IT's Just Yoga (IJY) Magazine Spring/Summer

BY IJY STAFF

This year, the IJY Festival is going to have a yoga class that will use essential oils within the body of the class. Essential oils are a powerful plant medicine. You can use them to help you physically (like relaxing tight muscles or an upset stomach) and energetically (like opening your heart or helping creative energy flow).

Are oils essential? Well, in addition to being a rather clever title for this article, the answer is that when used properly, essential oils are a wonderful compliment to your everyday life, AND your yoga class.

When using Essential Oils there are THREE ways in which you can take advantage of their health promoting benefits.

Inhalation: Breathing in directly or via a cool mist oil diffuser. This method will help support a healthy respiratory system as well as permit the active compounds within the essential oils to permeate throughout the body. This is a great method and can be used throughout the day while at home or work.

Topical: Application to the troubled areas for acute treatment, or applied to the bottoms of the feet and/or to the spinal column for general care. This provides a great way to administer essential oils as they travel via the nervous system throughout the body.

Internal: This is one of the most controversial yet most beneficial ways recommended to use essential oils. NEVER use commercial essential oils internally—ever! If they are not labeled “safe for internal use” do not risk harm by ingesting unapproved oils. Look for the label “CPT.” (FYI: All doTERRA oils are labeled “CPT.”)

There are endless essential oils to choose from. How do you choose which ones to actually use? Here is some information provided by Eryn Johnson, a yogi and author:

1. Heart opening. Try geranium, rose, helichrysum, or jasmine essential oils. These oils are all associated with the heart c hakra, helping you open up your center of giving and receiving unconditional love.

2. Grounding. Use vetiver, cedarwood, black spruce, cypress, or any other tree oil you like. These earthy, tree-based o ils help connect you to your roots in the earth, bring you out of your head and in to your body.

3. Connecting to the Universe. Opt for frankincense, lotus, palo santo, sandalwood, ginger, or basil oil. These oils open y our crown chakra, your center of connection with your highest self and w ith the divine.

4. Enhancing creativity. My favorite oils f or creativity are tangerine, wild orange, peppermint, and clary sage. These oils help open your sacral chakra, your center of creativity, emotion, and sexuality.

5. Enhancing intuition. Experiment with benzoin, mastic, frankincense, rosemary, or sage for your third eye chakra.

6. Cultivating gratitude. Try bergamot, grapefruit, clove, white fir, or wild orange oils for gratitude. Their scents help e levate your mood and open your heart.

8. Opening your throat chakra. Use lem ongrass, neroli, jasmine, or eucalyptus (my favorite is eucalyptus!) to open your center of speaking your truth, being seen, setting boundaries, and expressing yourself.

9. Promoting good sleep. Favorite oils f or sleep are gentle, calming oils like lavender, vetiver, and neroli. Perfect for an evening vinyasa or yin class!

In addition to using essential oils while you are IN a class, make sure you use this combination of oils AFTER your class! When class is over, be sure to spray your mat with this essential oil blend to keep it clean. Try this recipe to create a purifying, cleansing spray to use on your yoga mats: • A spray bottle • Filtered water • 2 drops of tea tree or peppermint es sential oil • 2 drops of lavender essential oil • A t ablespoon or two of witch hazel (Don’t let the name scare you! Witch h azel is a natural cleanser and helps the water and essential oil combine.)

Mix them together, shake it up, and you’re ready to get cleaning!

IJY would like to thank DoTERRA for providing the essential oils used during the IJY Festival. In addition to providing the oils, they have also provided IJY staff with guidance on how to incorporate essential oils into our daily lives. For more information on how essential oils can help you, please feel free to contact DoTERRA rep, Ana Contreras at 954-326-2164. Consultations are available upon request.