Oily Fit Girl

Hey everyone! Kristina here- it has been a minute since I last posted but I'm back!! I wanted to do a post on essential oils that I use in my active lifestyle- because, if you know me, when I'm not working  you'll find me running, doing yoga, fishing, kayaking, or walking my fur babies :) I have a very fitness-focused lifestyle and love how Young Living oils support and enhance my workouts.


Let's start with what I use DURING a workout!

My top two oils I apply before and wear throughout my workouts are PEPPERMINT and RC oil. Peppermint is stimulating, it helps to keep me awake, alert, and energetic. It also has an amazing cooling effect when applied to skin which is super helpful if you live in Louisiana as I do and run in 99° weather with 99% humidity! RC is a wonderful blend of spruce, cypress, and three types of eucalyptus oils. This blend can help with allergies, asthma, and for keeping your airways open for exercise which is crucial for performance. I apply RC to my chest and/or right above my lip to smell the blend throughout my workout.

Now, AFTER a rough workout I am all about recovery.

I work out all times of the day due to my work schedule but I love to end the day with a relaxing and muscle-recovery soak in epsom salts and oils. Epsom salts contain magnesium which can help to reduce soreness and expedite muscle recovery- they also work to disperse essential oils throughout bath water. For my relaxing muscle soaks I choose to use Lavender and Cedarwood- both of which have amazing skin benefits and aid in relaxing and winding down for the night. These are also the two oils I will reapply right before bed for restful sleep!

The next morning, I usually wake up pretty sore! That's where Panaway and Copaiba come in! I add both oils to fractionated coconut oil and apply to my sore areas- the panaway provides IMMEDIATE relief from the nagging pain of sore muscles with the copaiba helps with inflammation.

Copaiba seems to be the oil nobody knows what to do with, but it's amazing! It contains betacarophyllene, the pain relieving and anti-inflammatory constituent found in marijuana (aka people who use medical marijuana for pain relief are doing so for this constituent!) I love to add a drop of copaiba vitality into my daily Ningxia shot as extra protection against inflammation so my muscles can heal and I can get moving again.

Young Living oils have definitely enhanced my workouts, and now that I have seen the benefit I won't ever be without my top active oils!!

Cedarwood bliss

There is one oil that is my favorite oil that I cannot live without- and this is Cedarwood oil!

Cedarwood is the oil I hate to love as I personally think it STINKS! I have always heard the oils that smell bad to you are ones that you need... and in this instance it is 100% true. Oils smell differently to different people, and most people who smell cedarwood on me (at this points it's pretty much always on me) tell me that it smells good, and as I continue to use it I am coming around to it.

Cedarwood oil contains the highest amount of sesquiterpenes- a hydrocarbon group that is found in essential oils which stimulate the limbic system of the brain. This stimulation aids in elevating our mood and decreasing stress. 

Cedarwood helps my marriage thrive! 

The other day I set up a meeting at a local Waffle House to meet someone off of Craigslist (I know, I know) to sell my phone. Funny thing is, when I went to get in my car (the meeting was in 5 minutes) I realized my lovely husband had taken my car to the gym and had taken the only key to his car with him. I panicked and, being the runner I am, took off toward Waffle House in a sequin tank-top, pink shorts, and leopard print flats. Oh, and it was a thousand degrees outside. Long story short, I ran about a mile to the Waffle House and realized the man had responded to my email about not having a car and had driven to a restaurant right beside my apartment. I then had to turn right around and sprint back 3/4 mile to this new rendezvous point. Only after I sold the phone did my adrenaline decrease enough for me to realize I was drenched in sweat and my feet were bleeding. Literally, both small toes and under my big toe had the skin rubbed off. I walked home on the phone with my mom who can verify that I was not as zen as I would like to think. I got home and instantly applied cedarwood behind my ears, on my wrists, and inhaled deeply using diaphragm breathing. 

When Carlos got home I did not even yell, I simply mentioned that he please leave me a key when he takes my car in case of an emergency. 

Now- pre-oils I would have been ranting and raving like a lunatic. However, I honestly did not have the pent-up stress waiting for him when he got home- and I am 1000% certain this is due to the cedarwood! This interaction could have been very negative and caused anger and hurt feelings, but instead I calmly was assertive and we went on with our night without an issue. Also, with cedarwood helping with sleep, anxiety, and anger in general, I am overall a more calm, happy, easy-to-get-along-with person. If that's not a direct positive impact on my marriage, I don't know what is!

I also use cedarwood nightly in my diffuser with lavender or just neat on the bottom of my feet (especially big toes) and my wrists. I have never slept better. 

