“I have tried all the recipes in the book, and love them, when will a ‘version 2′ be coming out?” says one of the hundreds of emails I receive regarding this popular book on essential oils.

“This book is one of my best sellers,” says Erin Post-Christopher, owner of The Herb Shoppe of Roswell and Wellness Center, holding out her dog-eared copy of the Health Strategy: Essential Oils book .  “I bought a copy for my desk because I refer to it all the time when customers come  looking for essential oils.  Many times after looking at the book with me, they buy the book and the oils called for in the recipe!”

The initial printing was self-published and spiral bound, but I had so much demand, I couldn’t keep up.  I approached Amazon.com and they picked it up and now this bound version is available there online.

But this initial version only had about 20 recipes and so by popular demand, I am working with Amazon to publish a new version with even MORE recipes.

I hope to be able to announce the release in mid August.  Keep your eyes open for the announcement of VERSION 2 of Health Strategy: Essential Oils.

Our heart is a complex organ, it pumps our blood throughout our body, it moves oxygen to all the cells in our body, and it keeps our organs functioning.  But when the heart is weak, or not performing at its peak efficiency, or the blood it pumps isn’t carrying the nutrients and oxygen that our bodies need, we might notice the weakness, dizziness, bleeding, pain or nausea before we notice that the culprit is the heart itself.

For many, the signs of heart disease, heart conditions and other circulatory ailments are all too familiar.  Conditions of the heart are a serious health concern and should be discussed immediately with a heart specialist.  However, with that being said, what are things we can do to keep our heart healthy, and even help it in its journey to get stronger?

This article will briefly list the herbs, essential oils and supplements that can be beneficial in building or maintaining heart health.

Heart palpitations, this is when the heart flutters, or beats harder or irregularly for a period of time.  This can be scary for the individual experiencing it.  Some supplements, oils and herbs that might be beneficial when this occurs are hawthorne, cordyceps, yarrow, peppermint and lavender essential oils.

The circulatory systems includes everything from the heart to the veins, arteries and capularies, and even includes the lymphatic system.  These are the highways, roadways and backroads of your circulatory system.  When the heart pumps blood, it travels through this road system, distributing goods along the way and collecting garbage on the way back.  If the road system is worn and cannot support the traffic, the blood can get clogged, leak out, break out or back up.  All of these are bad for the circulatory system, as well as the entire body.  So here are some herbs, oils and supplements that can be used to build and maintain the circulatory system, cordyceps, coq10, ginger, frankincense, peppermint, chamomile, lemon and thyme essential oils, green tea, omega 3s, vitamins E and C.

Bleeding is when the vessels, capillaries and arteries are weak and either leak, break, or worse.  To help stop bleeding and help support the weakened vessels, use yarrow, lavender and lemon essential oils and plenty of vitamin C.

Without blood, the heart, veins and arteries would have nothing to circulate, the cells and organs of your body would receive no oxygen, and would soon suffocate, and overflow with waste.  So even if the “system” is working, if the blood is too thick, or too thin, or is not able to carry enough oxygen, or tote away wastes, then the whole system can break down.  Blood needs to stay healthy too.  For example, the blood of a person who is dehydrated is thick, sticky and slow.  This causes stress on the system trying to move the thick liquid, but this dehydrated blood has less oxygen, and organs and body parts that rely on oxygen become tired, slow, and less productive.  So what can be done to improve blood quality and circulation?  Try these herbs, oils and supplements:  vitamins A, B12, E, cordyceps, clove, ginger, frankincense, lemon and lavender essential oils, and green tea.

What can you do to help repair damage, or maintain your heart health?  Your heart is a muscle, but unlike the other muscles in our body, this one cannot take a break and rest if it gets weak or damaged.  So to help the heart you want to minimize any inflammation present, keep the blood viscosity consistent, make sure the blood doesn’t clump up or clot causing blocks or bottlenecks.  You also want to make sure that all the “roads” to and from the heart are working well, so supporting the circulatory system, building strong healthy veins, arteries and capillaries.   These supplements might be helpful for  your heart and its systems:  resveratrol, omega 3s, magnesium, antioxidants, coq10, reishi, colostrum, cordyceps and green tea.

