Monthly Archives: July 2009

ESSENTIAL OILS AS MOOD-ENHANCERS

EssentialOils

One of the most useful aspects of essential oils is the mood-enhancing properties. Every oil will create some kind of feeling in you.  To realize why this happens you need to know a bit about how the essential oils work through our olfactory system: (Following is taken from Wikipedia – text & picture; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olfactory_system)

<<In mammals, the main olfactory system detects odorants that are inhaled through the nose, where they contact the main olfactory epithelium, which contains various olfactory receptors. These can distinguish a new odor from the background environmental odors and determine the concentration of the odor.

These olfactory receptors are connected to bipolar olfactory receptor neurons in the olfactory epithelium, which transduce receptoractivation into electrical signals in neurons. The signals travel along the olfactory nerve, which belongs to the peripheral nervous system. This nerve terminates in the olfactory bulb, which belongs to the central nervous system.>>

Olfactory_system

1: Olfactory bulb 2: Mitral cells 3: Bone 4: Nasal Epithelium 5: Glomerulus 6: Olfactory receptor cells

You might say that the olfactory receptors in the nose is the only place where the brain sticks out from the skull. In the olfactory bulb (1) there is a series of key-holes which accommodate different molecules. It’s a little like the round peg in the round hole. If the odor molecule doesn’t fit in the key-hole the odor will stay only in the nose, being analyzed by the brain and that’s it, most odors fall into this category. If, however, the odor molecule fits into one of the key-holes it will enter the limbic system of the brain, also called the reptile brain. )Following text & picture is taken from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system)

In addition, these structures are sometimes also considered to be part of the limbic system:

As you can see the limbic system is situated in the middle of the brain – as if it was the heart of the brain.

The molecular structure of essential oils fit in this key-hole system, so the essential oils do enter the limbic system. The essential oils also transgress the blood-brain-barrier and therefore enters the limbic system through the blood as well. Since many of the molecules in essential oils mimic our own hormones, they can, among other things, help to regulate our hormone-system. Some essential oils are very valuable for mental clarity, help with mood-swings, facilitating sleep and much much more.

In my next post I will tell you a little about the different oils and how you can use them as mood-enhancers.  I will also give you dosages and how-to-use tips. Stay tuned!

SMOKING – PAYBACK TIME

Quit smokingWhen I quit smoking I did all the normal things; checking internet and research for information about what happens in the body. I knew I really didn’t want to gain weight so I embarked on a very good dietary plan with detox and I exercised daily. I knew I could use my essential oils for irritation and other mood-swings. So far, so good.

As for mood-swings, I didn’t really have any. I would get cravings but they were not too bad, every time it happened I went walking or did something else and it would go away. But physically! Ajajaj…I got so sick! Immediately when I stopped I got constipated – big time. After 3 weeks I went to the doctor who gave me medication to get transit going. It helped a bit but the constipation only got worse, nothing would help. On top of that I suffered crippling pain in my musculo-sceletal system,  was constantly exhausted and gained weight relentlessly. I did research and nowhere did I find any information that even touched on the subject, all I got was positive stuff like: “you should now feel happier, more energetic, glowing skin, better breath”…etc… bla,bla,bla…NOT! I looked like shit, I felt like shit but I didn’t have a problem with cigarette-cravings. Sometimes I felt so bad that I would seriously think about smoking again, just to stop the suffering.

weakness

After about 4 months I found a brilliant Heilpraktikerin in Germany. She told me I was heavily toxic, analysis showed high levels of heavy metals, especially quicksilver and cadmium. On top of that I was still badly constipated. The Heilprakterin taught me how to administer different herb-enemas to counter the constipation which was getting worse with every passing day. I then embarked on a big cleansing-trip; Detox every 3 weeks with different herbs, enemas every second day to not irritate the system, strict diet with no milk-products, bread, pasta, sugar, alcohol, meat or most fish. Changing dietary habits is really difficult, especially as I already had good habits. I just had to go extreme for some time to heal. My daughter, of course, continued to eat normally as she needs her nourishment.

Today 18 months have passed and I am slowly healing, at least I am on the right side. It is very slow going and sometimes I can feel really low on motivation when I don’t see the results I want. My constipation lasted 13(!) months, during which time I had natural transit only 3 times. I didn’t resort to medication since it only worsens everything. My digestive system is now in order but I still pay attention to what, how and when I eat.

I have had a personal trainer the last 5 months who helps me to work my body into health again, I am strong and fit and I don’t experience any pain. I still have too high levels of toxins in my system but it is slowly clearing. My skin is better, and I have more energy. I am not really loosing any weight as of yet and I still detox every 3 weeks.

