April is Stress Awareness Month and according to stress statistics, 74% of adults have felt so stressed in the past year that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope. That’s a lot of people – and this month the Stress Management Society has a campaign around #littlebylittle to highlight the transformative impact of consistent, small positive actions, showing how smaller steps every day can really help. Essential oils can provide deep support for stress, so we wanted to boost these smaller actions with some soothing, calming aromatherapy blends to help you heal and relax.
In my worldview, stress is a big sign that we are disconnected from our bodies, which is important to recognize as the root cause; the more we can connect with ourselves, the better we will feel. So maybe this month you can work with essential oils and integrate these smaller actions into your life – and see what difference it makes. The idea is that we begin to lay the foundation for cultivating wellness, through embodiment.
Small actions for big changes
There are 6 ‘small changes’ that the Stress Management Society is focusing on, including:
- Connect with someone
- Prioritize sleep
- Move in your own way
- Spend time in nature
- Take a deep breath
- Practice mindfulness
Any of these things can easily be supplemented with essential oils to really bring calm to your cells. Essential oils are natural and literally change the chemistry of our bodies. That’s why we’ll focus on blends with oils that have calming or relaxing properties to help you live a more peaceful life this month.
Essential oils that embody relaxation
I often describe essential oils as ‘personalities’, and the types of oils that radiate peace and calm are as follows:
- Lavender – the calming oil
- Chamomile – the peaceful oil
- Bergamot – the relaxing oil
- Clary Sage – the euphoric, yet calming oil
- Sandalwood – the calming oil
- Sweet Orange – the cheerful, cheerful oil
- Lemon – the uplifting oil, which uplifts the spirit
- Rose – the gentle, soothing, caring oil
- Geranium – the balancing oil
- Ylang Ylang – the soothing oil that connects us to our desires
These essential oils will be central to the blends we’ve created to support the ‘small actions’ for this month (and beyond). My recommendation is: choose to implement some of these into your day as much as you feel manageable. Don’t just add these to your ‘to do’ list, but choose the tasks that suit your system well.
Aromatherapy blends to support your small actions
Here are our blend recommendations to support the small ways you can cultivate more inner peace this month.
Connecting with someone (and yourself)
The idea behind ‘connecting with someone’ is to create a sense of connection and community. I would suggest that even if you’re disconnected from anyone else, you can cultivate a practice of connecting more deeply with yourself, because when we feel lonely and disconnected, the deeper challenge is usually that of letting go of ourselves and our needs. have been let down.
I recommend practicing a “connection” ritual to connect with your body and cultivate a sense of calm. Here’s a mix for you:
Connection Self-massage: Mix 3 drops of Sweet Orange, 2 drops of Rose and 1 drop of Ylang Ylang in 15 ml of grapeseed oil and massage it into your skin all over your body, in the direction of your heart. As you do this, be in the contemplation below:
Check in and ask yourself:
- “How do I feel?”
- “What do I need?”
You can also choose to contact others after you have done this deeper self-connection massage.
Prioritize sleep
Ahh, sleep – the lack of it can cause deep stress in the body and mind. I would recommend creating some sort of nightly relaxation ritual for this. You could limit technology, create a clean environment, avoid caffeine – and then take a nice relaxing bath, for which I offer a mix here:
Bathing Sleeping ritual: About an hour before going to bed, mix 3 drops of lavender, 2 drops of clary sage and 1 drop of chamomile in 15 ml of bath oil or shower gel and mix into the warm running water of your bath. Turn off the lights and all technology, close the windows and inhale the scent of your bath, let yourself sink into the darkness and relax with the oils.
Notice the impact this small action (it doesn’t have to be a long bath) has on your ability to get more sleep.
Move in your own way
This one isn’t a prescribed ‘movement’, it’s about moving your body in a way that feels good to you – it could be free dancing, yoga, walking or something completely different. Whatever it is, get your body moving.
I recommend boosting your movement by diffusing this calming blend as you move:
Calming Movement Spread: Mix 3 drops of lemon, 2 drops of bergamot, and 1 drop of sandalwood in water in an electric aromatherapy diffuser or candle burner and allow yourself to inhale the aroma while doing some exercise (which can be as simple as putting on a song). and allow yourself to dance to it as you please).
Spend time in nature
I have always been in favor of getting out into nature. Fresh air and the natural world remind us of what it is to be alive. I recommend carrying a ‘sniff stick’ (aromatherapy inhaler) with essential oils, as follows:
Nature Sniffing Stick: Add 3 drops of your favorite oils (from the list above) to an aromatherapy inhaler. As you walk outside, sniff the stick to breathe in peace and tranquility. I would recommend Bergamot or Geranium, if you want a recipe.
Take a deep breath
Harnessing our breath is a hugely important way to create a sense of calm. I would recommend cultivating a habit of inhaling for a count of four and then exhaling for a count of eight, to bring some conscious relaxation into your body.
You can practice this for 5 minutes as follows, while diffusing some essential oils:
Breathing Mix: Mix 2 drops of Chamomile, 2 drops of Clary Sage and 2 drops of Sandalwood in water in an electric diffuser or candle burner and allow yourself to inhale the aroma while breathing deeper, more consciously for 5 minutes.
Notice how your body feels after this powerful exercise.
Practice mindfulness
You can practice this specific exercise no matter where you are or what you are doing, but the goal is to bring you into the present moment.
I encourage you to actively become more aware of the sensations in your body or the sounds around you, and simply notice the present moment in life.
You can also use the following mix and consciously create 5-minute mini mindfulness rituals throughout the day while you’re on the go:
Mini Mindfulness Ritual: Mix 2 drops of Lemon and 2 drops of Geranium in 10 ml of grapeseed oil and add to a Rollette bottle. Roll this mixture onto your pulse points whenever you notice yourself feeling stressed, using it as an anchor back to the present moment.
The idea of how to use this is to notice when you are stressed and apply the oil to your pulse points, then spend five minutes tuning into your surroundings – noticing the sights, smells, sounds and physical sensations that are around you, bringing you back to the present moment.
The invitation this month is to start incorporating some of these different practices and rituals into your daily routine. I encourage you to do this to celebrate and honor Stress Awareness Week, but also to truly embody a deeper sense of calm and peace for yourself.
Remember, there is no ‘right’ and ‘wrong’; it’s all about what you feel called to, so choose what you’re drawn to. What can happen as we start to integrate smaller changes is that we can also run into anxiety and perfectionism and beat ourselves up if we don’t achieve our “goal” for the day. So as you engage in these practices, remember to be gentle with yourself.
To enjoy.
Nicole Barton
Advisor Aromatherapist
Disclaimer and safety advice
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