Oils

Well, I have a new hobby.  I used to call it a passion when I embarked on a new area of study in holistic medicine or nutrition.  I have come to realize however, that I only have four real passions in my life - Jesus, my husband,  my children, and the orphan.  That's it.  Over the years though I have studied herbs, nutritional supplements, made tinctures, and learned what a poultice is and how to use one.  As for essential oil, I have only dabbled.  I own a really high quality diffuser and I have a great cough remedy that I learned to make years ago, but that's about it.

Necessity drives me, though, and I have a problem that needs a solution.  My little guy has large tonsils.  When I say large, just picture two grapes on steroids in the back of his throat - remembering that he is only two years old.  He barely has an air passage and I am not joking.  He snores worse than my husband, and that is also nothing to joke about.  So, as  much because of my lack of sleep as anything else, I have got to find a solution to his tonsil issue.  Surgery is an option - I'm alternative, but not stupid.  However, I like for surgery to be our last resort, not our first.  He also has recurrent skin strep on his face, which is likely the root cause of the large tonsils, so I am on the defensive.

For the past several months I have tried a few different supplements recommended by our holistic doctor.  There is a trace amount of evidence that they may be working, but the snoring is still pretty ridiculous and even if the air passage is a tiny bit wider, it is still not good enough.  So, I have decided to go another route.

Essential oils.

Essential oils are basically the part of the plant that drip out when you cut open the stem.  They are potent, and can be dangerous if not used properly.  Here seems like a good time for my disclaimer - I am not a doctor.  I love to research and learn, but I can not diagnose anything.  I love to tell you about what works for our family, but you must make the decisions for yours.  Ok, with that out of the way....

I went to my first oil class this week and I have to tell you I was impressed.  I have been studying alternative medicine diligently for over a decade now, so honestly, I am not often that impressed.  I didn't expect to be with this either.  I expected to go to the class, buy the oils I had already decided I needed for Patrick's throat, and come home.  Two hours later, I was still there, thumbing through research books and chatting with the representative.

I came home with a plan of action and a wholesale account to buy my own oils.  I love the way this company does their "parties."  There was no pressure whatsoever to buy anything.  The representative just shared information about the oils, let everyone sample them and shared some testimonials, then opened the floor to questions.  At the end, she shared how each person could place and order and what the options were (customer or wholesale account).  You go home and order online yourself.  So, there is no pressure to buy at the party.  I love that, because I am one who loves to share information, but I am not a salesperson.

My goal truly is to help people on their road to better health and wellness.  It takes a balanced approach to truly find optimal health.  You can not pop any pill or rub any oil and then go on with horrible eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle and expect wellness.  It just can't happen.  Hence the term, "holistic" medicine.  It is an entire lifestyle change, not a miracle product.  Too many people in America don't understand that, and like everything else, we want the drive thru cure.  It has taken me ten years to get my family to where we are today - ten years!!  Now, because we have a "clean"  lifestyle and proper exercise and nutrition, we can use certain products and get almost instant results.  I am going to share a story on that in a minute.  Our bodies are ready and able to heal themselves.  This did not  happen overnight.  It took time and tears to get my children to where they are as excited about guacamole as they are about cookies.  It can happen for you, but you must be diligent and firm.

Anyway, I decided to become a wholesale buyer with Young Living Oils.  I believe they are pure, high quality oils, I believe it is a good company.  But, there are other companies.  I will never try to convince you that these are the best.  I don't know enough yet to say that.  Plus, I have been in network marketing before and I learned one thing.  We live in a free market system and no one company has the market on the research.  Each one may have a few patented products, but the beauty of America is that anyone with the desire can gather a team of scientists and create an amazing product.  Other oil companies have done it.  Young Living is not the only one.  (I told you I am a terrible salesperson, but I am just being honest).

In your quest to better health, pick a company and learn about the products.  For supplements, I prefer Beeyoutiful and for herbs I prefer The Bulk Herb Store.  They are both small, family owned companies.  I like supporting them, I trust them, and if you call them on the phone you get to talk to the owners.  If I found an essential oil company like that, I would probably prefer buying from them.  In fact, Beeyoutiful does sell essential oils and I think they are high quality, but oils is not their main business.  So, for now I am going to use Young Living for my oils.

In my family, my kids constantly give me opportunities for testimonials when I start something new.  As soon as someone suggested to me that I use oils for Patrick's tonsils, he immediately proceeded to catch a cold.  It progressed into a double ear infection and the strep on his face flared up.  Leave it to us to put the oils to the ultimate test right out of the box.  According to the doctor, his ear was "gross."  So, we used Melrose Oil from Young Living.  We rubbed in on his ear lobe and down his neck, following the line of the eustachian tube.  This was on Wednesday of this week.  Friday, I took him back for her to look at his ear again.  I had not repeated the oil application because my Melrose oil has not come in yet.  She looked in his ear, did a double take, and looked again.  90% cleared up.  From "gross" to barely there in less than 48 hours.  We applied the oil again and I am assuming that the ear is clear now.  Meanwhile, I ordered my oils and the representative was kind enough to give me some of hers to get started on our treatment for his tonsils.  He has only had one full day of oils for that, so I don't have a testimonial yet.  I am expecting one soon.

One more thing happened.  The night I arrived home from the oil party, my ten year old was having a really bad night.  He has a lot of emotional issues anyway, and he was tired from a trip he had recently taken.  He was melting down (all you moms know the term).  I rubbed some Young Living Peace and Calming oil on him and told him to go to bed.  Normally, he would have fought me on going to bed when others in the house were still up.  He went.  I went to check on him ten minutes later and he was sound asleep.  Only those reading who know my Graham can fully appreciate this, but I promise you something was up and it had to be in that oil.  This is not his normal behavior.

These are our two testimonials so far.  Graham now has a cold and we are working on Patrick's tonsils, so I am expecting to have more to share soon.  If you are interested in learning more about how to use essential oils or you would like to purchase your oils at wholesale, just send me a message.  I am not trying to build a business with this AT ALL.  But, I absolutely love sharing about the things that God made in nature that heal.  Our bodies are amazing creations and if I have learned anything over the past ten years of studying it is this - we do have the ability to heal when our bodies are in the right condition.  I would love to help you on that journey with your family.