Why are essential oils helpful in mitigating cold and flu symptoms? Essential oils contain powerful phenolic compounds that clean receptor sites enabling better cellular communication. My friend Mer calls phenolic compounds “scrubbing bubbles”.

Better cellular communication means that your body will be at the optimal place to fight outside invaders – bacteria and viruses.

My seventeen year old son started to feel sick yesterday. He has Down syndrome so I am always very careful on how I approach his health. He had a fever, headache and his stomach hurt. My guess was he had either a stomach bug or the flu.

The first thing I did was make up a capsule of Thieves (a YLTG blend containing Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon bark, Eucalyptus Radiata & Rosemary – based on research for a protective blend used by thieves during the Black Plague), Oregano and Frankincense. When sick, he takes this capsule three times a day. It works wonders.

Next I put three drops of Melaleuca Alternifolia (Tea Tree) oil on each foot Then I added 3 drops of Peppermint oil to each foot. I have been very successful with him using this combination to bring down fever. The Melaleuca is antimicrobial and antiseptic and the Peppermint oil is anti-inflammatory as well as cooling.

By the evening he was back to his usual self, listening to his IPod and watching television. I kept him home from school the next day since he did have a fever the day before but he really could have gone back as he was in perfect health. I am so grateful to have these wonderful tools!

Is there a cure for the common cold? Can you help your body strengthen itself against the flu? Yes!! By ingesting antiviral and antibacterial essential oils.

One caveat here – I use only YLTG oils as I know their purity and ingestibility. I would never ingest essential oils from a health food store – the only oils I would use are those where the bottle carries the FDA ingestion label.

For more information please visit my website www.bodyworker.us or send me an email.

Warmly,

Maria

This is where essential oils can play a tremendous part in helping the body regain homeostasis by cleaning receptor sites and restoring proper function.

The key to success in using essential oils is consistency.  Essential oils work with the natural processes of the body to enhance and supplement the flow of hormones and initiation of vital signals.  Since essential oils do not override the bodies natural hormonal systems, consistent application over a 90 day period is necessary to achieve optimal results.

I teach a technique called Raindrop – where you put essential oils on the feet and drop them along the spine pathway like drops of rain.  A man came to one of my classes that has MS.  He came with a friend so that they both could learn the technique and facilitate it on each other. I will call him J.

J told me this story: from the MS, J’s functionality had deteriorated to the point where he was in a wheelchair. He worked a day job and was picked up by a door to door bus service when he needed to.  J learned about the healing powers of essential oils and Raindrop Technique.  J started getting weekly Raindrop sessions and as he did he found his condition improving to the point where he was able to get out of the wheelchair and use a cane to walk.

One day J called for the door to door bus service after not having used it in a while.  The bus driver knew J as he serviced the same route everyday.  When the driver arrived and saw J standing there he opened the door and said “I’m here to pick up J – do you know where he is?”  The driver was astonished that this person, now standing and walking on his own was J.  The two people who came to my class were J and his bus driver!

This is J’s story and it may not translate to your story, but I have witnessed so many stories similar to this that it cannot be coincidence.  This is the power of consistently applying the healing properties of essential oils that have the ability to restore and maintain proper body function.

If you would like more information on Raindrop technique or would like to learn more about using essential oils in your practice or for your family please feel free to email or call me.

In love & light,

Maria G. Turchi, NCBTMB, AMTA

Certified CARE Instructor

www.bodyworker.us

Essential Oils have anti-inflammatory properties which have the ability to not only reduce chronic inflammation, but also to eliminate it entirely.  You can apply essential oils topically, inhale them, or take them internally all with the same benefit.

When applying oils topically, I prefer to put them on the feet since this method will carry the oils through the entire body.

When taking oils internally, please be sure to check the label for either the FDA ingestion label or information on the bottle that indicates dosage.  Never eat an oil that says for external use only.

I personally would not use any oil that is not ingestible as essential oils have small molecules that pass through the skins protective outer layers and travel deep into the underlying tissues eventually reaching the blood system.

For more information on essential oils, please visit my website: www.bodyworker.us

Happy Oiling!

Maria

So what essential oils work to remove blockages on the emotional pathways?  I like working with blends that are made specifically for this purpose.  My favorite blend, and one I use extensively in my practice, is called Release.  Very simple – it facilities release of emotions.  It contains Ylang Ylang – which balances male & female energies; Lavandin – which helps to regenerate tissue; Geranium – helps to release negative memories; Sandalwood- a powerful oil high in sesquiterpines which cross the blood brain barrier and may help remove negative programming in cells and Blue Tansy – helps cleanse the liver and lymphatic system which emotionally contain anger and negative emotions.

