I thought May would be the perfect month to chat about emotions! We have a lot going on in our home this month…my husband is deploying (BOO), my first product is launching on Amazon (YAY), and the kids are going through tons of transitions (SIGH) so I’m getting ahead of all the feels but making sure we have solid routines in place. If you have found yourself in the vicious occasional stress/low sleep cycle or you have a lot coming up this month too, then read on friend!
Let’s get started by taking a look at some statistics:
- 40% of Americans get less than the recommended amount of sleep
- 8 out of 10 Americans say they are frequently or sometimes stressed in their daily lives
- Only 4% of people say they never felt stressed (must be nice!)
While I can’t claim to know their secrets, I do have some tips, tricks, and oils that can help you to stay more calm, relaxed, and grounded during your daily grind that in turn will also support better sleep habits at night allowing you to feel rested and happy in the morning. Let’s jump in!
#1 The Morning Sets the Mood
How you start your mornings has a huge impact on the remainder of your day. It can even be a very good indication of how you will end your day. If you wake up with your mind already racing, frantically rushing around trying to get things done for yourself and everyone else with your nerves on edge, you are setting yourself up for a day that will be much the same.
D. Gary Young developed something he called the Great Day Protocol. It uses four specific oils to support our emotions, promote feelings of harmony and joy, and guard against negative energies that disturb our thoughts and send our emotions into a tailspin. You can also use these oils to combat occasional sadness. Let’s take a closer look at what each of these oils can do. Use all four early in the morning, following the application instructions given, to have a Great Day!
Valor – Promotes a feeling of courage and self-esteem and helps to balance the body’s energies. Use this oil each morning on your wrists and cupped over your nose and inhaled as you set your intentions for the day, visualizing what you want to accomplish and seeing yourself completing it.
Harmony – Helps to create a positive attitude, reduce stress, and repel feelings of discord and chaos. Apply this oil over your solar plexus, the area just below your sternum and above your belly button while setting specific intentions to harmonize with those around you.
Joy – A calming, uplifting aroma that is used to bring joy to the heart and mind. Place a couple of drops in your hand, inhale through your nose, then rub over your chest (heart).
White Angelica – Creates deeper feelings of security and protection by offsetting the negative energies that work to bring you down and invade your personal space. This oil will be your ‘shield’ as you navigate your day striving to stay stress-free, balanced and relaxed. Place a drop in your hands, rub your palms together, breathe in deep, then rub your hands over the crown of your head, down your neck, shoulders, and midsection, all the way to your toes as if you are putting up an imaginary shield.
You are now ready to tackle anything the day throws at you!
#2 Mid-Afternoon Slump
Despite your best efforts, you may still have days where you find yourself slipping into the abyss of negative reactions, occasional anxious moments, and stress-filled interactions with others by mid-day. Have no fear . . . Stress Away Roll-On is here! This is the perfect oil to have on hand for those moments that sneak up on you and create chaos.
One swipe on the wrists or back of the neck and 30 seconds to stop what you’re doing and breath in the sweet scent of Lavender, Lime, and Vanilla will have you relaxing on the beach with your feet in the sand! When you snap back to reality, you will find yourself feeling calmer, more relaxed, and ready to tackle the rest of your day with ease.
When we breathe in the scent of a pure essential oil, it has a direct effect on our emotions. Our sense of smell is the only one of the five senses directly connected to the emotional center of our brains. This gives us the power to retrain our brains, focus our thoughts on the positive, and release the negative emotions that have been stored there that hold us back from reaching our full potential.
Stress Away is not the only oil that can help you get over that mid-afternoon slump. Here are some others to try:
Peace & Calming – A great oil not only for you, but also to help your kiddos work through and lessen their feelings of occasional stress and being overwhelmed
Bergamot – Used to elevate your mood and found in other amazing blends like Acceptance, Believe, Gratitude and Harmony
Vetiver – Grounding and calming, helps to overcome stress from past emotional trauma
Lavender – Relaxing and balancing, helps to improve concentration
Use these oils as needed throughout the day by diffusing in the office, putting a drop in your hands or breathing in from the bottle, or adding to your favorite piece of diffuser jewelry.
#3 Early Evening Downtime
Finally . . . supper is finished, homework is done, sports practices are over, the kids have been bathed and are tucked snugly into their beds . . . you sit down on the couch, let out a big sigh, and you . . .
- Let your mind wander back to everything you didn’t get accomplished that day
- Continue to stress over that argument or phone call that didn’t go your way
- Already find yourself being anxious about everything you have to do tomorrow
If that’s you, it’s pretty safe to say you aren’t going to find much peaceful rest waiting for you on the other side of those eyelids.
What if your downtime went something like this instead . . . you sit down on the couch, let out a big sigh, and you . . .
- Celebrate everything that you crossed off your to-do list
- Feel at peace with the way you handled every situation you faced because you were able to stay calm and relaxed
- Find yourself looking forward to tomorrow with anticipation of all the blessings that await you
Sound too good to be true?
