Birch Hill Happenings Aromatherapy, LLC Newsletter Vol 7.4

2005

In this issue:
PHYSICAL
EMOTIONAL
BEAUTY
HOUSE & GARDEN
RECIPES to Try

Physical Ailment

Stress - the Physical side (Level 2)

by Penny Keay

This is Part 2 of our newsletters dealing with Stress. See last months issue if you missed Part 1 Click here

As stress continues to eat away at us - day in and day out, most of us are able to cope with all the little things that come up each day.

A little respite here and there and we are fine. But what happens to the few of us that never seem to get those badly needed days or a week here and there.

This is when our body starts to talk to us - subtly though it may be. You get a cold and it lingers on - not the normal 10 days, but into weeks.

You have constant aches and pains. Headaches or back pains are quite common when under stress. Allergies develop. You get constipated or have diarrhea or other stomach problems develop such as indigestion.

Occasionally you will even have panic attacks. Your heart races or you have palpitations.

Your sleep is suffering and what little bit you do get is chopped up in bits a couple hours and your awake, then you fall asleep again, and this cycle continues all night. You wake up just about as exhausted as when you went to bed.

Mind you, you may not have all of these symptoms but even one of two of them tells you that you are dealing with too much stress. If you don't change things you will end up in Stage or Level 3 of stress.

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Emotional Concern

Stress - the Emotional side (Level 2)

by Penny Keay

Stress (Level 2)

- On the emotional side of stress you may have constant feelings of anxiety and depression. You feel like you never get enough sleep. And the sleep you do get isn't good quality. Poor sleep in itself will make you feel 'dumpy' all day.

No one can please you, you feel you are letting others down, You get cranky and snap out at others for little things that you should easily let go. You may even pick a fight with someone and become very aggressive which is totally not your nature.

On the other hand you may withdraw, or have bouts of unexplained crying.

Many oils help you with stress. To reiterate - Any oil you use that you enjoy is the best oil to use.

Add more oils or use blends of oils.

If you are not sure where to start below are several suggestions. Experiment, trial and error will be the most rewarding.

Here are lists of oils you can use - Pick one or two to start, then add more as you want. Vary them from day to day.

Yes, this it the list from last month, for an easy refresher.

Lavender is at the top of the list. Known as the great balancer. The Mother of essential oils. Just like a real mother. She does just about everything. Every household should have Lavender.

More oils great at helping with stress include:

Ylang Ylang, Eucalyptus (specifically citriodora), Roman Chamomile, Geranium, Clary Sage, Sandalwood, Petitgrain and Mandarin.

Other oils such as:

Bergamot, Melissa, Rose, Vetiver, Jasmine, Nutmeg, Frankincense, Grapefruit, Lemon, Marjoram, Neroli, Bay laurel, Yarrow and Litsea Cubeba, can give varying degrees of stress relief also.

Try this blend to help with Level 2 Stress

Clary Sage - 10 drops
Roman Chamomile - 5 drops
Lavender - 5 drops
Geranium - 10 drops

Mix in an amber bottle. Diffuse as needed. Can be used in a Personal diffuser or in a Fan or Tealight diffuser. This is a very uplifting blend.

Another wonderful blend to use is:

Ylang Ylang - 5 drops
Petitgrain - 5 drops
Sandalwood - 10 drops
Rose - 1 drop

Again, diffuse or use in a personal diffuser and use as needed.

(The above blends are recommended from recipes in the book The Fragrant Mind by Valerie Ann Worwood)

Stress can involve many hormonal responses within our bodies. The adrenal glands produce the hormones that help us deal with stress. As stress becomes more of a problem in our lives it slowly works on our adrenal glands bringing them closer to exhaustion.

Since all the hormones are connected to one another is varying degrees, it only stands to reason that if you get an imbalance in one it eventually will throw off the others.

A quick example. When your adrenal glands secrete adrenaline, and also cortisol, it affects the bodies out put of insulin by causing the body to quickly raise blood sugar in response to the "flight or fright" response.

The body then sensing an over abundance of sugar in the blood, sends out insulin to clear the sugar away - storing it as fat.

There is also a correlation between insulin and thyroid hormones and many other hormones. So if the cycles continue with the undue stress, before long your body is very confused and is sending the wrong signals to the pituitary gland and other hormone producing glands. No wonder you get emotional and / or physically ill.

Getting things under control!

Getting your stress under control when it is in Level 2 or beyond will not be a quick fix.

By this time you may have varying health problems to also deal with, these unfortunately may also be a contributing factor in causing even more stress. What a vicious cycle!

It is you or your loved ones that need to recognize there is too much going on in your life and you need to take control, relax and step back. Take time for yourself.

Start by taking back at least 15 minutes a day. Just for yourself. Find your most comfortable spot. Sit down, shut your eyes for a few minutes and clear your mind. Let all your worries disappear and give you a little peace.

Take a deep breath or two and then just sit there. Yep doing nothing but looking into space.

Now, don't you feel a little better?

Diffusing essential oils will help you, not only emotionally, to give you energy to carry on, but also to help you to unwind at the end of the day.

Using essential oils will help with viral infections, bacterial and fungal infections. They can help with aches and pains, and that stomach problem too. They can help you to fall asleep more easily and hopefully stay asleep. Getting that all important rest your body so needs to heal.

