If you were stranded on a desert island and could only have three essential oils, which ones would you choose? Every oil has multiple benefits, and if you spread that across all of the oils available, well, the choice can be a bit overwhelming! There's an old saying in the herbalist community that goes something like: The best herb to use for what you have is the same herb that you happen to have. That might not sound like completely useful advice, but it isn't that far from the truth. Natural therapies that are based on botanicals rely on the synergistic action of the multitude of constituents that the herb or, in this case, the essential oil contains. Often the body seems to hone in on the constituent/benefit that it needs. This phenomenon has led to many herbs/oils being described as adaptagenic in their action.
The two most sought after benefits that essential oils provide to the practice of aromatherapy are calming/ relaxing and uplifting/ energizing. It seems that we are always either too tense or too tired. A third very important benefit is purifying/ cleansing. Like it or not, in this age of flu pandemics and super bugs, it's important to be something of a germaphobe.
There are many different oils that provide the benefits of calm, energy and purity, so choosing the best three is a rather arbitrary exercise. After you focus in on a particular desired benefit, it's mainly a matter of which oils providing those benefits you find most appealing aromatically.
 Here are some easy ways to achieve the three key benefits we've discussed:
CALMING ESSENTIAL OILS
Lavender, chamomile, jasmine, geranium, clary sage, rose
EASY CALMING APPLICATION
Place 3 to 5 drops of a calming essential oil on your pillow before bedtime.
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ENERGIZING ESSENTIAL OILS
Peppermint, lemon, rosemary, spearmint, ginger, lavandin
EASY ENERGIZING APPLICATION
Place 1 to 2 drops of an energizing essential oil in the palm of one hand. Rub palms together briefly and cup hands over face and inhale. Instant invigoration!
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PURIFYING ESSENTIAL OILS
Tea tree, eucalyptus, thyme, spike lavender, camphor
EASY PURIFYING APPLICATION
Create your own natural cleansing wipes:
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol
12 drops of two or more purifying essential oils
Blend ingredients together in a small measuring cup. Individually stack and fold up to 24 paper towels. Saturate the paper towels with the mixture and store in a small, heavy duty zip lock type freezer bag. Retrieve them one at a time and use them as hand wipes.
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With all these good candidates, choosing the "top" oils is basically a matter of personal preference — what works best for each of us as an individual and which aromas we prefer. For the majority, the choices seem to be lavender for calming, peppermint for energizing, and tea tree for purifying. Experiment and see if you agree. |
Bergamot
