What They Are

Essential oils are substances derived from flowers, trees, bushes, roots, and seeds. They contain volatile oils with unique constituents, or ingredients, that can provide many health benefits. They are nicknamed Essential Oils because they hold within them the natural living energy, or Qi, of the plant.

Most essential oils are extracted through steam distillation, resin tapping, or cold pressing which results in a very highly concentrated liquid. This precious liquid can then be used 3 ways: aromatic diffusion (inhalation), skin application, or dietary ingestion. At Jade Path, your essential oil session will involve inhalation and topical use only. If you are interested in taking oils internally we can talk about this during your appointment.

How They Work

The properties of essential oils, regardless of how they are used, travel through the body to the brain where they have physiological and psychological effects on the body. With skin application, the oils enter the lymphatic system and then the blood stream carries them to the brain. Likewise, when oils are inhaled, they are absorbed by the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract and lungs entering the bloodstream and carried to the brain.

Inhalation of essential oils, or aromatherapy, also ignites our olfactory system, which is in charge of processing smell  and corresponds to the brain’s limbic sytem. What’s important about this is that our limbic system is associated with parts of the brain that control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, memory, stress, hormones, and the processing of emotions. Because of this connection, we know essential oils can have a very powerful effect on the body and mind.

How They Are Used

Since essential oils are rockstars at helping to usher in good health, we thought that combining them with the acupuncture treatment could have a deeper and longer lasting effect. When you come in for your appointment, depending on your chief complaint and how you are feeling, specific essential oils will be selected just for you.

To start treatment, those oils will be applied directly to the acupuncture points, on a meridian pathway, or a general body area. More than one oil may be used depending on therapeutic need and goal. As the oil(s) seep through the skin, they help to physiologically and/or psychologically activate the acupuncture point. Acupuncture or moxabustion treatment is then given.

Why Young Living Oils

We’ve have always diffused essential oils in the treatment rooms to help create an environment of relaxation. Since diving deeper and using oils on patients in treatment, it was of utmost importance to make sure the essential oils were the cleanest, therapeutic grade available. Young Living oils fit that bill as quality starts with the seeds and continues through their practice of responsible and sustainable growing and harvesting methods. They use distilling techniques that preserve the precious health-giving constituents which are third-party tested, to produce pure, chemical free quality essential oils. As they say, quality from “Seed to Seal”.

What To Do Next

Schedule your Follow Up Acupuncture + Essential Oil Visit to begin your path to better health! If you would like to order some oil or oil blends that would be beneficial for you, please send an email to: claretha@jadepathacupuncture.com

If you are curious and would like to check out Young Living and start using essential oils for yourself or make non-toxic cleaning supplies for your home click HERE. If you’d like to get an essential oil starter kit or join as a member and enjoy 24% off ALL purchases, click HERE and enter my Young Living ID (ID: 12509203) as your Sponsor/Enroller to set up your account. It’s true that small cumulative changes across our lifestyle help keep us healthy.