Try one or several of the items mentioned above. You may notice that some herbs or supplements are mentioned for many purposes, such as cordyceps and green tea.  That is why I listed the supplements, oils and herbs individually, so you can check these lists against anything you are already taking.

For your convenience, you can find the  most potent supplements, herbs and oils mentioned above combined specifically to address heart health, from two of the leading natural supplement suppliers in the world.

Nature’s Sunshine’s Cardio Assurance contains hawthorn, resveratrol, and vitamin B12 and B6, and K, it is recommended as their Primary Formula for circulatory issues and heart palpitations.   Also NSP’s Yarrow can help stop bleeding, calm palpitations, strengthen vessels and help to support the breaks.  NSP’s Immune Stimulator a powerful blend of cordyceps, reishi, and colostrum – a triple play for heart and circulation.

DoTERRA’s Lifelong Wellness pack contains 3 blends that have just about everything you might need for cellular, circulatory and heart health.  CRS contains anti-oxidants, resveratrol, green tea, and coq10.  EOMega, not only contains several different types of omega3 fatty acids (land and marine), it also contains all the CONSUMABLE essential oils you might need for circulatory, heart and cellular health – clove, frankincense, thyme, cumin, wild orange, peppermint, ginger and german chamomile.  And MicroPlex VM contains vitamins and minerals for circulation, blood purification and to support vein strength.  It contains vitamins A, C, E, and B, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, as well as the essential oils of peppermint, ginger, and caraway. See what others who have used this pack are saying.

I am sure you can find exactly what you are looking for with one of these vitality oriented products.  Want more information?  Visit www.ahealthstrategy.com.

I’d say that is a big “NO BRAINER” of course we would.  We live in a world where the toxins we are exposed to everyday are putting us all at risk for all kinds of cancer. 

According to a study done by the University of Oklahoma  (This is a summary, but you can read the FULL report from there too – if you are up for it!) the powerful Boswelic Acid found in Frankincense Essential oil has been tested and found to be able to differentiate cancer cells from normal cells, then stop the rapid multiplying of the cells, then disassembling only the cancer cell and killing it. Of course there are more studies to be done, but that’s amazingly powerful right? 

Until recently, the available frankincense essential oil was only able to be applied externally, through the use of Aromatherapy.  All other commercial essential oil companies did not recommend frankincense for internal use.  This, for many, limited the options for healing.

What if you could take frankincense (along with other health building ingredients) internally in capsule form?

Well, dōTERRA has added Frankincense, along with some very potent, vitalizing essential oils to Omega fatty acids, and created a Lifelong Wellness program.  Imagine, supplements that actually include CONSUMABLE Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade™ essential oils! 

dōTERRA’s EO Mega is a unique formula of CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade® essential oils of frankincense, clove, thyme, cumin, wild orange, peppermint, ginger, and German chamomile, and a proprietary blend of marine and land-sourced omega fatty acids from flaxseed, pomegranate seed, evening primrose, cranberry seed, and concentrated fish oils. Omega fatty acids have been shown to support healthy joint function and brain health. A daily dose of EO Mega provides 1 gram of marine oils, 1 gram of land oils, and 60 mg of the EO Mega essential oil blend.

If you are taking omega 3 capsules everyday for brain and joint health, why wouldn’t you want to include CANCER FIGHTING and PREVENTION to the list?  It is said that “cancer cannot grow where Frankincense is present.”

To learn more about Frankincense and all the ways you can use it to benefit your health, or doTERRA’s Lifelong Wellness program, or other doTERRA products, click here, sign up for an informational webinar, or send me an email and I’d be happy to give your more information.