SUMMARY: After 18 months of research, I still haven’t found anything that even slightly resembles what I have gone through. I have spoken to plenty of people that had the same experience and they say this was the reason they went back to smoking after time-spans of 1 or more years. I have spoken to doctors and researchers and finally a picture emerges:

  • Nicotine leaves your body-system quite rapidly but stays as an emotional, mental or psychological dependence which is the hardest to kick.
  • The heavy metals in cigarettes are stored in the skeletal-system. Once the body is not receiving more metals it dumps large amounts of the stored metals into the system which then goes toxic. To counter this the body builds up fatty deposits to hold and store the toxins. If these fatty deposits are shed too quickly there is a toxicology problem and this is the reason why it takes such a long time to loose it.

I think different people have different reactions; we all have different genetic weaknesses in our body-systems, apparently mine is the digestive-system. I also think that the physical reaction to quitting smoking is dependent on how long and how much we have smoked. I know plenty of people who has no problem at all. But I am angry that this information is not readily available. I am a therapist and tend to see myself as a study -  this helps me through a lot of difficulty because I am my school; I am studying myself from outside. But I so understand people who go back to smoking. Maybe with more knowledge we can be better prepared to return to health on the other side of smoking. I really believe smoking to be a terrible thing – a killer in disguise – and I am sure it will soon be banned all together. At that point honest and true information is needed to help people, not only this starry-eyed rubbish that is served up today, because we all do know that we will be healthier without smoking.

This said, nobody can better understand the dilemma of smoking than me. I have no opinions on other people’s smoking, I don’t think that is my business. But if I can help someone through the difficulties of quitting, I am more than glad to help.

Strength-training

ESSENTIAL OIL QUALITY – Ravensara/Ravintsara

ravensaraI wrote in an earlier post about an essential oil I picked up: Ravintsara (cinnamomum camphora). I couldn’t really get this oil out of my head so I have been doing some research. As usual there is plenty of misunderstandings between different oils, popular names, botanical names and the chemical properties. What continues to confuse me are the different Latin names but this is what I have found:

Ravensara, (Ravensara aromatica / Ravensara anisataLauraceae family) Is a a leafy evergreen tree 18 to 20 meters high with a reddish-grey bark indigenous to the moist forests of Madagascar, in Malagasy called Havozo. The essential oil is steam-distilled from the stem-bark (Ravensara anisata) or the leaves & branches (Ravensara aromatica)

The main chemical constituents of R. aromatica are: 1,8 cinèole (up to 49%). The main chemical constituents in R. anisata are: anethole (approx. 85%) and methyl chavicol. This makes these two oils completely different.  Ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora – Lauraceae family) is steam-distilled from the leaves. It is also high in 1,8 cinèole.

The problem is that I cannot find any information on the Ravintsara (c. camphora). All info I can find reverts back to Ravensara aromatica/anisata. So the question is; Is it really the same plant? Or is it a mixup of the names? One source states: “Cinnamomum camphora is also named Ravintsara in Madagascar; hence Ravensara camphora is seen on price lists mistakenly as ravensara but no true species exist; various qualities abound”.

So you see the confusion around essential oils; this is why it is so important to make sure that the oil you buy is good quality and has a Latin (botanical) name on the label. In the case with the Ravensara, I would go for the botanical name Ravensara aromatica.

to be continued…when I have more information.

SMOKING – the art of quitting

smokingI read somewhere; “I don’t stop smoking ’cause I am not a quitter”. I found that really funny and slightly applicable to myself. How many times did I quit? Only to find myself in a state of desperation, sneaking around in the bushes with my illicit smoking, pretending and lying to those closest and dearest to me – and this is when I was well past youth. How embarassing isn’t that!

At one point the smoking really started to make itself known in negative ways; my voice slowly changed and I noticed I was loosing my singing-voice, sometimes my teeth would hurt when I had smoke in my mouth, every morning I woke up with my hands numb from poor circulation…and other  minor stuff. I didn’t tell anybody of this, because then I would be forced to do something about it – quit smoking, and I wasn’t prepared to do that right yet. But I knew that I had to – soon. I wanted so much to not smoke, still I had to light that cigarette even though I sometimes almost cried from the frustration of it -but quit? No.

