Essential Oils? Really? Okay, sure, I’ve used Lavender in the bath and Tea Tree Oil for cuts and scrapes, but that was about it.
So when my good friend, Dr. Andrea Ryan (fellow chiropractor and Mommy of 3) told me she started working with an Essential Oil company called doTERRA, I thought, excellent. NOT for me.
It seemed a little hokey. It’s funny because I used to be a lot more open to things like this in past years. I think it”s maybe it’s from being approached by so many different ‘natural’ companies over the last 12 years. They try their products, sell them to our practice members, or help them grow their business in some way. Perhaps I’m a little bored with it all.
A few months went by, and my entire family and I were getting run down. I was sick for about the third time in a year. Yes, Ed and I were working like mad on our podcasts and other pursuits outside of the office, but I had just had it with wiping boogers 24-7 (there’s and mine!).
So I connected with Andrea again and ordered some of the doTERRA Essential Oils. I started to research the company and decided I was going to experiment with them on my own to see how they would help me, Ed and our two young boys.
Breathe_15ml
I started putting Breathe (blended oil) on my boys’ chests and bottoms of feet (how the body absorbs the oils best when applied topically), and noticed that they began to cough less soon after. I was putting 1-2 drops of Lemon in my water each morning as a simple cleanse, and 1-2 drops of DigestZen each night after dinner to help with digestion. Both made my body feel amazing.
I’d rub Lavender into my temples and neck when I started to feel a headache, or I was feeling stressed, and I instantly started to de-stress. Putting a drop or two of Peppermint on the backs of my hands and inhaling it immediately perked up my energy. I began to add Frankincense to my moisturizer after washing my face, and my skin just glowed. The list goes on and on.
And then, two amazing things just happened this week with my 4-year-old, Tyson, and my hubby, Ed.
Tyson woke up with a nasty cough. Oh crap, I thought. May have to keep him home from daycare today.
OnGuard_15mlI didn’t have any of the Breathe oil, so I blended 2 other oils that I knew would be helpful: Peppermint (to help his respiratory system)+ OnGuard (for immune support). I took 2-3 drops of each and rubbed it into his chest and bottoms of his feet. I then gave him a teaspoon of raw honey and added a drop of Lemon oil to it for him to take.
I kid you not, within 30 minutes his coughing had stopped entirely. And then, the piece de resistance. As you may know, my husband Ed has Crohns’ disease. He was diagnosed in 2009, had emergency surgery in 2010 when things progressed, and he no longer can practice Chiropractic because of the daily pain he experiences. We’ve tried everything natural and pharmaceutical under the sun. Nothing seems to help for any length of time.
To say it’s been difficult for Ed over the last five years is a dramatic understatement. The other night, Ed started to experience more than his ‘normal’ pain after eating dinner. It started to feel like it had in the past where the pain would intensify so badly, that we’d need to go to the hospital. He would be pumped full of drugs. Eventually, the pain would subside, and his body would feel wrecked for about two weeks afterward.
What Ed started to experience pain on this particular night we thought we might be heading towards this same past outcome.
DigestZen_15ml
So I encouraged Ed to try the DigestZen oil in water, thinking, what the heck. It’s not going to hurt him, but maybe it will help. After 5 years of this with Ed, I wasn’t hopeful.
Ed agreed to drink it, and then I went off to bed. The next morning when Ed was awake, we had this conversation:
Me: “Hon, how are you feeling this morning? Any better?”
Ed: “Better. The pain didn’t decrease, but it didn’t escalate.”
Me: “Wait, what? Are you serious? OMG!”
I know this might not seem like a lot, but for Ed, this was HUGE! So…..we had this effect with Ed taking DigestZen once. And then days went past, and Ed didn’t continue to make it. Until last night. Same intense pain.
Same glass of water with two drops of DigestZen. The pain didn’t subside right away, but within about 30 minutes, he was able to burp and felt dramatic relief and the pain sink.
I share these stories with you not because I think that doTERRA is the miracle cure for Crohn’s, a cough, or anything else. It’s not.
But what makes sense to me, as a Chiropractor and a Mom, is Essential Oils (like Chiropractic) is a natural method of working with the wisdom of the body versus merely trying to stop a symptom.
Here’s the Top 5 Things You Need to Know About doTERRA Essential Oils:
- doTERRA Essential Oils are Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade. You are getting the best of the best with these Essential Oils that undergo rigorous analysis to make sure that they are most active (or bioavailable) for you.
- We have used plants (and their seeds, roots, bark, stems, flowers, and fruit) for health and healing for years. Because Essential Oils are the essence of the plant (when using precise methods of extraction), you are getting it in its most usable form which makes them immediately reactive to the body.
- It’s estimated that Essential oils are 70% more effective than herbs. Herbs are dried, which dramatically decreases its bioavailability. The difference? One drop of doTERRA Peppermint oil is the equivalent to drinking 28 cups of Peppermint Tea (which would be in the herbal, dried form of peppermint).
- The research on Essential Oils is astounding, and there are thousands of Peer-Reviewed Research on their benefits. Here’s one: A study on a group of seniors used Lavender to see how it would affect their sleep and stress levels. By directly inhaling (smelling) lavender, 97% reported a more restful sleep-wow!
- Essential Oils (taken internally, topically or inhaled) are a simple wellness tool that can be easily incorporated into your day on a regular basis for you and your family.
If you had asked me a month ago that I’d be writing this blog post on Essential Oils and sharing them with everyone I know right now, I would have thought you were off your rocker.
But here I am now a doTERRA Wellness Advocate, and so excited to share it with the Synergy Family Wellness Centre Community.
I’m kicking off my NEW 2015 Synergy Healthy Living Seminar Series with Essential Oils 101 for the Entire Family on Wednesday, January 7th at 6:30 pm (limited to only 20 people). This will be a hands-on experiential seminar for you to learn more about Essential Oils and how they can benefit you and your family to Supercharge Your Health for 2015.
Plus, you’ll get to smell and experience them-the best part! I’m also giving away a FREE Essential Oil (your choice of Lemon, Lavender or Peppermint) at the Seminar as a special gift for one lucky person.
Click here to Register for the Seminar for you AND a Friend!
And for you keeners that can’t wait until January 7th, and want to find out more and even order some of doTERRA’s amazing Essential Oils now, click here to order online and get 20-25% off with your order. Here’s to a fabulous 2015, and see you at the Seminar!
We each have the innate ability to heal ourselves. To empower ourselves with natural solutions, instead of succumbing to life-altering chemicals. There are a time and place for pharmaceuticals, but it shouldn’t be the first answer, nor the only form treatment.
Dana Arcuri