cautions and application instructions.

Chapter 5: Essential Oil Blends

This chapter describes specific blends that were formulated after years of research for both physical and emotional health.

Chapter 6: Techniques for Essential Oil Application

This is definitely a chapter worth exploring! It includes

1) Neuro Auricular Technique

2)Lymphatic Pump

3) Vita Flex Technique

4) Raindrop Technique

It comes with detailed pictures too. Here is any example.

(I have replaced the original snap shot from the book which is in black and white to a colored version)

Chapter 7: Personal Usage

Many people think that by taking supplements, they can solve their health challenges. They do not consider the negative impact of the environment and what they can do to change it. Why? You gotta read the book to find out… too much information overloaded already!! It then talks about development your program and the methods of using the oils. And following that are all the symptons that were listed in the content i posted above.

Appendix A: Product Usage for Body Systems

Appendix B: Single Oil Data

Appendix C: Essential Oil Blends Data

Total of 394 pages bounded by a ring. Easy to flip.