I also love a blend called Inner Child which helps to reconnect with the inner-self or identity sometimes lost through an abusive childhood.

One technique I use for emotional release is Raindrop technique (dropping oils along the feet and spine pathway) using oils that facilitate emotional release.  This treatment can be very effective in helping to open up and release deeply stored emotions.

The first step in removing emotional blockages is the willingness to let go of them.  Sometimes these blockages serve us and we don’t want to let go.  But when you are ready,  there will be the solution.  As a practitioner, I facilitate the release but cannot make this occur.  It is entirely up to you to acknowledge and release that which is preventing you from moving past what holds you back and into the bright, open future.

For more information on these blends, raindrop technique (I also teach this method) or any questions, please feel free to email me:

maria @bodyworker.us or visit my website:  www.bodyworker.us

Love, Light & a Joyful New Year,

Maria

In nature nothing is stagnant – it is constantly evolving and perfecting itself. The constituents of the essential oil that give it the cherished antiseptic/antiviral propeties are also evolving making it easy to see how an essential oil would be able to kill these mutating bacteria & viruses. 

What wonderful tools we have in essential oils that through daily application and use we may be able to protect our health.  I personally use a blend called Thieves (also mentioned in the NYT article) that contains: Clove, Cinnamon, Lemon, Eucalyptus Radiata & Rosemary. This recipe (with lemon added) goes back to the Middle Ages where thieves would rob plauge riddled dead bodies and not get sick by protecting themselves with aromatics.   

So my choices are:  I can be injected with a  vaccine that has known side effects and unknown results;  hope I don’t get sick from those around me;  or use essential oils everyday which have the ability to protect my health naturally and safely.

My choice?  I guess you alreday know what it is.  What is your choice going to be?

Warmly,

Maria G. Turchi, NCTMB,
Certified Raindrop Practitioner
Certified CARE (Center For Aromatherapy & Reseach & Education) Instructor

We live in an age of Science as Religion. In the past the healer’s were the Shaman’s, Priests, and Elders.  These healer’s had a spiritual connection that enabled them to connect to the healing power of Source Energy, God, Omnipresent Power or whatever else you call the power behind your breath.

Now we get all excited when a study comes out that verifies lavender is relaxing.  OK – we already know this.  What has happened here?  The pharmaceutical companies have hijacked healing and today’s doctors have no sense of the spiritual root of illness.  Yes, some of the pharmaceutical products may be helpful but they are so harmful that studies need to be done to ascertain side effects – a funny term in my opinion because they are all DIRECT effects – so everyone feels safe about having their liver impacted to help alleviate their acne.

I refuse to buy into this mentality.  When people ask me how it works I ask them how does your skin heal when you have a cut?  Yes, there are the mechanics of the body we can see with the white blood cells but what is powering that process?

So what makes lavender relaxing, orange calming and helichrisum healing?  It is no different.  Do I need scientific studies to tell me so?  I’m sure you can guess the answer. 

Warmly,

Maria

First off, what is about smell?  Our sense of smell is the only one of our senses that is not interpreted by local receptors for processing by the brain.  Smell goes directly into the limbic part of the brain where emotions are stored. 

Second, what about application on the body?  There are patches that people use for pain, contraception control and deep heat. How does application work and what is it’s role in aromaTHERAPY?

For a massage therapist your tools are your hands.  When you include aromatherapy your tools are the essential oils.  The term aromatherapy was created to encompass two aspects of essential oils – aroma – which is emotionally based and - therapy – which is body based.  Therefore, essential oils – the tools used in aromatherapy - work on the psychosomatic network; a network that encompasses emotional and physical.

I am a teacher for The Center for Aromatherapy Research and Education.  I teach from a French aromatherapy perspective and my students are always enpowerd by the knowledge that essential oils are tools used to facilitate healing as the client calls their healing to them.  Essential oils are tools – the therapist is the educator and facilitator.

The most important part of a tool is the tool itself.  Are the oils pure?  A way to check is that oils that should be ingestible, such as lavender, lemon and peppermint are ingestible on the label.  Second, know your supplier.  Email them, call them, ask them how are the oils made?  Are they distilled slowly with low pressure?  Are they grown with intention and purity; no pesticides, pure water, pure air?

Start out with yourself.  Try different blends – I use one called PanAway that is wonderful for any deep joint pain.  Try different combinations – I love using Lemongrass and Idaho Balsam Fir together for ligaments and sprains.  But please, try something.  You will open yourself up to a wonderful healing world that is so simple to do yet so rewarding.

