Essential oils

[Matt2584]

livingtraditionally.com/ess...

I've been using Frankincense for a few years now and it has definitely helped me with my fatigue.

[steve55]

matt have have a word with your guys at the center. at our last group meeting we had a lady come in and talk to us about mindfulness and we did the some breathing exercises. i found it really relaxing and its easy to do on your own at home

[Matt2584 in reply to steve55]

I have already mentioned about using essential oils with some of the staff at my Headway. Some of them don't know much about essential oils and one member of staff said that we are all different people and we all work differently. Some will be able to handle essential oils (such as myself) but not everyone else would be able to.

Fair enough to that but I am more of an environmentalist and I don't believe in using modern medicine.

I do some some breathing exercises when I do a little yoga and tai chi. It is only a small amount, like 5 minutes in the morning sometimes. I go to another disabled group near to where I live and they sometimes have various speakers there. On a couple of occasions they have had speakers talk about the martial art, Tai Chi and how it can improve balance. I have taken on board some of the exercises and I find it helps :).

[suemoff]

I use Clary sage to help me sleep. I still don't sleep that well, but I do think it helps a bit. I'll give the frankincense a go, really struggling with fatigue at the moment.

Sue

[Matt2584 in reply to suemoff]

I use a combination of Lavendar and Frankincense essential oils and put a few drops in my diffuser at night. I get a better nights rest with the oils.

I was one to wake up at stupid o'clock and then not be able to get back to sleep until it was an hour or two before I had to get up but with the oils I don't get that problem so much.

I say 'so much' cos I still do sometimes awake in the middle of the night but it's not as often as it was.

I haven't tried out Clary sage before. I'm still pretty new to essential oils, even though I have used them for a few years now but I mainly stick to a few oils, frankincense, lavendar, peppermint, helichrysum or diluted helichrysum as it is hard to get hold of and lemongrass oils.

Take care,

MJ

[lcd8]

Sorry to sound really thick. But how do you use frankincense? Bathe in it...or sniff it maybe?

[Matt2584 in reply to lcd8]

Hi lcd8,

You can inhale the frankincemse essential oil. Actually inhaling is the best way to ise the oil. When I first read about frankincense a few years ago all I did was buy a bottle so I could inhale from it every now and then.

It definitely improved with my fatigue. I am an artist and after a spell of drawing my head used to feel really thick as if my skull was full of cement and I would feel tired but after frankincense i dont get that so much now.

After I started reading more about essential oils I learnt that with some oils you can rub them directly onto your skin and with other oils you shouldn't as some oils can irritate the skin. Reason why is cos they are so condensed. The whole of the plant, flower, stem, roots go into making a few drops of oil.

So for the oils that you shouldn't put on your skin, you should use a carrier oil, fractionated coconut oil is a good carrier oil. And according to what I have read, it is called a carrier oil because the oil blended in with the essential oil "carries" more of the goodness into the skin.

RecoveringH knows a thing or two about essential oils as well.

Take care,

Mj

[Gaia_rising]

Interesting, Matt.

I used to dabble with aromatherapy years ago, most of my oils are probably well-past effective now, but I've been sort-of subconsciously 'knowing' what my brain and body need, so will probably replenish my oil supplies after pay-day. (My bath soap and shower gel contain Sandalwood oil, and I've been wearing Patchouli perfume for years, part of my job was physically intervening with children in crisis, so the 'familiarity' of my smell was important, especially for the hyper-sensitive kids on the Autistic spectrum.)

Your group might not all respond, it's true, although the chemical/clinical element of olfactory absorbed oils is researched and factual, all of our brain injuries are different. I'm peculiarly hyper-sensitive to smell since my BI, my games of "What's that SMELL?" tire me out, and I probably spend more on cleaning products than I do on food. Some brain-injured people lose their sense of smell, and I think mine has increased...

