How many times have you sat down in the evening and thought about all the things that you should be doing? You’re exhausted after a day of work and looking after the kids, and yet you feel like somehow you have to find the energy to get up and start cleaning, making packed lunches, and start doing the dishes. If you’re anything like me, you may have forgotten how to sit back and relax. That’s okay – life is chaotic – especially at the moment, however, it’s important to look after your physical and emotional wellbeing as much as possible, ideally as part of your daily routine.
Using essential oils to help create feelings of calm and contentedness is a natural, safe way to bring yourself back down to earth and rebalance yourself. It is okay to sit down and relax. You don’t need to live a life that is all stress, and no rest. Resting – doing nothing, except relaxing – is, in itself, an act of self-care.
Using essential oils to create a calming, relaxing atmosphere.
I’ve put together this list of essential oils that aid relaxation, emotional happiness, and feelings of content that I hope will encourage you to take a step back and enjoy a few moments of peace and tranquillity as often as possible. The most common way to use essential oils is to inhale them via a diffuser or humidifier, though you can also inhale straight from the bottle. Essential oils can also be diluted with carrier oils and applied directly to the skin.
Spearmint
Spearmint may not be the type of essential oil scent you were expecting, but this is an extremely stimulating scent that helps to relax your respiratory and nervous systems. Spearmint is especially useful when you have had an extremely busy, non-stop day. It can help you to slow your breathing, take deeper breaths, and relax your entire body. Spearmint is also a particularly useful essential oil to use when you’re experiencing some emotional struggles as it can help release emotional blocks and bring balance back to your life.
Lavender
Lavender is the queen of scents and is used to help create a relaxing, stress-free environment that helps even the busiest of minds to relax. Using lavender in your oil diffuser is a great place to start when experimenting with essential oils as it has been linked to so many benefits, including reduced anxiety and better sleep.
Ylang Ylang
Ylang Ylang is another of the ‘must-have’ essential oils to use within your home. Covering all your bases, from stress relief to lowing blood pressure, therefore helping you to create a calming place to rebalance yourself within, ylang ylang is a staple in many essential oil users’ homes. The scent is floral but it isn’t overpowering, making it an ideal essential oil to mix with other scents for a more intense effect.
Cedarwood
Cedarwood possesses sedative properties that help reduce anxiety and stress, as well as helping you to catch up on some restful sleep. Relaxation can be hard for some when we experience physical symptoms such as aches and pains, thankfully cedarwood oil is known to have anti-inflammatory agents that help to reduce stiffness and muscle ache.
Bitter Orange
Bitter orange is an essential oil scent that offers a lot of health benefits to those who use it within their homes. Most notably, studies have shown that bitter orange essential oil can reduce anxiety – but that’s not all. The studies indicate that some users who have suffered anxiety for dental visits were less anxious than those who listened to calming music and other relaxation techniques. This shows that bitter orange essential oil has a truly relaxing, therapeutic effect on those who inhale it, making it a particularly valuable oil for anxiety sufferers.
