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My Story

After years of being a self proclaimed “health guru”, I thought I kinda had everything au natural locked down!  I was using some herbs and supplements, delving into major nutrition, had some great homeopathic research under my belt and felt like I had a good handle on things. 

 

Then my kids, 3 and 18 months at the time, got this respiratory thing.  I don’t know what it was, but it would NOT. GO. AWAY. Our MD said it was just a lingering cough.  Our ND had tried everything in her alternative arsenal, and this mama was so frustrated knowing that things shouldn’t just stick around for months at a time.  After 3 months of trying everything I knew, my best friend called me out of the blue one night. I remember I was walking around post bedtime trying to pick up while we chatted.  She asked, “hey have you ever heard of essential oils?”  

 

I said, “essential what?”

 

She told me that she had put them on her kids feet and they’d finally slept after some really tough nights.  I remember thinking – uh, you put something on their feet…oooooooooook.  

 

But I was at the end of my rope, so I got some to give it a try.  I had nothing to lose. Then in 3 days, that “thing” was not only better, IT. WAS. GONE.  I couldn’t believe it.  

 

I knew I’d stumbled onto something pretty special so I started doing research.  I learned a ton and am now 5 years into the journey with SO much wisdom and info to share!  It is my absolute passion to arm mamas who were in my shoes with the information they need to help their families!

 

I can’t wait for you to read ahead and learn about this plant based power source!  

 

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL OILS?

You’ll hear on a lot of websites that essential oils are the lifeblood of the plant but this is actually an inaccurate description.

 

The reasons are as follows:

  1. Essential oils are only produced by 5% of plants. There are about 350,000 species of plants; therefore, only 17,500 plants are estimated to produce essential oils, and only 400 of those species are produced commercially. If essential oils were the life blood of plants, then all plants should make them.
  2. Using the term, “Life Blood” implies that essential oils travel throughout the vasculature of the plant, delivering nutrients and carrying waste away from the cells in the various plant tissues, much like the blood supply of animals. This is not true. Essential oils are contained in cells and cavities that are normally located on the outer parts of the plant tissue. They are stored in places like leaves, bark, the rind of a citrus fruit, etc in order to allow maximum effect on invaders and physical dangers that attack from outside the plant.
  3. Essential oils are not primary to the plant’s survival. Things primary to the plants survival would be energy, nutrition, building biomass, and reproduction. Since they are not primary to the plant’s survival, they are secondary. The function of essential oils can be described in two general terms: Defense and Communication.
  4. The plant uses essential oils for biological defense to kill bugs, bacteria, and viruses, and to repel herbivores and pests. Plants use essential oils for physical defense to protect plant tissue from being exposed to ultra violet radiation, and to protect against evaporative loss of water.Also, plants use essential oils to communicate with and attract pollinators at the appropriate time. These are important functions, but not primary to the plant’s survival. One option would be to describe essential oils as a plant’s defense and communication system! This is so great because it can be directly related to how the molecules function in our body. Defense. Communication.**Info summarized from Dr Doug Corrigan 

family picHOW DO I USE THEM?

You can use them three ways.

  1. Topically – You can dilute with a carrier oil like jojoba, coconut or grapeseed oil according to the bottle’s directions and apply where needed.  Here is a great graphic of why many apply to the feet!  
  2. Aromatically -One of the easiest ways to reap the benefits of the aromatic qualities of an essential oil is simply by opening it up or putting a drop or two in my wrists, rubbing them together, and giving a little sniff.
     The most common and my favorite way of using oils aromatically is by putting them in a diffuser. Diffused oils alter the structure of molecules that create odors, rather than just masking them. They also increase oxygen availability, produce negative ions, and release natural ozone. 
  3. Internally – Many choose to use them sublingually under their tongue, internally with capsules or in their water.  We’ve had some incredible stories in our house with this use!  

 

The great news is that you can learn, start experimenting and use them in THE way that’s best for YOUR family!  I have friends that love diffusing all day long, others that love to keep rollers in their purse for all that ails and others still who love making capsules and drinking lemon water every morning.  You get to decide how to steer the ship, and that is a beautiful shift that will happen in your home when that box of oils arrives!

