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.

 

It’s Here! Essential Oils Pocket Reference

Finally its here! Will talk more in my next post!

What makes Young Living Special?

So why is young living so special? How does it being a therapeutic essential oil help us? How is it different from aromatherapy? I am sure there are many questions you want to know…

1. Young Living oils are 100% Pure and are Therapeutic Grade essential oils.

Most essential oils you find in the market are usually fragrance oil or perfume grade oils. They are often diluted with alcohol or other synthetic substances. However, Young Living’s oils are 100% Pure Therapeutic Essential Oils. Why they are 100% Pure? Because they do not add any other synthetic substances into it, it is so safe that the oils can be ingested! While you will notice that most labels in the stores would be warning labels not to be taken. You may find some of the YL oils have added almond oil to help stable some of the essential oil blends. What do you mean therapeutic? Although there is no government bodies that do certifications for “Therapeutic Grade” but Young Living has been around for more than 20 years, and they researches have shown that these oils do help in a way. Just look at the number of great testimonials you can find on the Google and how it changed the lives of many. You wont know if it is good until you have tried it.

2. Young Living Essential Oils Aids in Natural Healing

Essential oils do not help to cure your illness. What they do is when you are sick, your body becomes disturbed and loses its equilibrium. Listen to what your body tells you and use them at the earliest stage possible. These essential oils will help your body get back its “‘balance” and when it does your body is then able to heal on its own. This is when natural healing comes into place.  When I refer to the earliest stage means, for example. Your throat feels irritated and you know it is a sore throat coming. Do not wait till your throat is all red and in pain then start to use the eo. Then the healing process will take longer!

3. Essential Oils vs Medications

So how is essential oils better than medications? When you take a panadol when you have a fever, your body absorbs the medication and your liver takes around 8 years to expel it out of your body. But then, within this 8 years you probably going to pop even more into your body. When you will never actually expel out all these and it just accumulates in your body taxing your liver. Essential oils are different, because they are made from plants from our Mother Earth, they get absorbed into the body quickly and within 20 minutes you should be able to feel the difference by within less than 1 hour, the oil who have been out of your system. That is why it is safe to apply these oils as often as once every hour!

4.Young Living Oils uses only the FIRST distillation.

Young Living uses only the FIRST distillation of their plants, which basically means they are super potent, very earthy and fresh smelling, and don’t consist of the diluted-down leftovers. Companies that use oils for scent only use the 4th and after distillation. In-the-grocery-store oil companies use the 3rd and after distillation along with synthetic additives. The compounds that are released during the 3-4th distillation would defer from those that in the first distillation. Doing multiple distillations helps to maximises the amount of oil that they can collected from the same batch of plants and of course maximizes their profits. This also explains why Young Living Oils are more expensive. It is like eating birds’ nest. The higher grades ones cost more because they are more pure and more nutritious.

5. Young Living’s SEED to SEAL guarantee. 

Young Living prides itself in its Seed-to-Seal Honor of Authenticity to produce the industry’s finest quality essential oils; and that comprises of the following critical 5 stages of preparation :

SEED: Choosing the best, unmodified seeds are the priceless first steps to investing in producing the most potent essential oils . Plant species are authenticated by Young Living experts. Species certification involves scientific research, field study, university partnerships, and on-site planting certification.

CULTIVATION: Through cultivation on the 6 Young Living farms, Young Living Essential Oils has mastered the creation of pure, potent essential oils. The company takes this knowledge around the world to co-op farms to certify that these farms’ growing processes meet Young Living’s strict quality standards. Young Living chooses to work directly with farmers in co-op farms and do not buy from brokers who may not have any involvement and understanding of the need for highest standard cultivation processes.

DISTILLATION: Young Living’s proprietary low-temperature, low-pressure steam distillation process ensures that the beneficial plant compounds in every batch of essential oil remain un-compromised during the extraction process.

Below is a diagram showing the steam distillation process used.

TEST: Each essential oil must pass Young Living’s own stringent testing to ensure the optimal bio-active natural compounds are present. Young Living uses its own internal labs, in addition to third-party audits, to verify that international purity and potency standards are met and surpassed.

SEAL: Young Living completes the Seed to Seal process by carefully sealing each bottle of essential oil before shipping them to members worldwide.

(source: http://onedropsingapore.wordpress.com/about-young-living-essential-oils-authenticity-the-seed-to-seal-quality)

You will find that the smell of each different batches of essential oils will smell different depending on its harvest. Each bottle comes with their batch number printed on their labels. Because this is the nature’s goodness that we are unable to control! But they will still contain the same therapeutic effects.

Watch the video here:

6. Young Living have their own farms.

With six farms on three continents, seven distilleries on four continents, the many partners in other countries who also grow and distill for Young Living, and our hundreds of thousands of customers around the world, Young Living stands as the world leader in premium essential oils and natural wellness products. Young Living’s exclusive Seed to Seal quality-control process guarantees that each bottle of our essential oil delivers superior quality and purity.

7. Help and Support

Young Living really believes in their product and they are very happy to help every individual with the use of their oils.Whenever in doubt I will write an email/call them and they will teach you how to use. Also they conduct workshops on a monthly basis to teach their members on how to use their products and their benefits. There are simplify close to 200 over essential oils to learn from!

For product-related inquiries and concerns – info, usage, tips, etc. Write to (productinfo.sg@youngliving.com)

Phone: +65-6391-0170