As women, we hear it ALL the time, to put on our own oxygen mask first, but what does that look like? Do we really do it?
In today’s class, I’m going to share some real, concrete ideas of how to take a few minutes each day just for YOU.
Watch the video class I recently recorded, or continue reading below.
The Only Oils I’m Talking About
I’m not only going to be talking about oils, but when I do, I am ONLY referring to Young Living essential oils. There are SO many cheap and fake oils in the marketplace right now, and if you want actual benefits from oils, you MUST use the REAL DEAL! The essential oil industry is NOT regulated, so you must know where your oils are coming from if you want them to be SAFE and effective.
Young Living oils are all grown and distilled using Seed to Seal standards… not only must the oils be grown in organic soil without chemical fertilizers or pesticides, but many of the plants are hand weeded and hand harvested. After all that, each plant gets distilled for a specific amount of time, and at the end it’s tested to make sure the correct chemical constituents of the oil are present. These are the properties that actually make the oil EFFECTIVE for us.
Here’s an example: Did you know that it takes Cypress 24 hours in the distiller to release its 280 chemical constituents? If you distill for 20 hours, you get 20 constituents. 26 hours? Zero constituents. And guess what? Most Cypress oil on the market is distilled for 3.5 hours. That’s just one example, but the bottom line is to MAKE SURE YOU ARE USING THE REAL DEAL, otherwise you’re just wasting money.
Listen to What Your Body is Telling You
Back to class!
When it comes to taking care of ourselves, actually LISTENING to our OWN intuition about what WE NEED is one of the best things we can do. THIS IS SO HARD TO DO if you’re not used to doing it! As women, so many of us wear a ton of hats and have a ton of responsibilities. We are used to ignoring what we need in order to keep everything in order… Our families, our jobs, our homes, all our responsibilities. If we listened, we’d probably hear our bodies and our minds telling us to SLOW DOWN or PAUSE for a minute. But we don’t even hear it because we’re always in GO and PUSH mode! OR we don’t do anything constructive because we’ve gotten so worn out that we are just exhausted.
I’ve had my own journey of learning how to have more balance in this area! But simply recognizing that we are not machines and that our energy, our attitude, and our strengths can fluctuate from day to day can help us give ourselves GRACE and can make things feel so much easier.
Taking time to truly spoil ourselves is really a necessity and not just a luxury if we want to show up in the best way for the people around us.
First tip – Structure your day around how your energy and motivation ebb and flow throughout the day.
For instance, In the mornings I am most focused, so I try and plan the most mentally challenging things first. Errands and things that don’t take a ton of mental energy can go later in the day.
So take some time identifying the times of day that feel tough to you. Where maybe your frustration usually peaks or maybe you get really tired. Then write down some things you can switch up at that time of day. For example, I’ve learned that in the late afternoon, no matter how great my day was, I’m going to need a BREAK. Like 100% put everything away and have permission to NOT BE PRODUCTIVE. I’m not meal prepping, getting back to people, working on a project. NO. This has helped my mental state SO MUCH!
Another thing is having something to look forward to like a good book or a show! Maybe you like to get your nails done or get a facial. Making time for yourself isn’t selfish, it’s how you fill up your cup!
Sometimes we are SO used to being busy and going all day long, that we don’t even know what we’d do with some extra time! Take some time to think about what fills your cup!
Using essential oils is one of the ways we can help care for ourselves in the best way.
Some of my favorite ways of using them are making special rollers for myself, picking out a favorite oil and wearing it every day, using a yummy smell on some diffuser jewelry, and treating myself to my diffuser every day.
When you really sit and think about it, these oils are a GIFT. They are a LUXURY to use! We get to experience the gorgeous essences of plants from AROUND THE WORLD. Right in our own homes! Sometimes when I’m feeling a little rough, I just pick up one of my favorite oils, put a drop in my hands, and just close my eyes and smell it and try to picture where it came from. Who was the farmer that planted it? Who cared for and watered it? What farm did it come from? Who might have hand weeded it and hand harvested it? I think about the pure water and the sun it soaked up. When you think about it, you just feel grateful for the luxury of getting to use pure oils like this!
One of my favorite things to do is to make special rollers for myself and roll them on during the day. When I’m stressed. When I need a boost. When I’m frustrated. Many of the oils have mood enhancing and relaxing properties to them, so unless I am looking for an oil to help me with something very specific, when I am making these rollers, I am using oils that I LOVE to smell because I know that ANY oils I use are going to benefit me. Here are a couple of my favorite oils and recipes.
Single Oils:
Awaken, Valor, and NLBS hands down are some my favorite singles.
Unicorn Blend:
Use equal parts Northern Lights Black Spruce, Lime, Valor, Palmarosa, and Grapefruit
Feelings Roller:
4 drops each of all the Feelings oils – AMAZING (note: doing the Feelings Kit is GREAT for self care – take 5 minutes for yourself in the morning, and if you use this consistently you WILL notice a difference!)
Another favorite – combine Joy, White Angelica, and Valor!
Feelings Kit – this kit is AWESOME and is a great way to Spoil Yourself! Gary has a 30 day protocol, and I have done it 3 times and every time I can feel when I’m using it, and I can ESPECIALLY feel when I’ve missed a day. I feel peaceful, calm, joyful and level-headed. This kit is a great one to save up your ER points for and buy for yourself!
Take a Drink Break (not the kind you’re thinking!)
- Make yourself some tea and add a drop of Thieves, Lemon, or Grapefruit Vitality with honey.
- Make yourself a faux peppermint hot chocolate. Heat some water, add some coconut milk, cocoa powder, honey/syrup, and a drop of peppermint.
- Treat yourself to one of the Citrus Vitality oils in your water, or try the new Vitality Drops! Bergamot Grapefruit or Lavender Lemonade
Make sure you’re taking care of YOU
- Eat well, sleep enough (oils for that, too), drink water.
- Hormone balance and overall well being are so important to feeling well – check out Endoflex, Progessence Plus, Mineral Essence, NingXia, MultiGreens, Super B, Master Formula
- Keep stress in check. Stress Away, Peace & Calming, Joy, Valor
Oils for Skincare
- Make a face serum – Jojoba oil, Frank + Lavender or ANY of the multitude of oils!
- Add a drop of oil to your moisturizer – Myrrh, Frank, Lavender, Patchouli, Copaiba, Geranium – so many, see what’s your favorite!
- Add oils to your body lotion – Lavender, Palmarosa (Turkish geranium)
- Pampering products: LavaMint Softening Foot Scrub, Mint Satin Facial Scrub,
At the end of the day – Take a bath
- Most of us don’t take nearly enough time to do this, but it is like the ultimate luxury, especially if you have a good book!
- The Bath Bombs rock, you can add additional oils to the top of the bomb before dropping it in the water.
- OR use Epsom salt with your favorite oils – Valor, Release, Lavender, Stress Away, Bergamot are some faves – but choose one of yours!
- Can also use Shower Steamers or make your own little spa by putting a little pile of Epsom salts in your shower with your favorite oils!
Remember you don’t even have to feel guilty for doing something for YOU. Change around your schedule, plan in activities that fill you up, and USE YOUR OILS to spoil yourself!!!
If you don’t yet have oils, reach the regular Premium Starter Kit is always a FABULOUS way to start, because you get 12 oils and a diffuser. And the Basic Kit is perfect if you want to become a member so you can get a discount, and then build your own kit – contact me to get help putting together the perfect kit for you!
Thank you so much for reading!