You can easily find recipes or blends that can help you treat yourself symptomatically. The variations and choices are limitless.

One thing we have found throughout the years, is when you really 'love' an oil or two, where you just can't seem to get enough of it, it is probably because your body has sensed certain chemicals in that particular oil that it is missing in the delicate balancing act at the cellular level.

When you tire of one oil and then crave another, again, your body has fulfilled its need and then moved on to another essential oil that is fulfilling another chemical imbalance.

We recommend you vary your use of essential oils but always use the oils that make you feel the best! Remember at Level 2 you can probably continue to work on self treatment.

As always, if you are any type of prescription medication or being treated for any type of ongoing health concern, please let your physician know you are an avid user of essential oils.

Most of the time there is no reason to stop using essential oils but you should let them know, just so they know.

Next issue - Stress Part 3

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Health and Beauty

Bath Salts and Scrubs

by Penny Keay

We are asked fairly often about recipes for Bath Salts and Scrubs.

We don't have any specific recipes for either a Bath Salt or Scrub.

We have a basic recipe as follows but scenting is very personal and many folks will make a special or "personally yours" type scent.

To make basic bath salt use:

1 1/2 cup dead sea salt
1 1/2 cup Epsom salt

(you can use any combination of various salts - there are many different types of sea salt - you can use any sea salt, dead or not!!)

To this add 15-35 drops of essential oil - any single note or any synergy blend depending on what you would like to have it do - calming, relaxing, energizing, etc.

Add the essential oils to 1 tablespoon of Fractionated coconut oil or other carrier oil - Sweet Almond or Sunflower are commonly used.

Add this to the salts and mix completely. Place in a glass jar, seal and let "age" or "ripen" for a few days. Stirring or mixing every day.

Add 1/2 to 1 cup to running bath water, mix well to be sure salt has dissolved.

If you wish to make a Salt scrub, use the basic recipe from above, but add enough carrier oil to completely cover the salt in your jar. (Don't add more essential oils though as you don't need more of those.)

Again, you will scoop a little on your fingers and rub over the body parts you want to exfoliate.

Rinse off and wash with a mild cleanser to remove excess oil.

Another popular scrub and softer and gentler on you face is a Brown Sugar scrub.

Use 2 cups brown sugar, add 1 cup of carrier oil - a nice blend such as coconut and almond is very nice.

Then add your favorite mixture of essential oils. Use up to 90 drops of essential oils or blends.

A nice Citrus - lavender blend of oils to use

30 drops Grapefruit
30 drops Lavender
20 drops Lemon
10 drops Orange

Add to the brown sugar - oil mixture. Again let "age" for a few days before using.

Scoop a little on your fingers and gently massage your entire face. Gentle wash off any excess oil with a mild cleanser.

You can use any synergy blend or if you can't decide what you would like try just adding a single essential oil.

Lavender of course is commonly used but you may have another favorite you would like to use.

Hope this helps you make some wonderful Bath salts and scrubs. You will find there are many recipes on the internet and in books to make scrubs, etc. It's always fun to experiment until you find the one that you really like!!

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Around the House and Garden

Clean-up - the Bathroom!

by Penny Keay

Everyone just loves cleaning the bathroom. Okay, so maybe not everyone, but as you know it has to be done.

As usual you can add any number of essential oils to your cleaning bucket.

Add several drops of any of the citrus oils to your cleaning bucket. Or if you prefer, after you have done the 'major' cleaning add a few drops essential oils to your damp cloth and do a surface clean. It will give the added disinfection properties to your final cleaning wipes.

Orange, Lemon, Bergamot, Lime, and of course the old stand by Lavender are the oils most commonly used. Another oil that is quite popular right now is Lemongrass.

Do you have a small bath room and there is no room to set a diffuser or an open outlet available for a ScentBall?

Simply remove the toilet paper roll from the holder and drop several drops of oil inside the cardboard tube. Replace your roll on the holder. Behold another simple yet effective way to diffuse essential oils.

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Recipes to try

Scrub for Normal skin

Lavender - 15 drops
Geranium - 8 drops
Rose - 4 drops

Add this to 1/3 of the basic brown sugar scrub recipe from above. Use as you would any scrub.

Stress Reducing Bath

Roman Chamomile -2 drops
Lavender- 2 drops
Cypress - 1 drop
Fennel -1 drop
Ginger -1 drop
Vetiver -1 drops

Add to your bathtub filled with warm water and Enjoy a leisure soak for 20-30 minutes.

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Quiet Moments

Sandalwood - 6 drops
Ylang Ylang 2 drops
Lavender - 2 drops

Add these to your bath water as it is filling the tub. Add a cup of Epsom salts or baking soda or a combination to help you have a very relaxing and soothing bath. Soak for 20-30 minutes adding more hot water as desired.

Spring Floral scent Bathroom Scent

Rosewood- 10 drops
Ylang Ylang - 10 drops
Lemon - 6 drops
Clove - 6 drops
Cedarwood - 4 drops

Blend these oils in a small amber bottle.

Shake and blend well.

Then simply add to your diffuser in the bathroom or drop inside the card board portion of the toilet paper roll or add to the petals of the silk flower arrangement that sits in your bathroom.