Then I met a man who never smoked, when we were together I never smoked, even for days on end and it was okay. I could do that. But the first thing I did upon parting was to reach for my cigarettes. One day I knew I would be able to quit, but not when. I started changing my way of thinking, re-programming my Self; Instead of beating myself up about smoking I embraced myself as a smoker – forgiving and accepting myself and letting go of the shame, frustration and feeling of weakness. I enjoyed every cigarette to the maximum while I started to visualize myself as a non-smoker. I changed certain habits and made myself aware of my smoking-patterns; both physical and emotional. At the same time came the smoke-ban in restaurants and most other public places which helped a lot. I will not go outside in the cold to smoke whilst having dinner in a restaurant…I am much too proud.

This conscious re-programming went on for about half a year. With time I became that new individual, the one in control. I never told anybody that I would quit, because that creates an enormous pressure which is hard to handle. That pressure alone will make anybody reach for the smokes, trust me. Stress = smoking BIG TIME. Besides which, do we really want to be constantly hassled by other people? They will leave you alone as a smoker but hassle your brain out when you are quitting and they are supposed to be supportive. No, quitting smoking is a private thing. It is between you and your Self.

One Sunday evening I realized I had only two cigarettes left. I could smoke one and save one for next morning. While I was – very consciously – planning this I felt: “this is it, now I quit”. I smoked them both and knew that tomorrow was the first day. I have done this before, so sure of myself in the evening, only to wake up in desperation the next morning, rushing for the nearest smoke, hating myself for my weakness. But this Monday morning I woke up knowing with all of my Self that it was finally over; after 35 years of smoking, I would never smoke again. I was happy and calm.

So far, so good. Then comes all the rest – the results and imbalances of many years of smoking. The suffering and hardships of getting back in balance and health. This will be my next post.

to be continued

smoking-quitting

SMOKING

smoking-fashionI was always a smoker. The first time I smoked a cigarette was right before I turned 12, and it was the most wonderful experience. I didn’t feel sick, only a bit dizzy and I liked this feeling very much. I was deeply unhappy and lost in this time of my life, and smoking gave me something nice, something to look forward to. Nobody knew that I smoked, it was my private sanctuary. Both my parents were heavy smokers who smoked everywhere; in the house, in the car, in bed the last thing before sleep and first thing upon waking up. My mother smoked during pregnancy and during breastfeeding. Smoking at this time was most fashionable and even attractive, remember the fashion-pictures of the time? Or the advertisements that went before:

When I started my training as a therapist it was very obvious to me that I had to stop smoking, but I couldn’t. I tried and just couldn’t. Years went by and I learned to sort of “control” my smoking. A lot of people didn’t even realize I smoked. I was always ashamed of it and made all kind of excuses to why I smoked. The main one being – of course, considering my history – emotional. Which, in a way, was true but not the whole truth. In my youth I did drugs and stopped without too big problems, so what was going on with the cigarettes?

A lot of people my age were heavily programmed with the smoking; everywhere we went – there it was; smoking in restaurants, bars, waiting rooms and in fashion. Beautiful and attractive smoking paraphernalia, advertisements… smoking was very much a part of life. Added to that, our receptors for nicotine were up and kicking just from existing in society…well, the outcome is given – smoking is the way to go! For me and a lot of others, the “ingredients” in cigarettes were part of our physical make-up, seeing as we were constantly imbued with the toxins from even before the moment of conception.

Here is a list of all the 599 known additives in cigarettes; upon reading it I was wondering if there is anything they haven’t put in there. It almost verges on being ridiculous if it wasn’t for the severe dangers of so many of the additives.

http://quitsmoking.about.com/cs/nicotineinhaler/a/cigingredients_2.htm

The nicotine that seems to have everybody so worried is only one of all the additives in cigarettes. Nicotine leaves the body quite rapidly but heavy metals and other chemicals are stored in your body-system and takes a very long time to get rid of. I would say that nicotine is only a part of the problem. Too bad not enough attention has been focused on some of the other additives: (following is taken from about.com)

Benzene
Benzene can be found in pesticides and gasoline. It is present in high levels in cigarette smoke and accounts for half of all human exposure to this hazardous chemical.

Pesticides
Pesticides are used on our lawns and gardens, and inhaled into our lungs via cigarette smoke.

Formaldehyde
Formaldehyde is a chemical used to preserve dead bodies, and is responsible for some of the nose, throat and eye irritation smokers experience when breathing in cigarette smoke.

Chemicals in Cigarettes: Toxic Metals

Toxic / heavy metals are metals and metal compounds that have the potential to harm our health when absorbed or inhaled. In very small amounts, some of these metals support life, but when taken in large amounts, can become toxic.

Arsenic
Commonly used in rat poison, arsenic finds its way into cigarette smoke through some of the pesticides that are used in tobacco farming.

