Natural Body Guru

I used to think that colds and the flu were mostly prevalent in the winter months. There may be more at that time but I notice lots of people with colds and sneezing at all times of the year. Too many people use antibiotics to treat colds and flu but I believe antibiotics may do more harm than good. Why use a synthetic medicine when you can use pure organic essential oils that are natural and have antibacterial and antiviral properties to treat your illness?

To treat a common cold you can use the following oils in a hot bath. Just relax in the tub and inhale deeply.

2 drops – Thyme
2 drops – Tea tree
1 drop – Eucalyptus
3 drops – Lemon

If you would rather use the steam inhalation method, you can use one drop of each of thyme, tea tree, lavender, and clove in a bowl of steaming hot water. Put a towel over your head, lean over the steaming blend and breath deeply for 10 minutes, taking a break whenever needed.

If you are away from home and can’t perform the steam inhalation method, you can take with you a tissue to which you have added one drop each of peppermint, eucalyptus, and clove. Inhale this aroma deeply whenever possible.

Before going to bed, massage the chest, neck and sinus area with the following essential oils diluted in 1 teaspoon of shea oil or another cosmetic grade vegetable oil of your choice:

1 drop – Lemon
2 drops – Eucalyptus
3 drops – Rosemary

Keep your risk of catching the common cold at a minimum by washing your hands frequently.

Jasmine essential oil comes from a beautiful but very delicate flower. It is so delicate that jasmine is not produced by steam distillation as are most essential oils but instead, it is processed using chemical solvents. This method of production gives us an “absolute” rather than an essential oil. Jasmine’s aroma is rich, floral, very heady and sweet.

While jasmine is non-toxic, it can be a potential skin irritant and sensitizer. Do not use jasmine in baths or massage if you have sensitive skin. Also, if you tend to get headaches or migraines, this oil’s strong scent may trigger an attack. Lastly, do not use jasmine absolute during pregnancy, but you can use it during labor.

Jasmine boosts and restores sexual vitality and aids the expression of intimate feelings. To warm the emotions, add to 4 teaspoons sweet almond oil the following essential oils: 2 drops jasmine, 4 drops sandalwood and 4 drops sweet orange oil. To heal constant emotional stress and withdrawal, take a bath with 2 drops jasmine absolute and 4 drops sweet orange.

Besides easing the mind, jasmine can help to heal your body too. To ease pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS)  blend jasmine and mandarin essential oil in jojoba oil and apply it clockwise to the abdomen. To help the uterus to contract during labor, blend 2 drops jasmine and 2 drops clary-sage  in 4 teaspoons of a carrier oil and ask your spouse to massage it into your abdomen. To revive mature skin, add 2 drops jasmine, 4 drops frankincense and 2 drops gardenia to 30 Second Face Lift. Apply this mixture to your face every night.

Stress is a part of everyone’s life in one way or another. Your body, mind and soul will benefit greatly from the use of pure, safe, natural and effective essential oils. Aromatherapy essential oils may be exactly what you need if you are trying to reduce the mental stress caused by tests at school, your job, financial worries and family matters.

There are specific essential oils that can be used for mental stress and they can be used alone or in a synergistic blend. The oils to use are geranium, lavender, sandalwood, basil, bergamot, grapefruit, cardamom, and patchouli. A specific synergistic blend to use is equal amounts of geranium, lavender and bergamot but you can blend others or simply use just one of the above mentioned oils. After blending the essential oils, add 2 drops to a teaspoon of sweet almond oil and massage your temples, forehead and the back of your neck.

In this strange time of social distancing, stay at home orders and a whole new normal, I hope you are staying safe. Please remember loved ones lost and have a memorable Memorial Day 2020.

If Geranium essential oil owned a skin care spa, one of its most popular packages might be the “Flower Feet” package!

It would include a foot soak, foot scrub, and foot massage. Geranium is good at soothing feet that are sore from standing or walking all day, or due to joint and muscle pain. It also encourages swelling to go down, enhances circulation, and cools excessive heat.

Geranium essential oil can help you feel “pampered” while deeply supporting your health.

Here are the services geranium includes in its Flower Feet package . . . a foot soak, scrub, and a massage, all in one! It includes essential oils that are good for skin, sore muscles, preventing the proliferation of fungus, and (of course!) smelling beautiful.

Flower Feet

First, soak your feet in a warm bath with some essential oils. Combine:

• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) jojoba
• 1 drop geranium 
• 1 drop palmarosa
• 1 drop tea tree

Add the jojoba and essential oils to a tub of warm water, and relax while you soak your feet!

When you’re ready, use 1 oz (28 g) of pink Himalayan salt to scrub your feet. It helps to add about 1 teaspoon (5 ml) or so of jojoba to the salt, just to make it a little more manageable. (You already have jojoba in the tub of warm water, so you don’t need to add it to the salt to care for your skin—adding it to the salt just helps the salt “stick together” a bit so it doesn’t sprinkle out of your hands when you’re trying to rub it on your feet.)