Warmly,

Maria

If I just diffuse an essential oil does it matter what grade I use?  The answer is yes, if you want to receive the benefit of the essential oil.  Can something that smells good but is not pure make you feel good?  Sure. Think of cookies baking. They smell mighty good and can induce an emotional response but don’t you want more for yourself and your clients than a temporary response?  

Most often, the essential oils found in spas and at essential oil retailers are Grade A (even if they say therapeutic grade on the bottle) which means they are manipulated to a standard. Any oil that is produced to smell the same from one bottle to the next is manipulated to meet the standard of smell.  Nature does not adhere to this standard.  A true therapeutic grade oil will have a different smell each time it is produced due to variations in soil conditions, weather, and other natural factors.  What will remain the same is the therapeutic indicators which must be tested to insure purity and quality.

By diffusing a true therapeutic grade oil you will bring the whole property of the oil in the olfactory (the seat of emotions), and into the lungs where they can circulate through the body and continue their work at a deeper cellular level. 

I began using essential oils by diffusing them at night for my son’s chronic sinus infections.  He would breathe in the oils for hours, and due to the anti-inflammatory action of the oils, his tissues began to heal.  I also diffused oils that were able to clean receptor sites, allowing cellular communication to become optimized. Through the process of diffusing the therapeutic grade oils as well as topical application, he was able to not only sleep through the night, but eventually be free of the infections. This is the power of choosing the right grade of oil to work with!

These types of articles really get to me because they are so off the mark.  Most cologne does not contain natural scents and are actually toxic pollutants.  If you look at the list of ingredients – such as Diethyl Phthalate, a solvent which is a carcinogen, mimics hormones thus blocking receptor sites from real hormone acceptance, and can cause disruptions to the Central Nervous System, how could you ever recommend someone use it for depression?  This is just one of the ingredients – imagine the synergistic soup when you combine all the other synthetic fragrances and solvents.

It’s great to get on the Aromatherapy bandwagon.  But first let’s get a grasp on what aromatherapy really is before we go endorsing products that supposedly are healing or helpful.  True Aromatherapy can only be achieved when the “therapy” outweighs the “aroma”.  What this means is that you have to start from the point of using pure, unadulterated, unaltered, unrefined, meticulously sourced, grown, and processed plant material.

It is true that citrus scents are wonderful for depression. But in fact citrus scents are not distilled like essential oils, but pressed from the rind.  What if you press a lemon that was grown with pesticides, near a highway with toxic emissions, or watered with fluoridated and other toxic water borne substances?  Is this therapeutic? 

So, if you buy your citrus scent from a vendor that cannot tell you how it was grown, picked, and processed would you still think it contains all of the therapeutics inherent in the nature giving plant?  You cannot assume this to be true.

To be educated on anything that you are going to use with an expected therapeutic intent is the best thing you can do for yourself, and if you use oils on others, for your clients.  Ask the questions of the suppliers.  Demand the highest quality and only purchase the highest quality.   Some oils are labeled therapeutic-grade but are in fact perfume grade.  There are no labeling laws in the US so suppliers can call their oil grade anything they want.

That $9.00 bottle of lavender is cheaper than a true therapeutic-grade lavender for a reason.  It’s time to find out why.

Love my oils,

Maria

The question is will using essential oils help someone with autism?

Essential oils contain powerful constituents that can clean out receptor sites that contain agents that block the body from performing natural hormonal functions. These constituents can help detox the body and regulate proper signals to and from the brain and various organs.

In addition, stimulation of the limbic brain through inhalation of essential oils may help to open up the emotional and hormonal centers in the brain, leading to clearer thinking and greater concentration.

In my practice I have found that using essential oils in combination with massage are very beneficial for autism as well as other neurological disabilities.  Essential oils induce emotional responses through their ability to directly access  the limbic brain, as well as their vibrational frequencies that work energetically on the whole being.  This is a potent combination that can sooth, relax, restore self love and self confidence.

People with autism can tend to be touch adverse, but when you present an oil for them to smell or hold this creates an atmosphere of trust and playfulness. From this base of trust you can then introduce touch, very gently by massaging the feet or hands.  I put the oil in the persons hand and then take their hand and have them rub it on their feet.  The feet carry the oil through the body providing a wonderful therapeutic effect.

Emotional factors are very evident in people with autism and other disabilities. Working with essential oils that can deliver emotionally healing properties as a lead in to whatever other work you would like to do is not only rewarding for the practitioner, but can be life changing for the recipient as well.

The essential oils used must always be pure, unadulterated, unaltered, therapeutic-grade.  I use only Young Living Essential Oils in my practice.  Please visit my website:  http://www.bodyworker.us   for more information.

Warmly,

Maria