New Ways to Keep Us Healthy During Cold & Flu Season!

 My latest venture has been an oily one.  I know that sounds weird, but I'm talking specifically about essential oils through Young Living.  I have always believed in the power of these oils as I believe in more natural remedies as opposed to using mostly/solely pharmaceutical help.  Don't get me wrong; modern medicine is semi-miraculous! But, I'm just not a fan of putting a ton of chemicals into my body that can have side effects.

Over the past couple of years, I have been watching from the sidelines and just dipping my toe into the essential oil "pool" by buying two oils to try: Lavender, great for relaxation and sleep among other things, and Thieves, which is a blend that does wonders for immune system support and is a great, natural cleaning agent.

Fast forward to this past fall, and I finally got to my first Intro to oils class. I was pretty overwhelmed at first because there are so many different oils and uses for each one. 

But I decided I needed this in my life because we have a lot of respiratory illnesses, some environmental allergies, and the desire to improve our overall wellness.  So after much discussion with Hubs, we bought the premium starter kit and got diffusing! 

After a few months of using oils on a daily basis, here are some of my favorite uses:

**Disclaimer: These are just my experiences, not anything official from Young Living or any other company. I'm just sharing what I've liked my oils for so far.

Good for allergies - Diffuse 6-8 drops of each: Peppermint, Lemon, and Lavender

Sinus problems/headaches - Apply 1-2 drops of Peppermint to temples (Some skin sensitivity may occur so try out small amounts until you know how it affects you) 

Cold sores - 1-2 drops of Peppermint oil applied directly to cold sore (I've also found that vanilla extract applied to the sore will dramatically reduce the length of time the cold sore sticks around)

Ear aches - 1-2 drops of Lavender behind the ear (promotes drainage)

Cleaning/keep away cold/flu - THIEVES oil - for cleaning, you should buy the Thieves cleaner or as an alternative, you can make your own mixture using 10-15 drops of Thieves, 1 tsp of witch hazel, and fill the rest of the spray bottle with distilled water.  Or you can diffuse Thieves by itself (Lemon is one of the oils that makes up Thieves, but it gives an overall spicy/cinnamon-ish scent).

Getting rid of stinky smells - Diffuse 8-10 drops of PURIFICATION, which is a blend of Lemongrass, Citronella, Rosemary, Lavandin, Myrtle, and Melaleuca oils.  I like it to freshen up my home, knowing I'm not spraying any Lysol or other harsh chemicals in the air for us to breathe. 

Pictured below is a combo I used recently that I really like. It's Lemon and R.C., which is a blend oil that is good for providing support to your respiratory system, because like I said, we have some issues up in here!  We like to diffuse it and hubs slathers it on his chest before bed each night to help him breathe while he's sleeping.

I've gone to and hosted a couple other classes since then and I feel like I learn something new every time I go to another class. Do you use essential oils? I would love to hear some of your favorite uses!!