Essential Oil First Aid Kit

Here is a great list of essential oils that you can add to your first aid kit. I have given options so that you can choose your favourites. I have also colour coded where an individual oil appears more than once in the lists.

These oils are taken from Medicinal Essential Oils by Dr. Scott A. Johnson. I have only selected a few for each condition or use.

I have added a few doTERRA blends for specific purposes which contain the relevant oils listed as part of the blend.

Here is also the associated Facebook 'live' I did about this topic. I talk about making a kit for myself and one for my husband for when he is working in the woods.

If you want to ask me any questions about essential oils please get in touch.

If you want to be part of a channel where I post about essential oil facts but also other stuff then join me t.me/EssentiallyEvolving

Look after yourself. Don't forget the 'Deep blue'!!

Last week seemed tougher than previous weeks this year. Nothing major happened (although it was the anniversary of my Dad's Memorial / Thanksgiving service at York Minster) but I was aware that I was a little more tired than usual, a little less motivated, a little more distracted, etc and I was not taking the time to slow down or look after myself. There were signs and thoughts that were hinting that this was going to be a problem but I still ignored it.

I forgot to take my vitamins, omegas and cellular support pills; I wasn't quite so proactive with my emotional oils and my muscle rub (doTERRA's deep blue ointment), which keeps my back healthy, got misplaced. I usually apply it morning and night at the very least but I kept forgetting to find my tube and so didn't stick to my usual routine.

Fast forward to Friday and my back 'went'. I am standing straight in this photo and you can see that I am very wonky and my hips are out of alignment. 

This hasn't happened for at least 2 years (probably more) because I had been methodical with my essential oil use and other beneficial stuff for my body generally. It was so strange to be reminded of how awful this made me feel and I started out very annoyed with myself.

• How could I be so stupid to forget to use my muscle rub?
• Why didn't I just find the tube and put it where it needed to be?
• Why didn't I pay attention to the signs of my brain telling me, via my body, to slow down?

And various other questions! All valid but ultimately unhelpful. 

The problem is that once my back has gone into spasm it's a lot more difficult to get out of it. Prevention is definitely better than cure in this scenario. Once I have lost the ability to stand or walk safely it is problematic.

Luckily helping out a friend a week ago with some essential oils information meant that I found a helpful reference section in my Medicinal Essential Oils book. I looked up antispasmodic and found these 2 pages of oils that I could use and there were loads of them! I already knew about marjoram having used that before at any hint of back spasm issues. 

But how amazing that bergamot mint (from the doTERRA Spring Exclusives kit) had arrived that very morning. Are doTERRA wizards? How did they know? It was a sign to me and this little ray of hope turned my questions and mind chatter around.

How can I help myself now I am in this situation?
What can I do to support myself with my natural health solution knowledge and supplies?
What could I do now to pay attention to my brain's messages to slow down and find a positive in that?

And various other helpful questions! 

I even gave myself a target that if I couldn't fix this by Monday I would have to resort to going to the doctors and getting myself pills - which I hate and have made me feel shite in the past. This was very motivating and so with this in mind I got to action (in a very slow, deliberate, painful way!!!!)

1. I took my pills and set an alarm to remind myself to take them daily
2. I found my deep blue rub (3 tubes) and strategically placed them around the house (including one back on my chest of drawers for before bed and after waking application!) 
3. I used the deep blue rub and layered it with copaiba essential oil and my forgive / frankincense blend on my back
4. I took and then placed my antispasmodic oils on my chest of drawers - marjoram, bergamot mint, rosemary and a few others with capsules ready to take every 4 hours
5. I did some spinal twists to get my spine back in place
6. I had a hot bath and did some cold therapy too
7. I checked how my energy body was doing and found out what was going on in my lower chakras paying particular attention to my sacral chakra (something I do as part of my spiritual / energy / shamanic work)
8. I did some writing / journaling about what I found during my energy body scan and how I was feeling generally

I woke up Saturday morning and felt so much straighter.  I planned to use the antispasmodic oils and deep blue rub every few hours throughout the day which gave me a reason to move often throughout the day which was important for my back and for me to check my progress.

I could still feel the tension in my back. I was still worried so I added in some emotional oils on pulse points and I continued to journal my feelings, noted down this plan of action (and noted down some more antispasmodic oils) and had a plan for later in the day if things went in the right direction.

I have been walking most days at lunch with my DH who is working from home. Over the weekend we often do a longer walk or a bike ride but on Saturday I was concerned about any activity. My plan was to go for a walk if I could really feel that it would be ok for my back. Again this was a great motivator to use the oils, rest, look after myself and really tap into how my body was feeling and if it was realigning itself. 