I appreciate that some clinical-medical types might not accept the value of essential oils, and other alternative/complimentary therapies, but there's also the 'think of fresh-baked bread' angle. I read somewhere that the body can't recreate/remember smells, but, for most, the thought of the smell of fresh-baked bread is soothing and comforting. (Don't know why I chose 'bread', there, I can't eat wheat-bread, it gives me diarrhoea!)

[Matt2584 in reply to Gaia_rising]

I've never used Sandalwood or patchouli before but after you mentioned about having some oils in your bath soap and shower gel, that has reminded me that every time I use my face wash and/or my shower gel, I put a drop of frankincense in it. Actually with the face wash I sometimes put a drop of diluted helichrysum in it.

I read that helichrysum is good for nerve damage which would be good for me as I have got a bit of nerve damage. Because of the damage I have weaker muscles which are more noticable in my face on the right side.

Only thing is though, it appears helichrysum essential oil is pretty hard to get hold of so I get diluted helichrysum as there is more to go around and also the oil doesn't have to blended wih a carrier oil to put on topically.

Because of my BI my sense of smell and taste is slightly dulled down. Not as strong as it once was.

You read somewhere that the body can't remember smells. I read the opposite to that. Smells are one of the best things for the memory is what I read. I can agree to that as well cos I smelled something not long ago and it brought back memories of a toy that me and my brother used to share. It may have been the smell of the plastic of the toy or even the hair of the toy (As this toy/action figure was full of hair/fur) or it could have been both the smell of plastic and the fur.

Also I have read that inhaling rosemary, flower or oil, can increase the memory up to 75%. And when I read a similar statement elsewhere it said you had to sniff the rosemary for 5 minutes per day.

I like the smell of rosemary but I don't really need to increase my memory right now. My memory is pretty good. At times I do forget things but I have a much better long term memory :).

[Sem2011]

Hi Matty

Do you buy your franchincense from living traditionally? I would like to try as my fatigue seems to be worsening. I am a bit confused, it says something about franchincense needing to be 100% pure. The site seems to a UScompany and35 dollars for a bottle. Can you advise if there is a cheaper place to purchase it, how often you use it, and how much in the diffuser .

Thanks xx

[Matt2584 in reply to Sem2011]

Hi Semmy (That males me think of a semi-colon or semi-finals or something like that :D),

I actually buy frankincense from Amazon.co.uk which isn't exactly the best option because I have heard that buying from Amazon can be dodgy.

But if you don't want to buy from Amazon you can buy from Naissance.com or many other websites sell them, I'm sure RecoveringH can name some . You can even buy some from Holland and Barrett online or instore but I think their oils are a bit more costly.

Their are a lot of mediocre-grade essential oils on the market which is why the article tells you to look for oils that are 100% therapeutic grade or 100% pure. If you can find a bottle of frankincense that is 100% therapeutic grade and is not very costly, I would probably buy it.

As I said I get my oils from Amazon usually and I normally get a 100ml bottle of frankincense. The brand is called "Art Naturals" so I expect you could mail order some frankincense from the Art Naturals website. This is what I like about Amazon.

I use frankincense and lavendar essential oils every day. When I wake up I wash my face and I either put a drop of frankincense or diluted helichrysum in the wash. I put six drops of lavendar in the bath and one drop of frankincense in my shower gel and face wash when I use it. I put three drops of lavendar and three drops of frankincense in my diffuser before I sleep.

Now some people might think that is bit too much that I am using but the thing is, essential oils are natural and you cannot overdose on nature :).

That is one of the reasons why I prefer natural medicine over modern, pharmaceutical medicine. Because you cannot overdose with nature whereas modern medication, you can overdose.

Take care,

Mj

[gabimou]

I've used Frankincense and rosemary both work well/

I find peppermint oil to be good especially to clear the sinuses and it also make your head feel clearer.

Inhaling with tea tree oil is another one I use

[Matt2584 in reply to gabimou]

I've got some menthol crystals which is like peppermint essential oil in crystalised form. If I have a cold then I would put a shard in a cup of boiling water. The scent is powerful and blows yer head off :)... well it can make your eyes water but it does the trick :).