About three years ago, some friends of mine invited me to participate in an emotional well-being essential oils course. In addition to receiving a kit of six beautiful oils, enrollment in the class came with the benefit of becoming a dōTERRA Independent Wellness Advocate. While I didn’t have any intention of building a business selling oils, I was happy to enjoy the perks. I loved the course and continued using the six oil blends on my own after it was over.

I did nothing more with oils until the magic moment Sober Julie put a tiny roller bottle of lavender essential oil in my palm the moment we met at SHE RECOVERS® in NYC in May 2017. That night, I sprinkled a few drops of lavender on my pillow. I have done so every night since, taking lavender oil with me everywhere I go.

In the two years since that moment, I have further explored essential oils, ordering new oils regularly and having fun diffusing them, adding them to facial toners, applying them topically, teaching my kiddos to love them (especially Breathe® when they’re congested), and cleaning the interior of my car with OnGuard® Cleaner Concentrate. Essential Oils have become a daily tool in my recovery.

What Are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are highly concentrated, extremely potent compounds found in certain plants. They give plants their aromas, protect them from environmental conditions and enemies, and help with pollination.

Each essential oil produces its own unique aroma, something you can smell very easily when it interacts with your brain’s sensors.

How Do Essential Oils Work?

The use of essential oils is nothing new, though many people are learning about oils for the first time every single day. Ancient civilizations used essential oils for bunches of different things, creating traditions that have lasted for centuries.

Essential oils work three different ways. They can be smelled, applied topically, or taken internally. Inhaled, essential oils travel through our olfactory system and send impulses to our brain where they access our emotions as well as our automatic functions such as breathing and heart rate. On the skin, oils are absorbed. Massage and heat can enhance absorption. Ingested, oils can be used as dietary supplements or seasonings.

How Do We Use Essential Oils?

Aromatically

• In a diffuser
• Placing a few drops in the palm of your hand, cupping your nose, and breathing deeply
• On a cotton ball placed in your car’s air vents
• Mixed with water in a spray bottle and misted over furniture, etc.
• Added to a load of laundry or household cleaners

Topically (after diluting with fractionated coconut oil) on the following:

• Neck
• Forehead and temples
• Chest and abdomen
• Arms, legs, bottom of feet

Avoid sensitive areas such as skin around the eyes; eyes and iner ears; and broken, damaged, injured skin.

Internally

• In place of herbs and spices in recipes
• Added to water, smoothies, milk, tea, etc.
• In a veggie capsule or added to applesauce or yogurt

Essential Oils in Recovery

Essential oils are beneficial to our recovery (from unhealthy relationships with anything!) because they help create a pause that allows our mind and body to come back into alignment and vibrate at a frequency high enough to allow us to clean out the lower vibration stuff.

In recovery, we tend to create lots of new habits around self-care. When we include essential oils in our recovery toolkit, we give ourselves new ways to shift our thinking around all our different emotions and cope in new and healthier ways.

Want to learn even more? Elena Brower has a great blog on her website about essential oils in recovery.

I recently reactivated my status as a dōTERRA Independent Wellness Advocate and would love to assist you with all your essential oil needs. Please sign up below to receive my essential oils newsletter each month.