Thinking Holistic Health
To me living a well life is multifaceted. Being a Nutritionist means I used to put a lot of emphasis on food and it being the be all and end all to health. But a little time and a lot more life experience (hello Motherhood) has taught me that good health and being ‘well’ is actually a complex mix of interplaying pieces. The old adage goes, the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts: and I know now that this is true, it definitely takes more than just one thing to be healthy.
Part of my adventure into holistic health led me down a rabbit hole of our personal care products and how toxic they can be. I resorted to looking up ways to DIY these items so that I could be 100% sure what I was putting on and into my body. That’s where essential oils came in. It seemed that I could find everything I needed to truly make my own personal care products using just essential oils and a few 'carriers’. Well hallelujah!
As the time went on I began finding other ways essential oils could be of use, take my candle addiction for example. I’ve always been obsessed with pretty smells and so candles lit up my entire house. Then I came across research that linked candle use with Alzheimer’s and the artificial fragrance that made that smell (pretty much in anything that smells ‘nice’, like the cleaning aisle of the supermarket) with allergies, asthma and some cancers. Clearly the candles had to go but so came in my diffusers and oils. Beautiful smells AND health bonuses rolled into one!
These days essential oils play an integral role in my health equation. Multiple times a day as a family we’re using them to change our moods, smell beautiful, clean our home, boost our immune systems, solve skin issues, and as a healthcare tool we use oils BEFORE we turn to a pharmaceutical making drugs and man-made medicines always our last resort. And it feels amazing. As a Mum I’m sure you can understand how empowering being able to look after my family’s wellbeing without the use of harmful medicines is. I’m not saying they don’t have a time and a place, I just don’t want it to be in our everyday world. And using oils is such a perfect tool for this because they’re safe, they’re natural and they’re effective.
Why doTERRA?
I hadn’t even heard of doTERRA back when I originally started using oils and I remember having to spend hours trying to find essential oils that were 100% what it said it was on the label. Coz that’s the thing about the essential oil industry, there’s no regulation. So unlike food where you can turn to the back of a package and be assured of what exactly is contained inside, there is no compulsory labelling for these little bottles. And that worried me.
Because even back then before I knew so much about the dangers of man-made and adultered products my alarm bells were ringing. Why was it that I could buy ‘Rose oil’ from one place for $20 whereas others a 2mL bottle was closer to $100. Why did some places offer scents like ‘Frangipane’ and others tell me this essential oil is impossible to get from nature (therefore it had to be man made). It just didn’t sit right. So I looked and looked until I found oils that I knew could be trusted. They had transparent practices from farm to bottle assuring me that what was in the bottle was exactly as written on the label. They had a price point which I knew (and could check) to be fair to all involved along the process meaning people were getting empowered on both sides of the bottle: workers and users. And as a bonus, they were a from a company who like me, had a passion for giving back and helping others.
Enter doTERRA. It was love at first sniff.
Fast forward a couple of years and my love for essential oils has grown and now I love and know their value so much that I want to share them with the world. I pretty much want to scream from the rooftop of the tallest building HAVE YOU TRIED PURE ESSENTIAL OILS YET?! But I know that had I heard that even 10 years ago I would have scoffed at the claims. You’re just not ready until your ready. So what about you?
Ready to get started? You can get your plant magic (oils) as well as support from yours truly on best practice for using them AND join our community of likeminded Well Mamas all on my ‘Shop’ page!
