Good evening, Bowls of Cherries!

Reading the most recent newsletter from Shirley, it encouraged me to add a few new essential oils to my rotation. She recommended peppermint, sweet orange, ylang ylang to name a few. Admittedly, I regularly use peppermint for a morning essential oil. But today at the local whole foods, I added some sweet orange and ylang ylang. Once home, I whipped up a few batches of conditioning oils (I mix essential oils with sesame oil for an alternative body lotion) and came up with the following: (1) morning essential oil of peppermint and sweet orange; (2) evening essential oil of lavender (for sleep) and a few drops of eucalyptus (to ease sore muscles); (3) the Shirley equinox mix of peppermint, sweet orange, and ylang ylang; and (4) a standard of mine--good ol' nag champa. I couldn't wait to try it out, the "Shirley mix" was, indeed, divine--invigorating yet relaxing enough to use for the evening.

I am curious to know about any "recipes" you all have for essential oil mixes. Also, if any of you have any recommended reading material on this subject, please share! My curiosity is already piqued!

Namaste from the Midwest....
steph

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"I wasn't going to spend my life doing what had already been done." - Georgia O'Keeffe
"Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton

Hi Norma Rea
My fave for meditation is 5 drops rose oil with 1 drop ylang ylang in a hot pot. Seems to open wonderful realms for me.

Will look around and see what books I have on essential oils and post later
BE

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Brit Elders
CEO - ShirleyMacLaine.com

Thank you for the feedback, Brit. I look forward to learning more. Many yoga teachers--including my teachers in Santa Fe--use frankincense to invite openings to the spirit (often during fire ceremonies). And, of course, the mythology of frankincense adds another interesting layer to that particular oil.

_/|\_
steph

__________________
"I wasn't going to spend my life doing what had already been done." - Georgia O'Keeffe
"Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton

Brit . . . just got a hot oil defuser for essential oils. Looking forward to 5 drops of ylang ylang / 1 rose during meditation in the ol' home meditation/yoga room! Thank you for your guidance. And please do share any reading suggestions on essential oil practice(s).

two hands together.
_/|\_
steph

__________________
"I wasn't going to spend my life doing what had already been done." - Georgia O'Keeffe
"Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton

Hi Norma Rae -

I use Essential Oils for emotional level issues, flower essences for spirit level.

Here are some of my tips:

Only use a trusted source for high-quality oils. Some can be quite expensive, like rose oil and blue tansy. But a good carrier oil will help it last.

One company I use is http://omnessence.net

For chest/sinus areas, use sunflower as a carrier oil
For anxiety or nervous issues, Jojoba oil as a carrier
For fever, canola oil as a carrier.

One or two drops of essential oil in a tsp of carrier will do. For a strong mix, 2-10 drops

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Love,

Rick
http://rickborutta.com

"Sometimes you think you've lived before, all that you live today. Things do come back to you as though they knew the way. Oh, the tricks your mind can play." - Lorenz Hart

Rick--thank you so much for this wonderful advice! Will definitely put it to immediate use! Is there a good "everyday" (for lack of a better word) carrier that you would recommend? Also, do you have any knowledge of oils that balance the doshas? I am a pitta (dominate) with a bit of vatta thrown in for good spacy fun! I'm just guessing that a "cooling" oil would be best for a pitta. Any suggestions? And thank you, also, for sharing a trusted vendor with me (and all of us!).

two hands together
_/|\_
steph

__________________
"I wasn't going to spend my life doing what had already been done." - Georgia O'Keeffe
"Find out who you are and do it on purpose." - Dolly Parton