When I first started using Young Living oils over 10 years ago it was because I fell in love with the scent of pure essential oils. Once I smelled the blend Joy for the first time I never wore perfume again – ever. My nose could no longer accept synthetic scents and my only choice was to use pure essential oils or nothing. Even though I enjoyed the oils, I wasn’t sure how to use them and without all the information that is now available thanks to the internet I stopped using them for a number of years. My mother who started with the oils when I did, continued to use them and benefit from them. Every so often I would have her get me a bottle of Gentle Baby or Lavender to keep on hand.
Last year when my kids were 3 and 6 years old we were having a hard time getting them to settle down for the night. We lived in Brooklyn, NY at the time and although I love city living it is a bit more stressful for everyone, including kids. I was using lavender at night, putting it on their wrists or on their pillows and at first there was a bit of resistence but in time they enjoyed the new bedtime routine. Then one night I realized I ran out of lavender, actually I think I just misplaced it, but either way it was gone. It was time for bed and my son was not interested in going to sleep. My mother, wonderful person that she is, had given me a bottle of Peace and Calming which was sitting on the shelf. Now, to be honest, Peace and Calming was not my favorite scent so I was a bit unsure about using it but I needed to try something so I put it on my wrists and walked into my sons room and waved my arms around a bit. In less than 60 seconds he finished getting dressed for bed and got into bed with a book. It all happened so fast my husband and I looked at each other in amazement and that was when I knew these oils were something altogether different. I had in my hands something that could soothe my kids in a safe and effective way and it was practically instantaneous. WOW!
Now when they are hurt or upset they ask for the oils. In the last year I have used Gentle Baby to soothe tired and cranky children, again with very fast results. I’ve used peppermint to cool a fever so my son could get back to sleep. And I’ve used lavender over and over again for bumps, bruises, burns, cuts & bug bites. The oils have slowly but surely become a part of our life, a life that I feel better about. As my collection of oils has grown, our medicine cabinets have become more and more sparse. We have children’s motrin if we should need it but we haven’t needed it in quite a while. I will always see a Doctor if my kids are sick but I will also use my oils and I find that when they do get sick, as they will from time to time, an oil like Thieves is amazing in helping them get better faster and keeps the rest of us from getting it. Big yeah for that!
When I tell people I use essential oils sometimes I get a certain look. Like they are trying to figure out if I am for real or not, kind of like they heard what I just said but don’t really understand what I mean. I don’t blame them because I know so many people simply do not understand what these oils can do. There are so few places to get pure essential oils and the stuff they sell in the stores is often not pure so it makes sense that most have no idea of the power of therapeutic grade essential oils. What I love, love, love is when someone jumps in and tries them. I love getting that phone call, the “Oh my God” phone call. The “I used this on that and it worked so fast” phone call. Because even though they hear what I’m saying or read the studies or whatever I think most people do not expect these oils to work the way that they do and when they do – wow! Are the oils for everyone? Nothing is for everyone but if you are looking for a way to take care of yourself, your family, even your pets, using less chemicals and more natural products than you may very well be looking for these oils.
From the moment I conceived my first child, and I have two now, I have been concerned about what “touched” them. What foods, what TV shows, what schools they went to – and I know at times I have probably been too concerned over some things and not concerned enough about others – hey, that’s just parenting for you. When I started with the oils, though I used caution, I felt like I found something that I could use that wasn’t tainted. So often we discover that a product that might be good for you one minute, may turn out to be avoided like the plague the next. With essential oils I am not using some faddish, new & improved product. I’m using natural plants. This stuff has been around for thousands of years. There are over 1oo biblical references of essential oils , the Egyptians wrote formulas in hieroglyphics, tomb raiders left jewels and stole the oils because that is how valuable they were. So I’m not worried that a report is going to come out next week that tells me that Frankincense is bad for me, actually a report will probably be coming out about how good it is for me. I am cautious, I check which oils are ok for kids and in the last year every time I’ve used the oils on them it has been a positive experience. Just the other day, my daughter was playing with a changing room door and smashed her finger. She was quite upset and in a fair amount of pain and anyone nearby knew it, but as I put the oil on and asked her if it felt better she was still fussing a bit but it wasn’t because of her pain. She was still in the mode of expressing her pain but her pain was no longer there. Once she got it, that the pain was gone, she was up and out the door and ready to jump in the pool. No need for ice, no swelling – I’ve never seen kids heal as fast and get over the upset and move on as when I use the oils.
As a parent I’ve noticed that when I’m feeling stressed, my kids can take on that stress. I try, and sometimes I even succeed, to reduce my stress before it grows bigger and bigger. I grab an oil and it is such a relief. It makes me stop and smell something wonderful, that alone will reduce stress, but then all the amazing constituents get into my blood stream and get to work. It is, hands down, one of the biggest benefits of using the oils. They are easy to carry around, so I always have a couple of oils on hand, and when I need them I am so happy to have them because they work – fast. Whatever your need is – easing stress, pain relief, more focus – there is an oil that can satisfy that need at anytime.
Can’t wait to get started using Young Living Oils? Great! See my “How to Order Young Living Oils” page for more details.
Francine Smith blogs about Young Living Essential oils. You can find more posts at www.younglivinglife.wordpress.com
