Do you ever have one of those days where everything seems to be going wrong?  A day when you drop the fruit bowl, step on the dog’s tail, stub your toe getting into the shower, pour boiling water from the kettle down the front of you…… no? Just me? 

I had one of those days yesterday and I honestly thought of hopping back into bed and starting over, or maybe not starting over. Maybe just getting under the covers and hibernating for a few hours. 

Alas, it wasn’t in the cards so I did the next best thing.  I stopped to breathe.

 

Do you ever notice how often you hold your breath?  It astounds me how many times I have to say to myself in a day “Ok Vickie, breathe.” 

If we’re not breathing fully – nice big inhales – bigger exhales, everything inside of us is suffocating.  We are holding onto tension for absolutely no reason at all.  Yet most of us do it ALL. THE. TIME. 

This is why I love essential oils for stress relief.  When I drop an essential oil in my hand, I want to smell it.  I want to inhale deeply and enjoy the aroma for a moment.  It’s like a mini vacation of sorts. 

This isn’t just woo-woo stuff.  Scientifically, essential oils work within the limbic system or the emotional centre of the brain.  The limbic system is the most primitive part of the brain, where emotions and memories are stored.  When you inhale an essential oil, it travels through the olfactory (smelling) system, through the amygdala (which plays an important part in processing emotions) and into the limbic system (which handles emotions, memories and stimulation).  

Voila! All that we have to do to release stress and change a mood in a moment is to engage the limbic system and essential oils engage it very quickly and almost effortlessly.  You do actually have to open the bottle and smell the oil.  

The next time you find yourself dealing with stress, reach for your favourite oil and take a big, long inhale and savour a juicy, long, slow exhale.  Do this 3 times and you’ve shifted your mental state.  Every time. 

What could be easier than that? 

Comment below – tell us what essential oil you love the most to release stress.