In this newsletter we will try to help you further your knowledge and use of essential oils.

Physical Ailments

Feeling Cold?

This month I decided to talk about being cold and how to warm up.

Can you tell we live in Minnesota?

Sometimes after you have been outdoors - such as when you are running errands - in and out of stores and your auto, when you arrive home, you feel chilled.

Common sense should tell you that if you are feeling chilly, you should either turn up the thermostat or add another layer of clothing.

But what if you still feel cold to the bone. What should you do?

Well there are a few simple things you can be try.

1. Drink something hot. Coffee, Tea, Hot cocoa, Broth. Al and I like all the fore mentioned.

2. Put something on your feet!   Often times if your feet are cold, so is the rest of you. For some folks, slippers will be all they need, others need to put on a couple pair of socks and their shoes! I wear my shoes all the time and am rarely cold.  I know folks that run around (in their houses in Minnesota) and complain about being cold and lo and behold they are running around stocking footed!

3. And for the Aromatherapy enthusiast - Soak you feet in a tub of warm water with essential oils added to help increase the circulation!

Don't let the water get to hot and soak for no more than about 20-30 minutes. When you are done, dry your feet well, apply some lotion and then put on your socks, shoes or slippers.

4. If this doesn't do the trick you may want to try a soaking bath. Again with essential oilsadded to the tub.  Fill the tub full of comfortably warm water and soak, Add more hot water as needed.  Again, you shouldn't need to soak more than 30 minutes.
Again, dry yourself well, apply some lotion and get dressed. You should feel nice and warm by now!

Here are a couple recipes of oils to try for soaking your feet.
Lemon - 10 drops
Geranium - 6 drops
Rosemary - 4 drops
Blend these in an amber bottle.  Then add 3-4 drops to a basin of hot water, large enough to soak you feet in comfortably or add up to 10 drops in a full tub of water.


Here is a recipe for the bath.
This helps to increase your whole bodies circulation.
Cypress - 2 drops
Juniper berry - 2 drops
Peppermint - 2 drops
Pine - 2 drops
Rosemary - 2 drops
Add the oils to a bathtub filled with warm water, and Soak and Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT SAUNAS / STEAM BATHS
In Northern Minnesota there are a lot of Scandinavian descended folks and they all enjoy Saunas.
What a great way to warm up and stimulate your circulation!  But there are special warnings about using Essential oils in the Sauna or Steam bath.

These types of baths can be great but only Eucalyptus, Tea Tree or Pine essential oils should be used.

Only these oils should be used in saunas as they enter the body by inhalation and exit by perspiration, all the while detoxifying and cleansing the body.

To use add 2 drops to 2 1/2 cups of water - shake well and add to the heat source as needed.

If you choose to use other essentials oils please read to make sure they can be used in such situations.
Because of all the steam, some essentials oils can cause lung/airway irritations or skin irritations.

Emotional Concerns

Confidence

Everyone at one time or another needs to rely on their self - Confidence.

Feeling confident in any given situation will make you more believable, more reliable and more at ease.

Although essential oils themselves cannot give you confidence, they can support the emotions within you to give you the internal support you need by relieving the fear, stress and tension that the situation may have presented. There are several essential oils which work well to give you the support you need.

We suggest you try smelling a few different essential oils.  If they don't give you any type of "Negative" feeling or response then use it the next time you are in need of confidence building. Don't use essential oils that would bring back any kind of bad memory as these would definitely not help.

You can use any oil that makes you feel relaxed and at ease or any combination.
You may want to try one of the following oils known to help build confidence. Cedarwood , Coriander, Cypress , Fennel , Ginger, Bergamot , Grapefruit, Jasmine , Pine, Rosemary and Orange.

Try this blend to inhale.
Grapefruit - 10 drops
Orange - 10 drops
Bergamot - 5 drops


or another blend for Confidence
Rosemary - 20 drops
Fennel - 10 drops

Either one of these blends can be mixed in 1 oz of any Carrier Oil or lotion and applied to the skin as needed.

Buildup your confidence and begin to enjoy life!

Beauty and Skin Care

Tired, Swollen feet and Legs

Working all day, cleaning the house, taking care of kids, or any number of things and by the end of the day your legs are totally exhausted.

Treat yourself to a 20 minute foot soak and leg massage.

Try the following blend to relax and relieve the tired feeling you have in your legs. This blend will also help if your feet tend to swell also.

Add the following oils to a basin or tub of warm water. Be sure to add some Epson salts or other bath salt to help with the swelling too!

Lemon - 2 drops
Cypress - 1 drop
Juniper berry 1 drop
After soaking for 15-20 minutes, dry you feet well and elevate your feet and legs, for the next 15 -20 minutes just lay there and relax.
If possible elevate your feet and legs about 6-8 inches higher than your heart.  This helps reduce the swelling and will make you legs feel rejuvenated.

No time for a soak and a resting period??
Try this blend mixed in Lotion or a light carrier oil such as Sunflower.
Lavender - 12 drops
Cypress - 5 drops
Lemongrass - 4 drops
Grapefruit - 4 drops

Mix in 2 tablespoons lotion or oil . Apply a small amount to your legs and massage with strokes going towards your heart.
This will encourage proper blood drainage and will help to decrease swelling.

You can use this daily. Lotions will absorb more readily and make dressing easier after applying.

Around the House & Garden

Cleaning the Refrigerator and Freezer

This is something everyone dreads but of course it needs to be done periodically.

Unexpectedly, about 2 weeks before Christmas, our freezer was accidentally unplugged while moving some boxes.
Oh boy, what a mess to clean up!! This is not what I had planned for a Saturday evening.
But none the less it had to be done.

Luckily, we had discovered the incident before the meats inside had thawed. Unfortunately, a majority of my fruits had thawed and the juices ran - EVERY WHERE!!

After unloading everything, we decided to give the Freezer a thorough wash down. After everything was out and the rest of the freezer was thawed too, I wiped everything down with a solution of water and a few drops of Lemon oil .

This alone helped to freshen the interior. You can use this or any citrus oil or citrus blend to your liking. Orange, Lemon, Grapefruit, Lime, or Bergamot are all commonly used to deodorize.

You can use these to freshen the exterior too, as they are excellent at disinfecting too!

Recipes to try

BIRCH HILL HAPPENINGS NEWS

Hello Everyone,

Happy New Year!

Hope this months newsletter not only brought you some helpful information, but encouraged you to try some essential oils in ways you may not have thought of before.

Essential oils can be used in so many aspects of your daily life.
Of course you will want to use them to help any health related problem you have but don't forget to use them just to enjoy the wonderful scents too.

Diffusing them while you quietly sit and read a book. Or if you have children, while they play, or study.

Personally we diffuse them by our computers each and every day. Varying the oils used according to the mood or task at hand. Or if we are exposed to some nasty little cold or flu bugs we may diffuse Purifying Blend or Thieves Blend

Currently we are having a sale on several of the Ceramic tea light diffusers. They will be on sale for the next few weeks. Because they use tea light candles and water in the bowl, they create a relaxing atmosphere while the tea light candle flickers in the evening hours.

Of course, any style diffuser will help you to enjoy the many different essential oils and blends we have available.

Watch our site as over the next few weeks we hope to have Jasmine back in stock (not yet though - we are waiting for our supplier to get his new supply). And also we hope to have a new Inhaler type Aromatherapy diffuser.
We'll have more details once they arrive.

As always, if we can help you with any aromatherapy question please send us an E-mail at bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.

‘til next month,

Yours in Aromatherapy,
Alan and Penny

E-mail us at bhhinfo@birchhillhappenings.com