Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Breathe In, Breathe Out ~ Aromatherapy and the Blood / Brain Barrier






Essential Oils have been, and continue to be a major part of my health and beauty routine. You can't look radiant on the outside if your insides aren't clean. 

Healthy mind, body, spirit. Feeling good should be the first step in your beauty regimen. Pure essential oils can be applied directly to the skin, mixed with almond or jojoba oil for pure body oil, a diffuser to refresh the air, the combinations are endless. A few drops mixed with distilled water in a travel spritzer, immediate lavender relaxation. I was on a plane, in an airport sometimes two, three times a week. I found lavender soothing, instead of stinky, stale, recycled air. Fellow travelers even thanked me when they got a whiff. A few drops on a hotel pillow in a foreign, unfamiliar city instant grounding for a calm, restful sleep.


"It’s quite true that aromatherapy can penetrate deeper into the tissues than many other healing modalities. Because they are inhaled through the nose, essential oils will efficiently pass through the blood brain barrier in the area surrounding the olfactory nerve. This makes them very serious contenders as natural healers for brain injuries and more." NaturalSociety.com

"Frankincense Essential Oil and Your Brain

The human brain is the most complex organ within the body.  Injuries to the brain range from mild concussions to more serious head trauma. Usually,  various brain injuries are slow to heal, but frankincense oil can aid greatly in this process. Frankincense works by aiding oxygenation of blood going to the brain.  This, in turn, will aid in oxygen absorption.  When oxygen is absorbed effectively, it allows the brain to process and retain information, heal, and function correctly.

Frankincense is the Essential Oil of choice for any kind of brain disorder. Frankincense has a molecular makeup that includes sesquiterpenes, that is able to cross the blood/brain barrier. These sesquiterpenes stimulate the limbic system of the brain and other glands within the brain, promoting memory and releasing emotions. Frankincense slows down and deepens the breath. The therapeutic properties of Frankincense oil are antiseptic, astringent, carminative, cicatrisant, cytophylactic, digestive, diuretic, emmenagogue, expectorant, sedative, tonic, uterine, vulnerary and expectorant."  -LivingTraditionally.com


Before a makeup application, I like to spritz a client's face with lavender and filtered water (always ask if the client has any allergies), and watch their faces transform, skin revitalized. On location in one hundred degree heat, a few squirts on the model's neck, arms cooled overheated skin. I've been experimenting with lemon and peppermint, a cool, clean pick me up works wonders for nausea. Eucalyptus, amazing for sinus pressure and headaches. Tea Tree oil is an anti-fungal, antibacterial properties and great for bumps, rashes and blemishes.

We've become a pill popping nation. When you don't feel your best, how can you look your best? Why not try something different? Get back to basics, the purest form of healing, plants, herbs and essential oils. 

Beauty means becoming mindful, eating clean, taking the very best care of this one life. It's not only about luxe creams, glam brands in your makeup bag. Those are fabu, multi-color sprinkles and treats on top. Why not dig deeper, build a beautiful foundation before living in your dream house.

Chopra Abhy Oil


Touch is fundamental to health and well beingWhen stimulated through therapeutic touch or massage, the skin releases a pharmacy of healing chemicals that have health-promoting effects on the physiology. In addition to feeling good, regular massage and loving touch detoxifies the body’s tissues, increase circulation, calms the mind, and enhances immune function.

Soothing Abhy oil
 is made with traditional Ayurvedic oils of Coconut, Almond, Jojoba, and Safflower and infused with the rejuvenating herb, Brahmi, and Pitta balancing essential oils of Ylang-Ylang, Lavender, Lemon, and other natural botanicals.


A daily self-massage (self-Abhy) with aromatherapy massage oils, known as an Abhyanga, is one of the most important tools in Ayurveda to activate your inner pharmacy and slow the aging process. We recommend one daily.

Rupa Relaxing Roll on
My BFF took me to The Chopra Center for a week of Perfect Health. It was a mystical, enlightening, funny, optimum health, full immersion week. The priceless gift of a lifetime. I may not be there in the physical, Chopra's teaching stay with me. I try to practice what I learned (I said, try) to indulge in their Aromatherapy line. Bringing a little piece of Carlsbad magic at home.




Chopra Center








Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mind, moodcognitive function or health. WIKI

Quick Reference Guide for Essential Oils
http://www.auracacia.com





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