Running really helps with anxiety/anger!

I keep cedarwood on me at all times. I deal with anxiety that tends to manifest as anger, which has greatly improved through regular running and yoga practice. This oil has helped me immensely with my situational anxiety- such as at work- where I can't just run away!

Even Ashley, right after the waffle house incident and before our online class that we were not completely prepared for, made a comment that "Wow, you seem really calm."

I recommend cedarwood as a first purchase after the kit to everyone I meet. It's calming, grounding, and has many other uses than what I have reviewed. Don't give up on an oil because it stinks, it may be exactly what you need! Everyone has a different body composition, though, so keep in mind what works so incredibly for me may not work as well for you. I hope it does work as well for you, however, as cedarwood is my little stinky lifesaver! 

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Smelly Spray

Just a quick post today about a DIY I found very useful- a spray for bad smells!

So, I decided to be frugal and buy the off-brand trash bags... and ended up with a hole in the bottom of a full bag of garbage! Once the bag was pulled out there was a mystery slop in the bottom of the bin, and both the bin and the container (I have a stainless steel container with an inner bin) reeked.

Usually I would Lysol wipe it and bomb it with Febreze, but after getting involved with Young Living and researching the products I was exposing myself, my husband, and my dogs to- I now look for natural alternatives!

So, I wiped the bin out with soap and water and sprayed the bin and the steel container with my DIY smelly spray.

The oils I have chosen for this spray have natural antiseptic, cleansing, and purification properties. The citrus oils I added mainly for scent benefit but orange and lemon oils are known effective cleansing oils! The recipe is on the graphic below but can be tailored to your preference.

The blend smells so fresh and clean I didn't stop at the trash- I misted it throughout my apartment! I know that this air/surface freshener will not hurt my family if they inhale it.

I purchased the glass spray bottles on Amazon.com and could not be happier with them- [Click here to view product]. I recommend only using glass bottles as the oils can leach toxins out of plastic which defeats the purpose of having a chemical free spray!

[Oils everyday (3)]

At the end of the day:

When I get home, I start on dinner and prepare my meals for the next day. Of course I pack some fruit in there, Grapes, apples, or whatever. When I do eat grapes or apples, strawberries I like to use my young living fruit and veggie soak and wash. (Comes with a travel spray too) made with thieves oil! I don’t know how educated the average American is when it comes to pesticides, but I like to research it. They use an oil based pesticide so it doesn’t wash off in the rain. Obviously water doesn’t wash it off so why are people just rinsing their veggies/fruits?! NO. I cannot afford organic all the time so when I have to buy regular, I scrub the heck out of my fruits and veggies, them I soak them. Soak them real nice. If I’m out of the soak, I use lemon/thieves oil and water so I know they are clean!

 

Getting ready for bed:

Then I take a shower, scrub my face with my Young Living  Satin Mint facial scrub, hair is washed with lavender shampoo, and my body is washed with YL morning start shower gel (So energizing in the morning!!) I also use Mirah shave oil and as a moisturizer.  I used to be constant Walgreens shopper until young living came into my life. Now, I never go to Walgreens, there’s no reason to. I can get all my supplements, protein, probiotics, sleeps aids, energy drinks, face, body and hair care products all from young living! One stop shop with products I LOVE!

Anyways, so I finally get in bed with my darling husband and reach for my soothing leg rub. I have restless leg syndrome, which is a pain in the behind and so irritating. I love that my oils can calm it every time. Oils I included in the mixture were: Coconut oil, cypress oil, lavender oil, and cedar wood oil. Our bodies don’t get used to or “immune” to these oils because they are nature made and nature makes things differently every time. No season, no rain, no wind no soil is ever the same so that’s what helps change things up and constantly helps our bodies unlike traditional medicines. Diffusing lavender around bedtime is always a good idea, You also can use a mixture of ylang ylang + Idaho spruce with witch hazel and water for a sexy time linen spray!

 

SO when people tell me they have oils, but don’t know how to use them, There are hundreds of ways to use them and incorporate them into your everyday lifestyle. Lets get rid of those artificial man made chemicals and keep them out of our bodies!!! Do your research, your family will thank you!!

Hangover Helpers

Ashley and I at the wedding

Ashley and I attended an awesome wedding last night and had a blast dancing the night away! This morning I found the need to use some oils to confront certain... symptoms. Here are the oils we use as hangover helpers!

Grapefruit is great for helping your body cleanse itself. It can aid with fluid retention and help to detox the liver and kidneys- two organs that go into overdrive when you are consuming alcohol. You can apply grapefruit topically over your liver, on the back of your neck, and behind your ears. You can also add a drop to your water to aid in cleansing your body (only in a glass or stainless steel container).

