Yoga practitioners are often also very interested in natural health and natural medicines. Use of essential oils as healing tools is considered an entire branch of natural medicine unto itself, and oils offer the yoga practitioner an incredible diversity of both practical and esoteric health effects. In part one of this article, we looked at using essential oils for healing injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments. Here, we’ll investigate the use of essential oils for immune support, as well as a little detoxification, for the yoga practitioner.
During the coming months, it’s likely you’ll be in class with someone who’s got a cold, or perhaps traveling, or maybe you have children who seem to have a propensity for bringing home a little bug for you. Unless you’ve managed to become an ascetic, you’ll be exposed to some sort of infectious illness. Which not only puts a damper on your yoga practice, it kinda puts a damper on your life. Essential oils happen to be perhaps the most remarkable immune system supporters to prevent catching colds and flu available today. They’re strongly antibacterial and antiviral, they stimulate immune system function, and are well-tolerated by most people. And they’re really ease — and even fun — to use.
For potent cold and flu prevention, essential oils can be either inhaled, topically applied, or both. The most effective means of all would be to have a diffuser running in your home, with anti-microbial, immune-supportive oils. Run the diffuser on a timer (5-10 minutes every hour) or continuously on its lowest setting, all the hours you and your family are at home. Inhalation of certain essential oils (narrow-leaf eucalyptus, for example) has been scientifically validated to step up the activity of immune cells in your bloodstream, and essential oil vapor has been proven to eradicate microbes both in the air and on surfaces in the same space. You can imagine that these activities can synergize for profound protection from colds and flu.
When using a diffuser isn’t practical, or you want to supplement diffuser use, apply oils topically as well. This can be as simple as applying a couple drops to each wrist, rubbing them together, then rubbing them on your neck and chest. Do this a few times a day. Essential oils are rapidly absorbed through the skin, and will be distributed throughout your bloodstream in this way. If you’d do even more, massage your feet and/or use the oils in a bath. Please note: while many people have no problem with using a few drops of essential oil undiluted in this manner, some with more sensitive skin will absolutely need to dilute the oils in a carrier. Also, be sure to avoid topical application of “hot” oils such as cinnamon or oregano — they’re not really the best for our purposes anyway.
Out of the 100 or so essential oils commonly in use today, which will offer you the most support? Research and wisdom points to a particular few: laurel leaf, pine needle, melissa, eucalyptus and lavender. Combining these oils can produce a potent, wonderful smelling synergy of protection from infectious illness. You can use equal parts of all if you like; if you find the melissa to be cost-prohibitive, simply use about 1/10th as much as the others — even a few drops of it can help boost the formula’s efficacy.
For additional support, consider using a little lemon essential oil in your water. Lemon has excellent purifying properties, both for the water and our bodies. One can add 5 or so drops of oil to each quart of water and drink throughout the day, or do an “intensive” and have this same amount of essential oil in a cup of water first thing in the morning. This can synergize with the other immune supportive practices for a greater overall amount of protection from infectious illness.
Addressing immunity from a more esoteric perspective, one can use the more energetic-based practices of aromatherapy. Frankincense essential oil is considered the number one “immuno-stimulant” by Salvatore Battaglia in “The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy”. Frankincense has been shown to have numerous positive health benefits, from cancer prevention to inflammation reduction. Energetically, it can create balance for the mind/body complex. One drop rubbed between the wrists is a simple way to use this wonderful oil — or get creative and integrate its use into other practices. Frankincense “neat” can be a little strong for the skin, so if using more than a drop, consider using a carrier.
This quick overview of using essential oils for immune support can give the yoga practitioner some excellent ideas. If one or more of these feels right for you, you might consider investigating a little further — there’s lots of information available for this particular application of aromatherapy. And consider sharing with your yoga family, as it’s a wonderful thing to share health and vibrancy with fellow practitioners!
The author is a consultant for Ananda Aromatherapy. Find more resources are available on aromatherapy supplies & essential oil formulas through the website.