Aromatherapy for New Year’s Resolutions

We are at the start of a new year: a time of reflection and forward looking, a time of release and renewal. Each New Year’s eve we assess the past year’s positives and negatives and recommit to a new year’s set of resolutions. Often these are ones we have resolved to fulfill year after year…

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Cold Remedies with Essential Oils

When the cold and flu season is in full swing, here is a review some of the more important essential oils and how we can use them to combat those winter bugs! My first advice is to keep your environment clean and free of germs. This can be easily done by burning an essential oil…

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Peppermint and the Holiday Season

Peppermint needs very little introduction since it is one of the most popular essences that we use in daily life. From the moment we awake and brush our teeth, mint is a part of our routines – we use it in mouthwashes, shampoos, soaps, lotions, in our teas, in cooking and in our health care.…

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Recuperating After the Holidays

The festive holiday season is over and many of us are breathing a big sigh of relief. Memories of over-shopping, over-eating, late nights, too much partying and over-taxation of inner resources have hopefully been put away with the Christmas ornaments. January is a time when we feel a deep need to settle into our proverbial…

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Seasonal Addictions

The season from Halloween through New Year’s Eve seems to be an addictive time of year. We first start with a sugar high from nibbling the left over Halloween candy, which when it’s gone usually leaves us in a sugar slump and depression, making us want more candy for that high again. Fall football games…

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Aphrodisiacs

Cards, roses, jewelry, hearts, candy, secret admirers—yes, love is in the air again thanks to St. Valentine. So, in honor of this time, I thought it would be fun to explore in more detail the oils that are considered to have aphrodisiac properties. After all, we want to be “in the mood for love” on…

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Oils for Common Complaints

An easy resource to find suggested oils for many common complaints, catagorized by the condition or disease. These oils, depending on the ailment, can be burned in an aroma lamp, mixed in a carrier oil and applied, or put in a bowl of hot water and inhaled. Normally essential oils are too potent to be…

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Top, Middle and Base Notes in Aromatherapy

In all my articles, I suggest which oils to use. I would like to now share with you how to blend the different oils to make a balanced and complete recipe for massage. Essential oils are broken down into three main categories when used for aromatherapy treatments. They are top notes, middle notes and base…

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Sweet Basil

Every spring I plant fresh basil in my herb garden so I can enjoy a summer of pesto sauces over my pasta dishes. Sweet basil is an easy herb to grow in this climate and has many uses, not only in cooking, but therapeutic as well. Originally grown around the Mediterranean, _ocimum basilicum_, is steam…

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Late Summer – Stomach and Spleen

It is late summer and the Chinese believe that now the Earth Element, which is comprised of the *Stomach* (yang organ) and *Spleen* (yin organ) meridians, is highlighted.  Late summer falls somewhere midway between June 21st and September 21; the solstice and the equinox. From what I understand, this season is more of a feeling…

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