However, I feel like I am prepared for the health care changes, at least the changes that affect me and my family.  You see, when my family gets sick with the flu, virus, or infection, my first reaction is not to run to the doctor, or even to the immediate care clinic or pharmacy. I have a collection of Essential Oils that I use to address my family’s colds, flus and viral infections, cuts scrapes, muscle and joint pain, without needing to take pharmaceuticals or over the counter medications. 

Using nature’s powerful plant essence in our home helps me to kill infections caused by virus, bacteria, and other nasty bugs.  Essential Oils such as Frankincense, Myrrh, Cassia, Cinnamon, and Ginger have been used for centuries, and have been successful at killing virus, bacteria, fungus, and parasites for centuries, from the Egyptians and Romans, to the Israelites and early Jews and Christians.  The use of aromatic plant extracts have been used to fight against plague, death, as well as enhance beauty and defy aging!

It is no coincidence that the Three Kings from the Orient brought Frankincense and Myrrh to the birth of the New King.  These oils had powerful healing, germ killing and immune building properties.  They were brought to keep the young baby Jesus healthy and strong. 

Don’t we all want to provide the same level of protection our own families to keep them healthy, build their immune systems and fight infection and disease? Today, these same gifts that, at that time, cost fortunes, are now quite affordable, and with today’s technology, the quality is higher, and potency much stronger. 

I have recently discovered doTERRA essential oils, that are not only powerful and of high quality, they are Certified Pure, Therapeutic Grade essential oils, that are actually RECOMMENDED for use internally, when appropriate!  Very few oil manufactures make that claim.  I have had the pleasure to try these oils, Internally, Externally, and when using Aromatherapy – the purity and effectiveness is immediately evident. 

As an example, Frankincense is used for a number of health concerns today.  Certified Pure, Therapeutic Grade Frankincense can be used  internally, for such conditions as treating urinary infections, killing bronchial infections, and acting as an expectorant.

Externally, Frankincense can be used  in lotions or massage for rheumatic and arthritic conditions, as a douche or suppository for vaginal infections,  and even as a mouthwash to kill germs and fight gingivitis

When Frankincense is used in Aromatherapy  it can help ease seizures and other neuralogical health issues, and is often used for meditation, and burning it is considered to expand consciousness

So treat those you love with the powerful oils used to keep kings healthy, strong and safe.  Try doTERRA’s Frankincense, or maybe even Lemon or Lavender essential oils.  You too might visit the doctor or pharmacy less often, while building your health and your immune systems! Find out more at a doTERRA informational webinar.

“T’was the week before Christmas when all through our home, all the flu germs were brewing, gathering strength on their own.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, coughing and wheezing as I listened with dread.  Our trip to the mountains was in less than a day, how would we get better for all that snow-play?”

I am sure, at one time or another, many of you have had a similar experience; family all packed up and the season’s yuckiest bug descends on your family. This particular bug, according to a few of my unfortunate friends, boasts a three week duration, with a nasty respiratory infection.  This would not due for our White Christmas Family Adventure. 

My kids are used to me whipping out my essential oils at the first sight of a sniffle or sore throat, but traveling was going to present a problem.  I started us all out with my usual steam breathing treatment with a blend of Meleleuca (Tea Tree), Eucalyptus, and Peppermint essential oils. But, this time, I had discovered a new secret weapon; Oregano essential oil – in a capsule!  This was an amazing gift for all of us this trip.  I filled empty capsules with three drops of Oregano essential oil and took them with us on vacation!  I made enough for everyone on the trip, to heal those that were sick and to keep the healthy that way! 

Taking essential oils internally has been a missing link in my healing arsenal, and now that I have discovered how to turn the power of essential oils on from inside, I will be able to approach healing from a completely new perspective. 