You don’t have to use pink Himalayan salt for this blend. I just love the color of it! You can use any kind of salt you like. I prefer a small grain salt for blends like this (as opposed to a fine grain, like sand, or a coarse grain, that might be too big to offer much scrubbing effect). But again, that’s all up to you! Feel free to make this blend your own.

If you prefer to make a sugar scrub (rather than a salt scrub), you can simply make this recipe with sugar instead of salt. You can also try this Coconut Sugar Scrub blend I created for YouTube, made with coconut sugar, avocado oil, and Tea Tree.

Thanks to the jojoba in this Flower Feet package, you may not even need to use moisturizer after you’re done. Please be careful when stepping out of the tub though—both the jojoba and the water will be slippery! Dry off well with a towel.

Enjoy your Flower Feet!

Thanks to Andrea Butje, Aromahead Institute

Do you always take a shower instead of running that bathwater? When our 4 children were growing up, we once lived in a house that only had one bathroom and there was no shower. It took a while for everyone to finish bath time and there was no time for lollygagging. Once we moved into a house that had a second bathroom in the master bedroom, I never took baths. A quick shower is wonderful but now that I don’t have to hurry up and get out of the bathroom, a nice luxurious aromatherapy bath is very relaxing. The next time you are stressed or start to feel like you’re coming down with a bug, try one of these bath blends.

Wake Up Bath I

• 3 drops rosemary
• 3 drops lemon
• 2 drops eucalyptus

Wake Up Bath II

• 3 drops rosemary
• 2 drops peppermint
• 3 drops lemon

Refreshing Bath

• 5 drops eucalyptus
• 2 drops peppermint
• 2 drops lavender

The turmeric plant was named Indian saffron originally because of its orange-yellow color. Turmeric essential oil is steam distilled from the root of the plant and is a truly impressive natural health agent. It has very promising anti-cancer properties as well as being anti-allergic, anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-viral.

Turmeric has become very popular recently because of its two powerful and highly studied chemical compounds, turmerone and curcumin. This essential oil is known to strengthen and warm the whole body. It supports vascular and neurological health and shows promise in the areas of post stroke neurological function and Alzheimer’s therapies. It is also being studied as an effective agent against certain cancers.

Does your circulation struggle with heat? If you’re sorer than a triathlete after a big race or puffed up like an angry blow-fish, why not try using essential oils that increase circulation and reduce inflammation. These oils can be added to almond oil or grape seed oil to make massage oils and be rubbed into problem areas. Basil is one of the key essential oils for healing muscle inflammation—yes, the same herb you put on your pasta! Basil oil can be placed directly on the problem area or diffused. Eucalyptus oil is the perfect “anti” oil, working as an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-aging, and anti-inflammatory agent. If you dilute it 50:50 in water and then diffuse it, the oil will even help to kill airborne bacteria. Like many other oils, a few drops can also be rubbed directly into the problem area. Just the tiniest drop of eucalyptus always makes me feel like I’ve wandered into the most luxurious of spas and am being waited on hand and foot.

Source: Yoganonymous

If you use regular soap to wash your face, you probably know that this kind of soap can irritate your skin. Soap that is not designed specifically for your face can be much too tough on sensitive facial skin. For that reason, facial cleansers are a great way to remove the grime and dirt of the day without damaging or drying out your face.

When you use a moisturizing facial cleanser, remember that you should wash twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Give the facial cleanser time to work. Rub it into the skin in a circular motion, and then let it sit for about half a minute before removing.

When washing and drying your face, be careful not to pull at the skin, especially the skin around your eyes because it is sensitive and can stretch over time when repeatedly pulled. Know the benefits of your specific facial cleanser. If it contains moisturizers, you could be done after the initial face wash. If your skin feels dry, however, apply a basic face specific moisturizer.

Use body oils instead of  perfume or cologne if you are concerned about using natural skin care products. Traditional designer brand perfumes are comprised of concentrated oils and 75% to 85% alcohol, ethanol and or water. When you purchase perfume or cologne, you pay a high price for the brand name, the advertising campaigns, the “cosmetics gifts” you receive for purchasing a certain dollar amount, the alcohol used, and the beautiful fancy packaging.

The alcohol and ethanol used make your perfume smell very strong but it fades within a few hours. As your perfume (or the alcohol in it) evaporates, it not only takes your fragrance but your natural body oils with it, drying your skin as it goes.  Body oils are pure, concentrated perfume oils in a cosmetic grade vegetable oil. They evaporate naturally giving your skin a softer, smoother feeling – plus they contain no alcohol, ethanol or water so many people who are allergic to perfumes and colognes can wear body oils with no problem.