Why Essential Oils?

I am thankful that my mom raised me to be wary of conventional medicine: she wasn’t afraid to use it when necessary, but she much preferred to treat our common childhood ailments with her well-stocked arsenal of home remedies and basic natural treatments, only trotting us off to the doctor when absolutely necessary. I recall phases where she gave us all garlic supplements to ward off colds and flu, which were apparently running rampant at the time. And I recall one instance when she tried to make us all drink carrot garlic juice in an effort to rid our family of some respiratory illnesses that were plaguing us for months (thankfully, since I had finally personally recovered from the flu myself, I got a pass on that particular treatment).

This wariness of conventional medicine, and this leaning towards natural remedies followed me into my adulthood, where I kind of floundered for a while in a rather nebulous state of healthcare. I wasn’t interested in either embracing or outright refusing regular medical care (i.e., medical doctors), but I wasn’t sure what - if any - of the seemingly endless natural care options was the most effective. Some things in the natural medicine world struck me as being downright odd and even a little freaky, frankly. But I wasn’t willing to succumb to Tylenol and antibiotics for every little ache or illness, either. So I really didn’t do anything but the most basic of natural remedies, resorting to visits to the Urgent Care when I couldn’t recover from an illness on my own.

Then I had kids. To be specific, I had kids with health issues like food allergies, asthma, and eczema. I was happy for conventional medical care that helped me and my Certain Little Someone through the terrible first year or two of his life, when we struggled with multiple allergic episodes, wheezing, and itchy itchy eczema that kept him (and me!) up all night. There was a time when I was simply trying to stay afloat, and frankly, trying to keep my child alive and my sanity intact at the same time. I didn’t care what it took, I just wanted my child to live and breathe without scratching his skin off.

But things settled down, and I began to consider more seriously the different options available for treating his various conditions. That’s when I learned about chiropractic care for allergy & asthma patients, and began taking him to get regular adjustments. One of these days, I’ll tell you more about my experience in that realm, but for now, let’s just say it was the first step on my journey towards intentional natural healing. It’s one thing to merely avoid medical care unless absolutely necessary; it’s another thing to seek out alternatives.

As I began to research alternatives to conventional medical care, I began to seriously consider for the first time exactly what I wanted that to look like. I wanted any remedies I employed to work with the body’s natural processes and not against them. I wanted options that nourished and healed without delivering unwanted - and unhelpful - side effects. I wanted care that was holistic in the sense that it took into consideration the involvement of mind and spirit in the body’s healing, but did not dismiss the One Who created the body. I also wanted options that would be easy for me to use in my own home and did not necessarily require the oversight of a doctor (although I am very interested in working with a naturopath or herbalist when the occasion warrants). And of course, I wanted reliable remedies that actually worked!

Not Exactly Affordable

Over and over again, the option that continually represented itself as meeting all these qualifications was… essential oils. Easy to use, effective, no side effects, holistic… and expensive! I admit to getting frustrated by the fact that I could not afford any oils except the occasional bottle from the health food store. And I never felt comfortable actually using those oils on or in my body, so I mostly employed them as cleaning agents around the house.

I knew that high quality essential oils would be the most effective - and the safest - to use, but I was discouraged by the fact that I could barely afford the health-store variety, let alone the incredibly expensive high-quality brands. Of course, I understood there was a reason for their high cost - you get what you pay for, after all! This is one of those things where the extra investment is definitely worth it. But if you don’t have the money, you don’t have the money. I wasn’t about to go into debt to purchase essential oils!

Or Maybe… There IS Such a Thing as Affordable Essential Oils!

And then, in one of those divinely ordained encounters, I learned from Jodi of Granola Mom 4 God and Naturally His that becoming a distributor of Young Living Essential Oils was easy to do, and, what’s better, made them considerably more affordable! I had considered it off and on prior to our conversation, but never pursued it, thinking it would require too much investment of both time and money to make it worthwhile. When Jodi told me the only monetary requirement for keeping your distributor account active was $50 a year… I was sold! I can handle $50 a year! And I can invest as much or as little time into it as I am able to afford, which of course will change with the changing seasons of my life.

So I am now officially an independent distributor of Young Living Essential Oils, which enables me to purchase their oils at wholesale prices! I have already used up a couple of the bottles from my starter kit, and just the other day made my very first order. I am so excited to be able to afford these oils for the benefit of my family and their health.

I’ve been using my oils like crazy the past month or so:

• putting a drop or two of Thieves oil in the humidifier in The Boys’ room to help ward off sickness during the cold and flu season
• rubbing peppermint oil (diluted in jojoba oil) on their chests and backs and feet when they had a cold
• rubbing diluted Thieves oil onto the soles of their feet to help keep their immune system strong against sickness when we go out
• adding lemon oil to the dishwasher for sparkling clean dishes
• adding lemon oil to the washer to help keep linens clean and white
• rubbing PanAway on Tiger Cub’s big toe after he dropped a pumpkin on it (OUCH!)
• … and lots more!

I’m still exploring and learning all about the possibilities, and I can’t wait to share what I learn with you!

How You Can Afford Essential Oils

And now, let me be perfectly frank with you for just a second. (OK, I’m always frank, but whatever.) I know from speaking with many of you that you don’t have a lot of spare cash hanging around either. That’s one reason why you follow my blog in the first place, because misery loves company, err… I mean… birds of a feather flock together. We are all in this frugal boat together, learning how to make do with what we’ve been given, even if it isn’t much.

And since I know that many of you are like me, you don’t have any interest in spending what seems to be excessive amounts of money on little bottles of oils that you’re not even sure will work for their intended purpose. I understand, because I’m the same way. And that’s why I’m so excited to tell you about the possibilities of becoming an independent distributor of Young Living Essential Oils - it can make something valuable and financially unattainable become a reality for you.

An independent distributor of YLEO (I’m sort of tired of typing all that out, so let’s just go with the acronym, shall we?), you would be able to:

• purchase the oils at the wholesale price
• sell the oils (potentially, you could cover the costs for your own oils by the sales you make!)
• get significantly discounted shipping and pricing by enrolling in Essential Rewards (a monthly auto-ship program)
• earn credits towards purchases via the Essential Rewards program
• earn commissions and bonuses depending on your sales and other factors

Your initial investment to get started as a distributor of YLEO can be as little as $40, which, in my opinion, is a great deal and very affordable for most people. That will get you started with the two most popular oils with very broad applications - lavender and peppermint, plus it will provide you with all the information you need to start using YLEO.

If you are interested, you can check out my YLEO website for more information, or contact me here.