The key to using essential oils internally is finding an oil that is pure enough, and that has been harvested with the intention of internal use.  There are a few oils available on the market with this focus,  the company I have chosen is doTERRA oils, because they have made a focused effort to make nearly all their oils for use internally.  Because of this, they are able to offer additional products, packages and blends that other companies cannot. 

So, in case you were wondering, we all had a great Christmas adventure, a few sniffles, but the infection was killed, the vacation was saved and a great rollicking fun time was had by all!

For more information about these oils, click here, or attend one of our informational webinars.

This oil is amazing.  Mandarin Orange’s scent is sweet, and orange citrus.  The oil is derived from the peel of the fruit. The things that this one oil can help with will surprise you!  Here are a few to get you thinking:

• acne
• anxiety
• cardio-vascular erythrism
• congested and oily skin
• constipation
• dejection
• depression
• digestive problems
• dyspepsia
• fluid (reducing retention)
• grief
• hiccups
• indigestion
• insomnia (especially nervous origin)
• intestinal problems
• kids – safe for kids as young as toddlers
• liver (strengthening)
• lymphatic (increases circulation and aids detoxification)
• menstrual cramps
• mood enhaner – happy, light-hearted
• nervous tension
• obesity
• PMS
• restlessness
• scars
• skin (increase circulation)  
• skin (rejuvenation of mature skin)
• spots
• stomach cramps
• stress relief
• stretch marks (prevention)
• toner

As with most citrus based oils, Mandarin Orange Essential oil is phototoxic, which means that you shouldn’t treat your skin topically with this oil before being exposed to sunlight.  The sunlight will interact with the oils an create brown spots on your skin.  These spots may fade in time, but use precaution when using this oil topically on skin exposed to sunlight.

Some of my favorite uses for this oil is for uplifting you mood, and for many uses during pregnancy!  It is mild enough to use while pregnant (after first trimester) and can be used for preventing stretch marks, uplifting those occasional down days, reducing fluid retention in ankles, and is the best solution for alleviating anxiety!  Just be careful in the sunlight.  Here is a great suggestion from “recent new-mom,” Dr. Erin Post, “During labor, the greatest thing in the world, at that moment … washcloths,  soaked in Mandarin Orange oil and water, then FROZEN!  No words to describe that wonderful soothing scent, so cool against my neck! ”  Since it is safe during pregnancy, and also safe for young kids, this also makes a great oil to help kids adjust to new siblings, improve happiness, mood and energy.  This makes a great primary oil in a blend, and would mix well with many other oils, based on the intent of your blend.

For more ideas on how to blen, how to apply, and using essential oils for everyday uses, check out our Learning page under Health Strategy on our Website.

Today, in our technologically advanced world, processing of the plants to produce an ounce of oil can be done with much more efficiency, at a much higher quality, and the end result is not only more readily available, but also much more concentrated and pure.  So the oils today, as opposed to the oils of several centuries ago, are already more powerful, cleaner, and of a much higher quality, yet still maintaining their 100% natural status (well, at least the best oils can say that!) 

In fact, it is the natural status of essential oils, the fact that in nature, nothing is exact, or is exactly the same from year to year or even from plant to plant, that makes essential oils so effective in killing bacteria and virus and other microbiological invaders.  The constantly changing (albeit microscopic)  nature of essential oils, make it near impossible for these unwanted critters to adapt and become resistant.  That is why, where traditional medicine fails, healing with essential oils can be so effective!  Take the MRSA bacteria; traditional medicine has created a “superbug” strain that pharmaceutical therapy cannot kill, because the bacteria have become resistant to the “chemically created” antibiotics used to kill it.  Essential oils are created from the ever-changing pharmacy of nature, and the bacteria cannot adapt – too many variables. 

To make the use of essential oils even more powerful, when you blend more than one oil together in your healing mixture, you can hit the infection from multiple directions, not only killing it, but, depending on the oils in the blend, healing supporting the body as well. 

