Most people have heard of essential oils, but many do not know much about their ability to really help the human body, mind and spirit. When you have heard of essential oils, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? It could be that you may think they are like little bottles of perfume. You may think that they are just things that smell good that have no impact on health.

There are many scientific studies that prove that pure therapeutic essential oils can benefit and support the body in an amazingly positive way!

There are a ton of brands of essential oils! If you go to the store you may see a bottle of lavender essential oil for $5 and think this is great! Why spend money on an expensive bottle of essential oil?! Well, this is what I thought many years ago, and then my thoughts changed when I educated myself on essential oils. So where do you start? Let me tell you about all the research I have done.

Quality matters! I did not know this many years ago and would buy the $5 Lavender! Yikes! I had heard of Young Living essential oils but thought “who would spend that much money on essential oils?” I had heard about Young Livings Thieves essential oil and decided to just buy that one oil from Young Living and that was it! So I bought the Thieves essential oil and the Thieves cleaner. I started using the Thieves essential oil and I seriously could not believe the difference from the $5 stuff! But I still was not sold and continued to use my cheaper oils. Then I decided to try the Young Living Lavender. When I began using it I could not believe the difference from the $5 Lavender!!! I could smell the difference and feel the difference right away!

When I would apply the $5 Lavender, I thought that it smells good. When I applied the Young Living Lavender, it not only smelled just like a fresh piece of lavender, but when I put it on my skin I immediately felt a sense of calm come over me. I put a drop in my hand and took a deep breath in, and just felt amazing! I thought “it’s Lavender, how could there be such a difference?”

So, I started doing some research, and I could not believe what I found!

The first thing I learned is that not all essential oils are created equal! Essential oils are distilled from plants, flowers, roots and barks. It is very important to know that these things being distilled are grown in a clean nontoxic way, no pesticides or weed killers used because those chemicals leach onto the plants. Young Living does not use any pesticides and hand weed their farms.

When the plants are distilled into the oil, there are different ways it can be done. Some companies who are able to sell their essential oils cheaper use quick ways to distill. They will use chemical solvents to extract the constitutes of the plant quickly for the essential oil. The problem with this is that you cannot remove that chemical solvent from the essential oil. So when you use that oil you are subjecting you body to the chemicals.

Another way that the plants can be distilled quickly is high heat distilling. This is a quick method, but with the high heat, it can destroy the positive constitutes that are from the plant, flower, root or bark. If you are going to use essential oils, you want all the benefits from the plant, but if it is altered in the distillation process what is the point!

So what makes higher quality essential oils like Young Living essential oils different? Ok…let me share all the goodness I have learned and experienced for myself.

Young Living uses steam distillation in the distilling process. This is a safe and effective way to get all the benefits of the plant, flower, root and bark into an essential oil so that all the amazing constitutes of the plant are in the essential oil. This is why there is a difference when you use these oils, both on a physical and emotional level. Steam distilling takes a little longer, but is a much better process.

Some companies also use fillers and additives to the essential oils to make it seem like you are getting a nice big bottle of essential oil, yet you are only getting a small fraction of actual essential oil. This is unfortunate because then you are not able to experience what an actual essential oil can do for you.

Essential oils can help support the body in a physical aspect. For instance, if you have a headache, instead of running to the Advil, grab Young Livings Peppermint essential oil and put a dab on the temples, forehead and back of the neck. Within minutes you will feel that headache disappear. If you have an upset stomach after eating too much or are bloated, take some Digize essential oil and drop a couple of drops onto your abdomen with a carrier oil like coconut oil and your belly will start feeling better. If you want to help support your immune system, try diffusing and applying Thieves essential oil to your feet and neck.

As for emotional ways that essential oils can help you, there are so many ways! Anxiety, depression, panic attacks, sleep… you can get support from essential oils for all of these issues. Sleep, try some Lavender or peace and calming on your pillow, applied to your chest or wrists or have a diffuser next to the bed and diffuse all night long. Anxiety or panic attacks… Peace and Calming, Stress Away, Lavender, Valor… these all can support calming the mind and body to help with these issues.

Essential oils are not a cure for all things, they help support the body along with a healthy lifestyle to help manage any issues you may be having. I always tell people that come to me with an issue they are having… “I have an oil for that!”

So there are numerous ways to use essential oils, and you want to do it safely. Diffusing them into the air is the easiest way for all people to get the effects of them! Get a diffuser, place some water in it, and place a few drops of whatever oils you want to diffuse that day. It is best to start with only a few drops if you have never used them before and then you can add more as time goes on and your body responds to them. There is no right or wrong way to diffuse essential oils, you blend whatever you’d like together. You do want to make sure that they are high quality essential oils like Young Living so that you are not diffusing toxins into the air.

When using the oils topically it is always important to make sure they are a high quality like Young Living, again because you do not want any toxins from fillers being absorbed into your skin! Also if you have never used essential oils on your skin, it is best to start by mixing them with a carrier oil like coconut oil or olive oil. This helps dilute the essential oil a bit to make sure your skin does not have a sensitivity. Many people make roller balls and mix the essential oil with a carrier oil so they can be rolled right onto the skin. Your skin is the largest organ of your body, so when you apply these pure, therapeutic essential oils to the skin, they are absorbed into the body to support the body and can support emotions and stress too!

Young Living has a line of Vitality oils that can be ingested. Now this is debated by some people that ingesting oils is not safe. It is not safe when using essential oils that are of low quality or ones that have fillers. With the vitality line, they are safe to put in your water or tea for some added flavor, and you can also cook with them too. A little goes a long way with these pure oils, so one drop in your water is perfect! You can add basil, oregano, or rosemary to any meal you are making, or try some peppermint in a brownie or pudding mix. Try some lavender vitality in your tea at night for a nice calming effect.

I have been using Young Living essential oils for many years and they have supported my family and I in so many ways from stomach upset, sleep, anxiety, focus, sadness, happiness, headaches and many other emotions. I have helped many of my co workers and patients in the hospital with them too! I give Young Livings peppermint to patients to smell when they are nauseous and they love it! They oils help my fellow nurses with stress during a shift! I share these essential oils with anyone I can because I know first hand how they can support the body! I have already helped so many people by sharing these oils and educating on these oils, this is the reason I continue to share! I am all about educating on these Young Living essential oils and am here every step of the way with your journey!