Using Essential Oils to Elevate Your Practice
During your yoga practice you experience ups and downs, challenges and triumphs from day to day, week to week and month to month. The moon cycle can affect what happens on your yoga mat. Your mood affects the experience you have. The energy of a studio space or home and the people within it affect your practice, too. So what can you do to navigate and balance your flow.
A simple solution is essential oils. The right oils and blends can have a profound impact on you physically and mentally. They have the power to transform your body and mind. How you ask? Below you’ll find a few of our favourites and the essence of each one.
- Lavender
Calming, floral, soothing, tranquil and comforting. Great for meditation and relaxation.
Practical uses: Cleanses cuts, bruises and skin irritation. Improves brain function and sleep. Lavender is an extremely versatile oil.
- Grapefruit
Uplifting, invigorating and clarifying
Practical uses: Metabolism, stress-fighter, anti-inflammatory.
- Rose
Floral, sweet, aromatic and stimulates memory
Practical uses: Antidepressant, aphrodisiac, blood purifier.
- Geranium
Floral with a light citrus undertone
Practical uses: Promotes radiant skin, reduces inflammation, balances hormones and alleviates anxiety. Can be used as a natural deodorant.
- Peppermint
Invigorating, clarifying, stimulating and soothing.
Practical uses: Along with lavender it is one of the most versatile essential oils. Antimicrobial properties, oral care, anti-nausea, respiratory health, muscle relaxant and headache relief… peppermint is basically a cure-all!
- Ginger
Spicy, warming, woody and zesty
Practical uses: Digestive health, menstrual cramps, antibacterial, respiratory and heart health.
- Rosemary
Piney, woody, evergreen
Practical uses: Stimulates memory, soothes digestion, and relieves muscle aches & pains.
Three easy ways to use essential oils in your yoga practice:
Diffusing: Diffusers are fast becoming the most popular way to enjoy essential oils. As the water evaporates it turns into a fine mist that carries and delivers your essential oils into the air to create a lovely aromatic atmosphere. Great for your yoga studio, home or work. I have one on my desk and have it diffusing lavender most days. Many Oil companies also have their own brand of diffuser so you can pick up a kit and start enjoying it immediately.
Purifying: Essential oils are excellent as a household cleaner or for air purification. Our organic yoga mat cleaner is perfect for cleaning your studio (or home). We designed this cleaner to use on yoga mats but it’s also fantastic for disinfecting other props, surfaces and even toys. It’s food safe, kid safe and pet safe! A balanced blend of citrus, lavender and tea tree oil make this cleaner effective and aromatic. If you’d like to make your own home cleaner try using grapefruit or peppermint to help disinfect surfaces.
For purifying the air in a room try adding a few drops of your favourite essential oils to a spray bottle filled with water, shake well and start spritzing. By using a blend of citrus, woody/resinous and leafy/herbal, you’ll find the balance of all three to be complex and pleasing. A blend that we love is lemon, frankincense and eucalyptus. Spraying your personal blend in the room before a yoga class can create a comforting atmosphere for yourself and/or your students.
Anointing: Put a drop or two of your favourite essential oil blend or pure aroma on your wrists at the beginning of your yoga practice. It will help invigorate or calm you during your practice and promote effective prana (breath). Try our Uplift blend when practicing flow yoga and our Calm blend for restorative or Yin yoga and during savasana. The aroma from the oils can be quite powerful, please ensure that you truly enjoy the aroma before committing to it for your practice. I discovered that I liked the smell of bergamot but only in small doses so I use it in my room spray but not for yoga practice.
In a nutshell, essential oils are excellent for stimulating the mind, reducing stress and anxiety, cleansing the air and improving energy flow. We encourage you to use them in your daily practice and at home. If you have any questions or would like to try some of our Love My Mat essential oil blends please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help.
Love & Light
- Shelley