It doesn’t have to be! If you get into a routine of using your calming oils throughout the day, and set your intentions and your mindset to focus on the positive, you will set yourself up for one of the best night’s sleep you have had in a long time!
Here are a few tips to help you chill out during your evening downtime:
- Turn off your phone
- Sip on some hot tea – add even more benefit with a drop of Lemon Vitality
- Take a relaxing bath – add one cup of Epsom salt with 10 drops of Lavender
- Aromatherapy – get your diffuser going with some of the calming oils we talked about in the last post
- Light stretches – nothing over the top, just some light stretches or Yoga poses to help ease the tension in your tired muscles and add in some Frankincense and PanAway to your feet for a more relaxing feel
#4 Hey Mr. Sandman
If you have followed all the tips and used all the oils we have talked about, you should be calm, relaxed, and ready to sail right into Dreamland!
But maybe you’re not. It can be difficult for some to completely turn their minds off and get into a state of full relaxation, and if that is you, we have something for you, too!
I will get to the oils in a minute, but first I want to share with you all about SleepEssence. This supplement is your bad dream’s worst nightmare! This one little capsule combines four powerful essential oils known for their sleep-enhancing properties along with naturally-occurring melatonin to help you enjoy a restful night’s sleep. Just take 1-2 softgel capsules about 30-60 minutes before heading off to bed, and you will be sawing logs in no time!
Rutavala and Tranquil are two roll-on blends that also help to calm the mind and body, ease the tension of the day, and usher in a peaceful night’s sleep.
Rutavala is a blend of Lavender, Valerian, and Ruta.
Tranquil is a blend of Lavender, Cedarwood, and Roman Chamomile.
Speaking of Roman Chamomile, this oil deserves to be singled out and talked about all on its own. I am sure you have heard of or maybe even tried Chamomile tea before, right? What effect did it have on you? If it made you feel calm and relaxed, imagine that times 100?!!
Roman Chamomile has the power to calm the crankiest babies, relax the most restless adults, minimize the biggest feelings of fear and worry, stabilize the most out of whack emotions, and foster the ability to release your most negative emotions. Y’all, this one is worth stocking up on!
Another member fav is Dream Catcher. This blend protects against negative thinking. Use this oil to inspire creativity as you chase your dreams. Some people prefer using it in the evening, others prefer using it during the day. Play around with what works for you.
Once you oil up, if you find you are still having a hard time relaxing your mind and your thoughts are still racing, here are a few other things you can try:
- Journaling – Ok, so you aren’t gonna document your life story here at 1 am, but getting your thoughts on paper helps to get them out of your head. Keep a journal on your nightstand and put the brakes on those racing thoughts by jotting them down.
- Gratitude – Instead of laying in bed thinking of all the things that could go wrong, force yourself to focus on all the things that have gone right. Need some help? Apply your Gratitude oil to your wrists and inhale
- Get Up – I know, this sounds counterintuitive, right? Why would you ‘get up’ if you are trying to get to sleep? If you find yourself tossing and turning and becoming more and more restless, getting up and finding a simple mundane task to accomplish, applying an essential oil, or even grabbing an adult coloring book can be just the thing to calm your mind enough to be ready for sleep.
If you are someone that suffers from occasional stress, sadness, and low sleep, I hope that you have found this information valuable. Don’t feel like you need to run out, order all the oils and do #allthethings. If you already have one of the oils I talked about, use it; pick just one or two of the tips I shared and start implementing them. The experience with oils varies from person to person. It is important to use an oil for at least five days to see if it will work for you. It may work instantly for you or take a little time. Your body may need to clear out some things before it’s ready. Be consistent yet open to experimenting with other oils to find your magic combo!
Here’s to a more relaxed and happy life!! Goodnight and Sweet Dreams!
Let me know if you have any questions or want to talk more about what you feel your supplement and oil needs will be!
Disclaimer
*I am not a doctor. I am not here to diagnose, treat, or cure any of your illnesses. The content I cover is for informational purposes only.
Throughout this class, I make suggestions for oils and products you can use every day to support your wellness and create good habits. Before we dive into specifics, let’s talk about usage and safety.
SAFETY FIRST
- When using pure essential oils, be sure to dilute with a carrier oil.
- Do not put them in your eyes or ears.
- Follow the directions on labels.
_______________________________________
There are three ways to use Essential Oils.
The solid-colored labels have aromatic and topical directions on them. The labels that are white are from the vitality line and have dietary instructions on the labels.
- Topically – Dilute with a carrier oil like V6 from Young Living, coconut oil, or grapeseed oil. Apply to your skin. They are quickly absorbed and effective.
- Aromatically – Use in the diffuser, inhale from diffuser jewelry, or put it on your hands and inhale.
- Internally -Young Living oils in the vitality line are safe to ingest. Follow instructions on the packaging.