I have just introduced the latest workshop in the Health Strategy series – Health Strategy:  Essential Oils Blending Certification workshop.  This workshop is unlike any other  you have taken on Aromatherapy!  We are focusing completly on creating blends for healing – healing MRSA, Sinus Infection, Strep, PMS, and so much more!  In this workshop you will learn about 20 of the most popular essential oils and their therapeutic properties. You will learn how to match oils to a specific complaint and blend complimentary oils together using proven measurements and techniques.  You will also learn about exciting new and effective application and delivery methods you may have never tried or even heard of.  When you register for the  Health Strategy:  Essential Oils Blending Certification workshop, you will receive free, as part of your Certification a copy of the popular Health Strategy: Essential Oil recipe ebook, as well as an unique tool to help you learn which oils to use to create the most potent blends for healing, and more!  This is not your standard Aromatherapy workshop!  This is a 3.5 hour workshop, presented for one hour each Thursday for 3 weeks.  You will have opportunities to experiment and report back your findings and experiences.  Learn from the other participants and after a final assessment, receive your Certification. 

So remember to increase the power of your essential oils by choosing only the highest medicinal quality, pure oils from a highly respected source, and when appropriate and possible, blend more than one oil together to keep your healing blends powerful.

Check out these links for dates and times of our Learning Opportunities, as well as more information on blending essential oils, or how to create a medicine chest with essential oils.

Witch hazel, in its retail form, is a bottled liquid marketed as an astringent. You may have seen it next to the Aloe and Epsom’s salts in the Drug Store.  But beautiful Hazel is so much more!  Like essential oils, witch hazel oils are extracted from the witch hazel shrub. The oil from the bark is distilled and combined in a 14% alcohol solution, it makes a soothing, hypoallergenic, non-drying astringent.  The leaves can be used to create witch hazel leaf water, which contains no alcohol and can be taken internally, or when alcohol base is in appropriate. 

Witch hazel is a vaso-constrictor, so in combination with other healing oils, this astringent base can be used to shrink swelling heal cuts, relieve inflammation and so much more!  My favorite use for witch hazel is to combine it with tea tree essential oil and use for an acne skin toner.  Witch hazel and tea tree on their own are powerful against acne, but together – what a team.  

Because of the alcohol base, witch hazel dries quickly and can leave behind the healing essential oils.  One such use that has saved many a mother’s sanity during (hold your breath) a lice break out at school.  If your child has managed to avoid the lice, you can do a lot to keep it that way, by using a tea tree and baby shampoo treatment daily, and, just before they head out to school, spray their hair with a tea tree and witch hazel spray bottle – the liquid evaporates leaving the tea tree to protect your child! 

Used with lavender and mandarin essential oils, witch hazel makes a wonderful skin toner, that can remove makeup, tone the skin and helps to fight acne and soothes rosacea.  I am presenting a seminar on 6/30/10 Health Strategy: Creating  your essential oil medicine chest  and we will be talking about using wich hazel with essential oils!  Come check it out!So the next time you are thinking of what carrier to use in your next essential oil application, think about my friend, Witch Hazel!

Helen Thomas, photo by Michelle Myers

My mother has lived with me for almost 11 years, and during that time, I have seen how easy it is for well-meaning doctors to prescribe medications for some of the most minor complaints.  It seemed that they were more interested in her being comfortable and happy than finding the root cause and treating that. 

I love my mother, and when the doctor told me we needed to schedule a “routine liver-health test” because she was taking cholesterol medication, I wondered “Why is it sane to give a 78 year old woman a medication that can damage her liver?”  This of course took us down a very long and exciting path into alternative wellness for not only my mother, but for me and my kids, too!  But that is for another article.

So, this got me experimenting, and on top of the natural treatments and herbs and supplements we discovered, I found that so many common complaints can not only be treated with Essential Oils, but actually cured! Those experiments continue today, I am always learning new blends, ideas and uses.  But my thought was that I would share some of the great oils I used with my mom.