 

WHY QUALITY MATTERS

There is much information out there explaining the difference between therapeutic grade essential oils and all of the other oils out there on the market. It gets hard to filter, and I often feel like the things I am reading are written by people with an agenda! 

Let’s talk the oil industry first: 

  1. 95% of oils out there on the market are not therapeutic grade, but rather produced for the food and fragrance industry. Companies are cutting corners on production to try to produce more oils, and the methods they are using are either releasing toxins into the oil, destroying some of the important compounds necessary in therapeutic grade oils.  I cringe when I see $3 bottles of Frankincense at Bed, Bath & Beyond and Target. Ya’ll that is not there to help your health!
  2. “100% pure” doesn’t necessarily mean that it will have therapeutic properties. When a company says its oils are “pure” that only means that the oil does not contain a base oil or some other essential oil — that is: that it’s not cut. The question of whether or not the essential oil is tainted with chemicals or solvents is not even considered. 
  3. When you see a bottle on the shelf that says “100% pure,” that doesn’t mean that that bottle contains only essential oil. It’s an unregulated industry which means it’s up to you to do the research on what’s going on your body.  JUST like we need to do for our soap, our detergent, our cleaner and everything else that comes through the door of our house! That’s how companies are selling these oils at such reduced prices! Unfortunately, when it comes to essential oils, you really do get what you pay for. 
  4. Even if an oil is truly 100% pure and organic, you want to be sure that the oils were harvested and distilled correctly! Companies will distill a plant more than once to get as much oil as possible out of a plant which allows for more quality, but produces a poorer quality oil. Think about making coffee with grounds that have already been filtered once! There’s a big difference! Also, you have no clue about if those plants were harvested at the appropriate time or distilled long enough. If you are wanting to buy oils for therapeutic purposes, it is VERY important to be aware of how intentional a company is in their process! They should be publishing their standards. Transparency is key!   Watch our for trademarked phrases or greenwashing words like “all natural” and “100% pure.” 

 

WHAT CAN ESSENTIAL OILS DO FOR MY FAMILY?

I think the better question is what can they NOT do!  There is an oil to support every single system in your body from the top of your head to the bottom of your toes.  They support the emotions, the skin, the larger systems, the smaller systems, the organs, and everything you can think of.  Here are some of the things that have happened in our home with essential oils?

 

  • **Sleeping better
  • **Managing emotions better – this is a REAL thing ya’ll
  • **Magic for tummy aches
  • **Decreasing tension in the neck and head area
  • **Better workouts
  • **Faster recovery
  • **Better detox
  • **Soothing throats
  • **DE crankifying children
  • **Mood lift
  • **Energy help
  • **Healthier skin

 

You name it, essential oils help.  If you’ve ever seen the saying “there’s an oil for that”, it’s really really true.  

Which one of those topics above rang true for you?

  • Could you sleep better?
  • Could you detox your home from chemical laden cleaners?
  • Could you use some tummy support?  (you know I’m ALL about that on my blog!)
  • Could you use something to help your kids focus more or handle their emotions better?  

 

THEN we talk about what oils to use for THAT issue.  This isn’t about tackling symptoms. That’s for medicine and that’s not what these are!  This is about supporting your body to work in the way that it’s supposed to.  

 

Make a list of three health related issues that could change in your home and then we’ll go at it from that angle.  

 

WHAT ABOUT SAFETY?

 

Safety is important, and I’m going to shoot straight with you…again.  Do your research. Find a group of people that can help point you to the right information.  In our education groups, we have tons of tips on oils safety like which oils are photosensitive and shouldn’t be put on the skin when going in the sun.  Or a list of oils you’d want to avoid with your kids up until 2 years of age. But what it comes down to for me is just using common sense and your intuition.  I’m no doctor, but I DO know my kids. I start small and add more when needed. I use common sense when applying them to the skin or diffusing around babies. But don’t worry.  When you dive in with our tribe, we got you covered on how to get the info to make these choices for your family.

 

I’M READY

The best way is to contact me in the form below so I can help you get started!

  • Private educational Facebook group with daily education, giveaways and starter series
  • Personal support and coaching with me and our support team
  • Team website with recipes, classes, education, and everything you need to detox your home

When I say this is much bigger than oils, it’s the gosh darn truth.  

Dive in and let’s get rolling together friend.