• Idaho balsam fir- anti-inflammatory, grounding and relaxing to the body.  Effective against respiratory infections, fatigue and sciatica.
• Lavender – calming, relaxant physically and emotionally.  Supports skin health, speeds wound healing in cuts, scrapes and 1st degree burns.
• Wintergreen – naturally warming, muscle relaxant, highly anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic.
• Basil – anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, also anti-bacterial and anti-viral.
• Copaiba - powerful anti-inflammatory oil, antiseptic with almost imperceptible odor.
• Marjoram – relieves muscle spasms, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, promotes intestinal peristalsis, mucolytic, expectorant.
• Peppermint – cooling, anti-inflammatory, stimulating (don’t use before bed!) Synergistic and increases penetration when applied after other oils.
• PanAway - an essential oil blend of helichrysum (heals tissue & nerve damage, anti-inflammatory), wintergreen, peppermint and clove
• Deep Relief Roll-On is a convenient oil blend in an applicator bottle that you can roll on directly to sore muscles.

Joint Pain – is often caused by systemic issues.  Essential oils can bring some temporary relief, but an honest assessment should also be taken of environment, diet and lifestyle.  You can get a Healthy Home Checklist when you subscribe to the Pure Home and Body Newsletter as a starting point.  MSM can be helpful in decreasing systemic inflammation, as well as looking at your diet.  Ningxia Red is a powerful anti-oxidant that works to give your body added nutrition with whole foods rather than synthetic vitamins.  Consult an Essential Oil Desk Reference, Prescription for Nutritional Healing and your holistic practitioner for management of chronic joint pain and autoimmune disorders.

For serious back injuries, essential oils can help bring relief until medical intervention is needed.   Many individuals have prolonged or even avoided the need for surgery when they used essential oils with integrated care by a chiropractor, physical therapist and gentle exercise like yoga with an experienced instructor.  The Raindrop Technique contains many anti-inflammatory and anti-spasmodic essential oils that are helpful for chronic back pain and even for individuals with scoliosis.

Name That Product:  Here’s a challenge for you, a product labeled with “Natural Herbal Ingredients”.  Used by chiropractors, acupunturists, massage therapists and nurses in clinical settings to relieve muscle pain.  One of my biggest concerns is the use of menthol (made as a synthetic or watered down peppermint ),  camphor (inexpensive filler that “smells strong”, may be derived from terpentine, used as insect or moth repellant and in embalming)  and lavender “oil” (not even listed as essential oil, this is probably hormone disrupting synthetic oil) and artificial colors, and chemicals that release formaldehyde (also used in embalming):

menthol 5%, camphor 3%, water, aloe vera gel, isopropyl alcohol, lavender oil, triethanolamine, carbomer, ginseng extract, angelica extract, polysorbate 60, DMDM hydantion, imidazolidinyl urea, blue 1, yellow 5

The first person who guesses this product correctly will get a 5-pack of Ningxia Red singles to help fight inflammation from the inside out!

Another way we manage headaches in our family is with some simple exercises. Try some of these the next time you start to feel a headache come on and maybe you can save the medications for more intense situations. Cold compresses and retreating to a quiet place when possible may also be helpful. Find what works for you and do it before the pain gets out of control.

We use PanAway as first line of defense with a bump or fall.  We were climbing rocks a few days ago and I fell onto my elbow.  I could tell from the instant pain it was a hard fall.  I applied PanAway as soon as I could stand on solid ground.  The pain subsided in a minute and I never got a bruise.  This is a typical result in our family.  One of the boys accidentally through a football directly into my friend’s face, right by the eye. After my initial humiliation of the event I quickly grabbed my PanAway and applied it around my friend’s eye-being very careful not to get it in the eye.  I was imagining the black eye that would result from this impact.  It never bruised.  The sooner you can get an essential oil onto injury the quicker the body can start repairing the tissue.  In the medical community it is common knowledge that pain sensations cause stress in the body which slows down the healing process.  Don’t tough it out if you have PanAway on hand.  Apply the essential oils as soon as you can and your recovery time (and bruising) could be much less.

PanAway 5ml bottle    wholesale $29.75    retail  $39.14      (this size is a part of the Everyday Oils Collection – a great value for getting started with essential oils)

You can order Young Living oils at wholesale (select Independent Distributor and order a $40 Start Living Kit for lifetime wholesale pricing, and no monthly minimums)  or retail (select customer). 

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not meant to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.