Cadmium
Cadmium is a toxic heavy metal that is used in batteries. Smokers typically have twice as much cadmium in their bodies as nonsmokers.

Chemicals in Cigarettes: Poisons

Poison is defined as any substance that, when introduced to a living organism, causes severe physical distress or death. Science has discovered approximately 200 poisonous gases in cigarette smoke.

Ammonia
Ammonia compounds are commonly used in cleaning products and fertilizers. Ammonia is also used to boost the impact of nicotine in manufactured cigarettes.

Carbon Monoxide
Carbon monoxide is present in car exhaust and is lethal in very large amounts. Cigarette smoke can contain high levels of carbon monoxide.

Hydrogen Cyanide
Hydrogen cyanide was used to kill people in the gas chambers in Nazi Germany during World War II. It can be found in cigarette smoke.

Nicotine
Nicotine is a poison used in pesticides and is the addictive element in cigarettes.

In coming posts I will tell you my story and some of all what I discovered. Hopefully it will be of help to others, I certainly wish I had had this information from the start.

to be continued…

AROMATHERAPY AND HORSES

Jade headThis is Jade. She is 34 years old and she did her last mounted-game competition when she was 30.

I told you in my last post that I work with horses. Apart from basic groundwork, natural horsemanship style, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_horsemanship I also work with essential oils. Sometimes in combination with training to help keep the horse focused and/or calm if there is nervousness. Most often I use essential oils with horses who suffer from some kind of trauma. Horses have an average life-span of about 15 years, a pony can get as old as 40. They are incredibly sensitive with an amazing memory – they remember everything. Very few horses stay with one owner for the full duration of their lives, some change owners very very often and the new owners rarely know anything about the past of the horse they just bought. If there is trauma it will make itself known in different ways and this is where I am called in.

This next picture is of a pony that belongs to a friend of mine. She was caught, with her foal,  in a very bad flood a few years ago and the foal drowned. She is a wonderful pony but she tunes out and goes into flight mode when pushed. I have done some ground-work with her and she always ends up going into a slight panic; breathing hard, sweating, rushing and becoming non-communicable. This weekend I brought my oils and she answered very well. We did some groundwork and she could stay calm, which is a good start, but there is still more work to be done. The oils she chose will be used for some time until progress is noticeable, then maybe she will need another oil/oils. Once her trauma is healed she will be an amazing pony.

DSCF0172

I have, through the years, also worked with a variety of different animals; dogs, cats, sheep, cows, lamas, snakes, birds, lizards, turtles, frogs etc with fantastic results. With animals there is no doubt, they instinctively know what they need to heal, and they seem to have a need to be whole. For this kind of work only top quality essential oils will suffice and then in very small quantities.

In England, Caroline Ingraham  works professionally with aromatherapy and animals. When I met her some years ago she was about to work with saving orangutans with severe trauma. She has done amazing work in this area and is the pioneer of animal aromatherapy. If this is interesting to you, you need to check out her home-page.

http://www.ingraham.co.uk/

BEING PRESENT

meditateBeing present or being in the now, is something I have been working on for very long, and it is really not that easy. We think we are present most of the time, but we actually hardly ever are. As I already mentioned in another posting; we judge everything based on something we already know, keeping us in the past or in the future. The present is a constant moment – it has no time. Everything is fresh and new – a possibility of learning or enjoying or maybe even suffering – yes, suffering is also part of being. All emotions are a learning experience, and the now is constantly loaded with possibilities. Changes are now, learning is now, experiencing is now, tasting, touching, seeing, smelling is now. When we are in the past we feel regret and when we are in the future we feel fear.                                                                                                                                                                                 We are constantly searching for our future, looking here, looking there – and the future always seem to elude us since it never comes; Each future moment becomes the present, at which point we completely miss it since we are still searching for the future. In a way we are living like slaves to our emotions; constantly struggling to go forward without ever stopping to reap the rewards.

When my children were small they had their favorite movie which they would watch over and over again, days – even weeks – on end. Each time they watched this movie it was like they saw it for the first time. This is being in the present. I used to watch them, mesmerized by their intense joy over something – to me – “worn down”. I was always in the future; next meal, next day, next chore. I was so busy that I very seldom stopped only to exist. My children showed me how to do this. They were the reason I learned to stop, because the joy of watching them exist made me still. My children were always my greatest teachers.

The source of our creativity is stillness.