I made it and it was so great to go out with DH, DS on a lovely late afternoon walk.

So my message to you is:

1. Make sure that your self care is foremost in your mind ALL THE TIME or at least most of the time
2. If your brain is telling you to remember to 
•     take your pills
•     use your essential oils
•     take a break
•     use whatever is your go-to thing to support your health and wellbeing, LISTEN TO YOURSELF
3. PAY ATTENTION if you are:
•     feeling a bit low 
•     a bit demotivated 
•     tired
•     feeling something that might be telling you to slow down
4. Take a BREAK when you need to and do something JOYFUL
5. Take a bath - do some hot / cold therapy 
6. 
   Go for a gentle walk - notice at least 3 things in nature
7. Lie on the floor with your feet and legs up against a wall and listen to some fab music
8. Check your chakras and see if anything is going awry (I can help with this if you want to know more)
9. Listen to your intuition or gut as to what you need to do
10. Be your own cheerleader for looking after yourself
11. Have some fun (like I did with Snapchat on my walk!)
    

If you want to know how to use essential oils, essential oil-infused supplements, energy body clearing or anything I have talked about here, please book a FREE spiritual / essential oil health check with me. I'm here to help you be the HERO of your HEALTH.

If you want to see what Kevin Hart thinks about doTERRA's Deep Blue rub watch here.

Alternative healing for dogs - stressed, separation anxiety, etc.

Shamanic Healing

As a shamanic practitioner, I believe that everything - people, animals, plants, stone, etc. - has a spirit or soul. 

When something happens to humans such as trauma, shock or even just stressful life circumstances, the soul can fragment and a bit of it can leave. This loss can be expressed through the physical body and mind, manifesting as such problems as illness, confusion, apathy or just feeling 'out of sorts'. 

This can also happen to pets if something traumatic happens like an animal attack, accident or even being affected by how their owner is feeling. Separation anxiety or a change in routine can make a dog feel great loss and result in troubling behaviour.

Shamanic healing can address the spiritual aspect of these issues whether in the animal or the owner. Animals are particularly responsive to shamanic healing because they live in their soul / spirit much more than we, as humans, do. They understand the spirit world intuitively even though they are very different from their wild cousins.

If you would like further information about how I can help you and your pet please book a free Spiritual Health Check call with me or contact me here. 

Essential Oils

Essential oils can also be used for pets and as their worlds often revolve around scent, aromatherapy can work really well.

Firstly though remember that animals tend to use their sense of smell of lot more than humans. For example, a dog's nose has 40 times more scent receptors than humans which means they are very sensitive to smells.

Secondly, there is a well-known phenomenon in animals where they self-medicate called zoopharmacognosy. This is where non-human animals select and ingest or topically apply mosses, lichen, grasses, plants, soils, clays, insects, etc when out and about. 

So when working with oils, self-selection is really important and diluting the oils is equally important. (Essential oils are diluted in carrier oils such as almond oil or fractionated coconut oil.)

Some oils that are great for stressed /  anxious dogs

Spikenard, lavender and turmeric are great oils to try with anxious dogs and the doTERRA blends Serenity, Balance and Peace can also be very supportive. 

If there are underlying health concerns or conditions that are causing issues with your dog then there are supplements and oils that can help with:

• digestive issues
• the cardiovascular system
• the liver, kidneys and urinary tract
• the nervous system 
• immune support 
• oral health

Dr Janet Roark is a licensed veterinarian who uses doTERRA oils with animals and there you can find out more here Using Essential Oils with Animals podcast (with transcript)

Please be aware I only use doTERRA oils (see below*) so cannot comment on any other blends or makes of oils.   

How do you use the oils - Self-Selection

There are various ways you can do this. 

1. Put an oil you feel drawn to in the diffuser and see what your dog does
2. Grab a bottle of essential oil. With the lid still on and the label hidden, offer your closed hand to the dog
3. Pick a bottle of essential oil, take the lid off and leave it near your dog 

With all these methods you are then watching for signs of positive body language such as:

• lots of lip-licking
• yawning
• coming and sitting in front of you
• nudging you etc 

You know what signs your pet gives you that are positive. If you see this sort of reaction then that is an acceptance of the oil. 

Please be aware there are essential oils that are not good to use with pets and that all essential oils are NOT the same. I only use doTERRA oils (see below*) so cannot comment on any other blends or makes of oils. I would strongly suggest that you buy some of the resources to help you feel more confident (see below **)

Dilution

The general dilution rule for canines is to mix one teaspoon of carrier oils with 2 drops of essential oil (or a 2% dilution). Obviously, if your dog is a smaller variety then dilute more. 

