With the holidays behind you (and decorations neatly tucked away with fond memories), mid-winter is the perfect time to refresh and re-energize your environment — and your spirits. Here's how the clean, uplifting scents of citrus oils can help brighten your winter.

Tips to lighten your mood with citrus essential oils:

• Sprinkle 5 to 7 drops of sweet orange on shower floor in the morning.
• Use grapefruit and peppermint in a car diffuser.
• Keep a bottle of tangerine on your desk and inhale whenever you need to be uplifted.
• Diffuse a combination of lime, eucalyptus and tea tree to purify the air.
• Add lemon to household cleaning products.
• Use mandarin orange as a fresh, sexy personal essence.
• Diffuse bergamot and rosemary to inspire creativity.

Sunny Citrus Room Diffusion

5 drops lemon oil
3 drops grapefruit oil
2 drops lime oil

Directions: Combine oils with approximately ¼ cup water in a candle aromatherapy lamp. Diffuse whenever you need a little aromatic sunshine.

Motivating Workout & Purifying Gym Spray

4 ounces water
12 drops sweet orange oil
6 drops lemon oil
6 drops tea tree oil

Directions: Combine oils and water in a spray mister bottle. Shake vigorously and use as a motivating air freshener during workouts, or to lightly spray and wipe down athletic equipment before using.

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Aura Cacia will be at the San Franciso Yoga Journal Conference on January 12th-16th.

Charlynn Avery, Aura Cacia Aromatherapist and Educator will share a fun and interactive class that joins yoga with aromatherapy on the Saturday from 2:00pm - 3:00pm. Learn how essential oils can help bring balance to the chakras, the importance of purity and sustainability, and practical recipes to add to your yoga practice. She will also incorporate a guided aroma-meditation for the group. The first 50 people will receive a goody bag filled with Aura Cacia products.

ESSENTIAL OIL WEBINAR

Join us for a webinar on Essential Oils for the Winter Season with our own Tim Blakley on January 12th. Learn more.

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ESSENTIAL OIL OF THE MONTH

GRAPEFRUIT

Everybody appreciates the distinctive tangy, fresh aroma of grapefruit essential oil. Extracted from the fresh rind, the aroma is identical to what you get when you peel a fresh grapefruit. The aroma cheers and enlivens the spirit and tonifies and cleanses the skin. (Try it with pure water in a mist to tighten saggy skin and reduce puffiness.) In massage, grapefruit encourages circulation and the flow of vital energy throughout the body.

Grapefruit Lavender Sugar Scrub
This is a great wintertime treatment to remove dry dull skin and rejuvenate skin tone. Try it once weekly during the dry winter season.

24 drops lavender oil
24 drops grapefruit oil
¾ cup avocado oil
1 cup fine grain natural sugar

Mix essential oils with avocado oil, pour over sugar and stir. Apply to damp skin after using a gentle cleanser. Buff gently. Rinse with warm water and pat dry.

Grapefruit Tea Tree Foot Bath
Turn any down time in front of the TV or reading a book into a rejuvenating spa experience with this easy foot bath. A great purifying treatment, this will revitalize the whole body while softening calloused heals and toes. Follow up with a foot scrub.

1/3 cup sea salt
12 drops grapefruit oil
6 drops tea tree oil
basin of very warm water

Sprinkle sea salt with oils and mix. Dissolve into basin of water and soak feet for 15 to 20 minutes.

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JANUARY FREE GIVEAWAY

Aura Cacia Lavender Body Wash FREE with every online order (while supply lasts)! Click here for details.

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