Senior Citizens, or at least those members of our society that seem to be bombarded with prescription drugs, both by the doctor and by advertisers, are at very high risk of multiple drug interactions.  When ever possible, it is a great idea to seek a non-prescription alternative for many common ailments and concerns, essential oils might be one of those alternatives. 

One such condition that many seniors, like my mother, suffer with is joint and muscle pain.  So, what do we do? Call the doctor – PRESTO! A pain killing prescription. 

For joint and muscle pain, using a  few drops of Lavender, Helichrysum, Roman Chamomile and geranium essential oils in and ounce or two of massage oil can be rubbed easily into sore joints and muscles and doesn’t smell like BenGay! The anti-inflamatory action of Lavender and Geranium, the cell-rebuilding power of Helichrysum, and the pain relieving action of Roman Chamomile calms and soothes and begins to heal your joints and muscles instead of just making them feel better for the time being. This recipe is included in my Health Strategy: Essential Oils book.

Now, at 88, my mother is in a Nursing Home.  She often gets scared, afraid and quite agitated because her memory goes in and out. I go to calm her and I take out a blend I keep in her drawer, 3 drops each of Bergamot, Lavender, Geranium in 2 ounces of a nice creamy lotion base.  I pour some on my hands and take her hands in mine, and gently stroke her hands, and arms, rubbing the lotion into her wrists and hands (to be absorbed an inhaled as she puts her hands near her face).  This is also a very calming ritual.  After 5 minutes or so, she is much calmer, clearer, and feeling stronger. This recipe is only available here on this blog page, I have not yet included it in my Health Strategy: Essential Oils book.

Another recipe I have developed is for her Post Hepetic Neuralgia – the lingering searing pain left over after an attack of Shingles.  My mother got Shingles right after her chemotherapy treatments for her Breast Cancer (her immune system was compromised by the chemo and the Chicken Pox virus resurfaced).  When the Shingles rash left, the burning pain on her left side remained and has made itself known for the past 15 years.  This oil combination is the only thing that has given her any relief. The combination of Helichrysum, Neroli, Tea Tree, Lavender, Geranium, and Roman Chamomile essential oils in a carrier oil, lotion or spray. This recipe is a little more complex to post here, but you will find it in the Health Strategy: Essential Oils book.  We applied it 3 times a day to the site, and twice a day to the bottoms of her feet – That allows the healing to reach all areas of the nervous system to aid in healing.

Now, at 88, my mother is still not on any prescription medications, and although is suffering memory and other psychological manifestations, is in pretty good physical health.  This is primarily due to switching her from prescriptions to natural alternatives, essential oils being part of that new regime.  I owe my mother’s health and longevity to the work and support of Dr. Erin Post-Christopher and how she has helped me, and encouraged me on my journey into health. 

Today, knowing the value, the benefits, rewards and the hard work, I pay it forward.  I help others on their journey to incorporate natural alternative, essential oils, herbs and other methodologies into their lives.  As a Health and Wellness Strategist and Coach, I believe your journey is unique, and I will help you grow in Health.

This book is all about teaching the common person how to select, blend, apply and use essential oils for the everyday bumps, bruises, infections, illness and conditions of life.  I have included recipes that go beyond Aromatherapy and working with the scents and aromas of the oils.  I have included recipes that relieve pain, help heal scars, kill colds and virus (yes I said kill virus), even those bugs that the common antibiotics and antibacterials cannot! 

I have included a recipe using the oil blend combination that was discovered by the University of Manchester, England that kills the MRSA virus in seconds!  This is a must have in ANY medicine chest, gym bag, or purse!

I have included the latest methods of application and delivery, from using the oils in a steam inhalation, a gargle, and creating a topical antibiotic gel, to creating a treatment for herpes!

If you have ANY interest in Essential Oils, you have got to get this book!  Check out more information on the book at my website, you can even download a free mini version with 4 free recipes!