If diffusing essential oils then having a diffuser like the doTERRA Lumo diffuser with a 10-hour setting with intermittent time on/off is a great way to diffuse 3-5 drops of essential oil. There has to be a way for the pet to leave the room though.

Another way to affect animals is for the owner to wear the oils in diffuser jewellery or on the skin or clothes and the animal can benefit that way and you get a 2 for 1 benefit with your oils.

You could even add the diluted oils (15ml of almond or coconut oil with a drop of essential oil for example) on the dog lead before going for a walk or massage it down the spine from neck to the top of the tail if the dog needs to be calmed. 

If you would like further information about doTERRA oils please get in touch and we can have a chat. I am also more than happy to send you a sample to try with your pet before you buy. Contact me here or connect with me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/vckidd or via messenger here.

There are some great resources out there for you to find out more. 

Here are just a few:

PETS and essential oils - this is a 51-minute talk about using doTERRA oils with horses, dogs, cats and even rats!!

Pamphlet on using oils with cats & dogs - £8 written by Dr Janet Roark**

Leaflet on using essential oils with cats and dog - only £0.90** 

These pamphlets and leaflets have information about what oils to not use with dogs (and cats) so definitely worth the investment!

* I can only recommend doTERRA oils as I know that they are 100% pure from the tests that they undergo. To be labelled as pure however essential oil bottles only need to contain a small amount of the actual oil. doTERRA bottles all have a number on the bottom of the bottle where you can go to sourcetoyou.com and see all the tests that that oil passed to be put in that bottle. All essential oils are not the same.

The positives of having a cold

Seriously, is there a positive to having a nasty cold?

When you are experiencing it sometimes it feels not.

However, I thought I would turn those feelings on their head and see where I ended up!!

Here goes........................

I have tried really hard, and quite successfully until this last weekend, to NOT get a cold. It is the season to be coming down with something at the moment whether it be a cold, stomach flu, etc.

My dh got the horrid cold last week and I still managed to avoid it. I am generally a healthy person and having recently started using essential oils (EOs) via doTERRA, I have found diffusing their protective blend, drinking lots of water with their lemon oil to alkalise my body, as well as other things, has greatly improved mine (and my family's) health.

The irony is that because I was preparing for my first outing as a doTERRA wellness advocate, some of these routines went by the wayside: I was going to Wakefield Vegan Festival to share oils and hopefully empower others to look after themselves with EOs as part of their health regimen and I was forgetting to take that advice myself.

How often does that happen?


Anyway ,Sunday came and so did a cold - straight to my throat. I was so annoyed because I find it SO MUCH EASIER to prevent an illness than GET RID of it once I have it. Also ,I have no tonsils (they were removed on my 19th birthday!!) so anything that goes to my throat makes me very annoyed as it brings back memories of many, many attacks of tonsillitis but also it tends to then go to my chest.

So how to get rid of a sore throat and not have my infection go to my chest?

I am relatively new to using essential oils but I have some great books I bought from Essentoils and there is also a wealth of information out there from other EO people via Instragram, etc.

I ended up with this combination:
1. Lots of water with lemon and peppermint.
2. Healthy snacks like apple with On Guard oil (wild orange peel, clove bud, cinnamon leaf, cinnamon bark, eucalyptus leaf and rosemary) diluted with coconut oil.
3. And then other oils to combat the illness internally.




That stopped the sore throat in its tracks - SUCCESS. Now I just have a runny nose which will pass in time if I keep looking after myself.

However, it hasn't all been about EOs. They are foremost in my mind because as a geek I like to try and see what works but also the best way for me to try and share the oils with others is to practice what I preach. However, I also took the opportunity to clear my decks of everything that I could this week and take some time for myself.

I am a person who does a lot of stuff (by choice) but I do forget sometimes that the energy required to have a full life also requires time to just be.

It has been great to rest, do some shamanic journeys, use my oils in new ways, read a new book, re-read an old book, mind-map ideas, listen to webinars, do a bit of planning for the future and write this blog post.

So maybe it wasn't just my 'not looking after myself' that meant I ended up ill. Maybe, as we all do, I needed the excuse to slow down and take some time out. However, in the future I am going to try to:

1. remember to plan taking time out
2. remember my daily health routine
3. NOT get ill

If I fail again though, I will count it as a blessing and take the time to slow down, reconnect with myself, sleep and dream.