I am very good at handling horses, somehow I know inside what they are feeling, what they are about to do. I have never learned about horses and I am not a brilliant rider, but I do know how they tick. Why? When I was a child I had an enormous love for horses,  and on the farm where we lived summers and holidays there were horses in a field. I used to spend my days there, watching them. I would bring a book and sandwiches and just watch.  With time I started to move with the horses, being part of their flock and this is how I learned horses. I learned their “language” and I learned that every movement means something. I learned that horses exist only in the present and this is the key to good horsemanship – the present. Horses were always my teachers.

Everything in the Universe comes from within; every idea, creation, thought, knowledge. Each time I stay in the present I learn something valuable – priceless. The things I do, know and understand best were learned in these moments. I watch my surroundings while being in the present – this is how I learn. But I have to work on it all the time since I slide so easily into the future.

Merlin & Wolfie i hagen

FOODS continued…

I was astonished to see the movie link in my last post is unavailable due to “terms of use violation”. Hmm, interesting. So I will post you another little film here instead, can’t enough stress the importance of nutrition.

A connection is made between additives and ADD in children. ADD has increased enormously over the last years…makes me wonder…

FOOD

FruitVegWe need to take a look at how and what we are eating.  So many people are overweight and obese, have problems with; concentration, sleep, hormones, digestion, emotions…the list goes on forever. I have been watching this development for a long time and it took me some time to realize that much of it is connected to foods and eating-habits. “We are what we eat” doesn’t mean that we become pigs for eating pork, it is more about health and balance.
Our bodies have certain needs, and they are quite simple, in the old days all nutrients came naturally through our foods. Today much of our foods are either polluted or depleted of nutrients. Our bodies find ways to handle the toxins that come into our systems – to a certain point. When the amount of toxins becomes to large, the body slowly starts breaking down. And with body is included the brain = emotions, memory, hormones, concentration, learning…the list is vast. So much of the food people eat today is full of chemicals that are bad or outright dangerous. Much foods have no nutritious value at all. Many people don’t even know how to cook a simple meal.
Check out this video on additives in foodstuffs and tell me if you are prepared to feed this to yourself and your children.

Information on additives, toxins and depletion is becoming widely available as disease from unhealthy eating is growing rampant. Research has been and is being conducted to ascertain what nutrients we need to function  and what additives make us ill:

  • Essential fatty acids are vital for healthy brain-function and has been found to help combatting dyslexia, how interesting then, that the number of dyslectic children is rising in today’s society. Essential fatty acids are found in fish-oil and cold-pressed, unrefined vegetable oils. The vegetable oils you find in your local store, with the exception of good quality olive oil, are so refined as to be unfit for eating.
  • Vitamins and trace-elements (calcium, iron, magnesium etc) are found in most unrefined food-stuffs; vegetables, fruits, meat and dairy-products. Today most people suffer disease from vitamin and trace-element depletion. The levels of these vital nutrients are lower also in natural food-stuffs since the soil has been depleted.
  • Natural sugars are being replaced with “fake” sugars such as aspartam, sorbitol and others. Some are believed to induce cancer. Extensive studies are being done in this area.
  • Meat-producing animals are heavily medicated with antibiotics – not because they are ill, rather to “protect” them from illness. They are also given hormones for bigger meat-yield. Antibiotics and hormones are stored primarily in fatty tissue and also in muscle tissue (meat). When we eat the meat, we are also ingesting these antibiotics and hormones.
  • Fizzy soft drinks; the carbonic acid, which gives the fizziness, lowers the pH of the body. To balance that, calcium is excreted from the sceletal system, depleting the bones of calcium = osteoporosis. The number of children with osteoporosis has risen drastically. Osteoporosis is normally an old peoples disease and comes from low calcium-levels together with a sedentary life-style. Children need calcium and movement to grow healthy. Now they are drinking sodas (which are cheaper than milk) and sitting still.

The list goes on forever.

A whole new food-movement is gaining momentum in today’s society, especially in the USA; check out this article about one amazing mans work to change the wave of food-induced deterioration:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/05/magazine/05allen-t.html

In the article is a link for the website, if you don’t feel like reading the article you can go straight to:

www.growingpower.org

05allen-190Will Allen

Picture by Nigel Parry for The New York Times

THANK YOU

comfort-zoneThank you people for such nice feed-back on my post yesterday,  I was – again – reminded of the rewards that come when I step past my comfort zone.

I received quite a few comments, ideas and questions that led me to believe that there is a great need for communication out there. So last night while falling asleep I had the idea to post questions and answers on this blog, this way you will get information on stuff that interests you; be it aromatherapy, herbs, natural skin-care, personal development, nutrition, stress-management or whatever…this way everybody helps each-other, which is how it should be.

By the way, please click on the ad to the right. It is a charity widget – every click helps children.