Lavender  helps with nausea and headaches. I like to diffuse lavender and/or apply to the palms of my hands, cup my hands over my nose, and take 5 slow, deep breaths.

Peppermint  can help to perk you up and energize you when all you feel like doing is laying in bed and groaning all day. It is also great for headaches and nausea- I mix peppermint with lavender to help with headaches- apply topically to temples and forehead.

Lemon helps to support the body with digestion and detoxification. Add a drop to your water to help your body detox and release water retention. Apply lemon topically over liver and to the back of your next to aid in detox.

DiGize is my stinky little tummy helper. Apply topically to stomach to help with nausea, indigestion, and sour stomach. You can also add a drop or two to water or tea for stomach upset. If you can't stomach the smell, you can apply to vita-flex points on soles of feet.

Luckily, four of these oils come in the Premium Starter Kit, so many of you most likely already have them. If you don't have grapefruit I would definitely recommend picking it up in your next order, it is an amazingly fresh smelling EO that is wonderful for your body!

[Oils Everyday (2)]

SO, because I work with children, in schools and in daycares, I am unfortunately exposed to sneezy, runny, drippy, glazed donut noses and cough in your face children. That’s another reason why I like to drink lemon oil every morning it boosts my immune system and keeps it strong!  When I have it, (because I always run out) I put thieves oil on the bottoms of my feet, especially in the cold fall months to ward off any flu like, cold like bacteria that may invade me, just like the thieves used to do in the story.

[[Thieves story:]]

Young Living's Thieves essential oil blend was created based on the historical account of four thieves in France who protected themselves from the Black Plague with cloves, rosemary, and other aromatics while robbing victims of the killer disease. When captured, they were offered a lighter sentence in exchange for their secret recipe. Young Living's proprietary Thieves oil blend includes clove, cinnamon bark, rosemary, lemon, and Eucalyptus radiate and has been specially blended to offer the same kind of defense. Thieves has been university tested and found to be highly effective against airborne bacteria. ALSO GETS RID OF MOLD!!

If I’m having a particularly stressful day (which is everyday when you’re a social worker) I'll rub some lavender, stress away, or some deep relief on my neck or wrists. All promote relaxation of the muscles. The best roll on I have is homemade: orange and peppermint. I’m literally in the best mood when I have this on me!)  Peppermint I’ll apply to my temples if its one of those “headache all day” days to stomp that out.

I am on the go all the time. Which makes me want to eat, all the time. So what oil do I grab? SLIQUE ESSENCE!!! Slique essence is like my hero. I add a drop to my (glass or stainless steel) water bottle and sip all day. It’s a blend of grapefruit rind oil, tangerine rind oil, spearmint leaf oil, lemon rind oil, ocotea leaf oil, and stevia leaf extract all equaling yumminess.  You can even add it to tea or add other oils like orange if you want to add more flavor! So yummy! It keeps me from nibbling all day on snacks and just wait for healthy meals! It also gives me energy when I get home from work! I don’t just plop down on the couch till I fall asleep forgetting to do the billion things I thought about doing on my way home. I actually DO them!Stay tuned for my bedtime routine!

[Oils everyday]

I’m going to be explaining my daily routine over several posts, I’ll be starting with my morning!

I rise and shine with Lemon Oil. This is a must for me. It energizes my dreadful Monday mornings! It also helps me during the day if I need an extra boost of focusing energy. I just place a drop or two of it in my morning glass of water to wake up my organs and help them out a bit after a restful night. I also take an ounce or two of Ningxia red, the best antioxidant drink in the world!

Then I get ready for the day! I like to put citrus fresh in my diffuser to wake me up. Citrus fresh blend is made of orange, tangerine, mandarin, lemon, grapefruit, and spearmint. I could smell this all day. You can drink this in your water too, only because Young Living provides therapeutic grade essential oils = the safest & most tested. It’s relaxing, brings a sense of joy, and also supports the immune system! A drop of citrus fresh in your Ningxia red is like heaven!

Then, I wash my face with Young Living’s Art Foam face wash with a drop of Lavender and Melaleuca (tea tree oil) to prevent acne! You can also use it to disinfect your makeup brushes as well! I use Mirah shave oil on my face as a moisturizer! Instead of going for perfume everyday, I try to use my oils. Stress away, Joy, and Valor oil blends are my three favorites to wear as perfumes, along with Sacred Mountain on my diffuser necklace! Stress away, to keep my social worker mind from getting crazy; joy, to keep me a happy coworker; and valor and sacred mountain to give me confidence and boldness for the day!