This weeks blog post is by Annwen Candy one of our Health and Lifestyle Educators who is based in Perth, WA. Her article Nourishing My
Family With A Drop Of Love bought tears to my eyes and shows how a little kindness with essential oils can go a long long way!
You can find out more about what Annwen is doing by visiting her website www.annwencandy.com
Love Kim
Nourishing my family with a ‘Drop of Love’ by Annwen Candy
Essential Oils have quickly found their way into our daily rituals and family life, they have become the core ingredients in our first aid kit, the secret to our evening rituals, the cornerstone to having the confidence to face any challenge and most importantly a daily tool we have come to cherish and rely upon to love ourselves and each other. Essential Oils have created a bond between us in a way I had only dreamt of.
As a single mum climbing out of a sea of self resentment, loathing and emptiness, having spent my whole life trying to be someone else, pleasing everyone else, I made a single promise to myself “One step at a time, bit by bit I would get to know me and discover who I truly was” My journey began as an inside outside story, as I began to believe in myself and realise that ‘today was the first day of the rest of my life’ I turned to whole foods and loved myself with food. As I began to heal I had the strength and determination to nourish my children. It was at this moment during dinner-time tantrums, food refusal and lots of tears from both me and the kids that I lit a vaporiser, placing 4 drops of Twenty8 Instant Calm in it and I began to breathe, this single act of lighting the vaporiser and inhaling has lead us to our favourite part of the day, a place of pure joy and happiness, where we share our days stories, success, problems and worries. We come together as a family unit and support each other and I am super proud to say that after many baby steps forward and big steps back that I am able to nourish my family with food that helps them to thrive and be free to be who they truly are.
Essential Oils have transformed our lives they have given us the confidence and tools to ride the emotional waves of life and as a mother it has provided me with invaluable tools to add to my “mothering kit” and empower me when I am feeling unempowered to support and nurture when I am being pushed away and most importantly to fill my own bucket so I have more to give to those who need me most, my children.
A few of our favourite rituals that we can’t live without!
Our ‘go to’ First Aid Kit:
There is nothing worse than not being able to soothe your child when they need you most, or not having something that will nurture a bruised ego or scrap that you need a magnifying glass to see! Lavender – this is always in my handbag, it is perfect for bites, bruises, bumps and rashes. It is the safest oil for direct application on skin making it your go to rescue remedy in a bottle. One drop of this can nurture and calm the most emotional of children. When in doubt call on the lavender!
Peppermint – is always on handy for any upset stomachs, it promotes good digestion of food and when rubbed in a clockwise direction with a little carrier oil (coconut is our favourite) can help with the late night tummy troubles.
Mix both Lavender and Peppermint together and you have ‘Laver-Mint’ the best sore muscle reliever ever! Great for massaging at night when you have a acrobatic dancing daughter who pushes her body to it’s limits… and then some.
Eucalyptus – Is perfect for rubbing onto my babes chests with a little coconut oil when they have caught a cold.
Bathing:
Running a warm bath with a few drops of De-stress and Revive when they are anxious or nervous or Immune Boost when they are feeling sick mixed in a little carrier oil shows them just how much I care. It relaxes them no end and what child does not come out of a bath with their soul revived? TIP: My daughter loves it when I light a vaporiser, play her favourite music, bring her a cup of herbal tea (liquorice root and cinnamon) and a book for her to read (Heaven). My son just wants dinosaurs to play with ☺
Home Base:
To settle my children back to home base I always have De-Stress and Revive in my diffuser when they come home. With a welcome smile, a big hug and some nourishing food they literally feel the loved at first sniff.
Night-time Rituals:
A spritzer of Instant Calm is beside each of their beds, along with kisses and cuddles and the message “These are the thousands of good night angel kisses that give you sweet dreams all night long” and they are settled into bed quickly.
Face Mask and Self Love:
My daughter has introduced me to face masks; it is our special bonding time, we have used avocado, egg white, honey, yoghurt and mixed it with the Twenty8 Face Mask. Add a drop of Geranium or Lavender and BANG you have one powerful skin healing bonding moment. Warm some water for a foot-bath with some Laver-Mint and put on Princess Diaries … HEAVEN!!!
It gives me no greater pleasure seeing my children cleansing and nourishing their skin, reaching for drop of face serum, and seeing them inhale the beautiful scents knowing they are loving themselves for all the right reasons.
Daily diffuser:
We take it in turn to choose oils to place in our diffuser, I just love they way my children intuitively select oils with confidence and give me reasons for their choices. They are just so honest and open. We all love the Chinese Proverb that Kim Morrison shared with us and use it every day.
Worries be-gone:
On the first day of school, first soccer game, dance concert, worries, anxiety and friendship squabbles a drop of courage and confidence on a tissue or a shirt collar is all that has been needed to boost their spirits and give them the confidence to face any challenge that they face.
Embracing Essential Oils has given me permission to realise that I am good enough and I am grateful for what I do have. I allow myself a few focused mindful minutes each day for an aromatic massage called a “Body Boost” I affirm all that is perfect and the best bit is I believe it. I am proud to say that I believe in my self and I have the confidence and the freedom to be who I am, just as I am, no more and no less. I am imperfectly perfect the way I am meant to be.
The unexpected benefit of being who I am and prioritising my own self care is that my children are mirroring my actions, they are developing confidence to find their unique and special talents, they stand up for what they believe in, thriving daily and developing tools to de-clutter in our cluttered world, to be in their own space and creating their own rituals to fill their own buckets. They are intrinsically seeking essential oils to calm their anxiety, give them courage and gain deep restful sleep. What began as my own quest to get to know myself, they have intrinsically absorbed in such a short time.