Demystifying Essential Oils

by Vannoy Gentles Fite

Using essential oils can be a daunting task when first starting out. Many people leave their essential oils on the shelf and never open them. There are so many different kinds, so many instructions, so many books and formulas, and what even is a carrier oil? These questions and more plague every new essential oil user. But rest assured, using essential oils can be as easy as opening the bottle and smelling it.

Essential oils are derived from plants, flowers, fruit and shrubs through various extraction methods. It takes hundreds, or in some cases, thousands of pounds of plant matter to produce an ounce of the precious liquid. So just imagine that if a cup of chamomile tea can make you calm and drowsy, how much more potent a single drop of essential oil can be. The healing benefits of essential oils can be paramount in your healing, your moods, and your everyday life.

Essential oils can be used to treat everyday ailments, emotional needs, and even used to just set the tone of your home or office. Diffusers are a popular way of utilizing your oils. Each oil produces airborne molecules, that when diffused, enter your bloodstream through your nasal passages, or your skin. This is one of my favorite recipes for energy, from my new book, Essential Oils for Emotional Wellbeing (Llewellyn, 2018), and it’s so easy and simple to do, that you can do it right now, with no preparation.

Energy Power Boosting Inhale
Yield: 1 application
Recipe
1 drop lemon oil or
1 drop peppermint oil or
1 drop pine oil

Choose your essential oil and apply to the palm of your hand, an oil inhaler, or a tissue. Bring the essential oils close to your nostrils and inhale the aroma deeply. You can complete this process 3–4 times daily.

Finding an oil that matches your need is simple, and with a little research, diffusing oils can help you in controlling the ambiance of your surroundings. This is a little recipe I like to run every morning, in my diffuser, to help me concentrate on my tasks.

Focus in the Air Diffuser

Yield: 1 application
Recipe
2 drops peppermint oil
2 drops rose oil
2 drops bergamot oil
Water

Follow your diffuser directions for using essential oils in your particular brand of diffuser. Ensure that your diffuser does not use heat, but runs by vibration, sound waves, or another cold-steam type of process. Choose the essential oils needed for your condition, then add water and oils to diffuser. Run your diffuser as needed to permeate the air with therapeutic properties and achieve the results you desire.

There are so many ways you can use essential oils: baths, diffusers, rubs, powders and lotions, to name a few. With a little practice, research and reading, you will become the aromatherapist that all your friends turn to when they need advice on using these little bottles of miracles.

Essential Oils for Emotional Wellbeing (Llewellyn, 2018) has over 400 recipes for various emotional needs, desires, conditions and even a section on using essential oils for devotion. The therapeutic properties of the oils, warnings, learning to store your oils, how to use carrier oils, how to buy particular brands of oils and the history of essential oils are discussed to familiarize you with the products you are using. With a little practice, you can become the aromatherapist that helps bring emotional healing to yourself, your friends and your loved ones.

VANNOY GENTLES FITE (Saltillo, TX) is a certified Ayurvedic life coach, a certified herbalist, a certified aromatherapist, and a licensed yoga instructor. She believes wholeheartedly in natural healing methods, yoga, Ayurveda, and living mindfully and sustainably.

From Essential Oils for Emotional Wellbeing by Vannoy Gentles Fite. © 2018 by Vannoy Gentles Fite/ Used by permission from Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.