Lavender for Mind-Body Connection
Let me introduce you to an oil that I haven’t always loved but learned to appreciate early on.
Before I knew anything of the mind-body connection or how essential oils triggered responses, I learned that lavender works really well to soothe an itchy bug bite.
At the very least, my experience with lavender taught me that it was soothing and calming. But for years, I didn’t know that the benefits went way beyond itching and angry, irritated skin, and fussy babies.
General research on lavender has shown that it interacts with the limbic system, a little area of the brain that is the control center for a lot of body responses and emotions. It has been shown to increase activity in at least 5 areas of brain function, while calming the areas of the brain when overreacting to stimuli. Because of this, it has been proven very effective at balancing mood for study participants that worked on stressful tasks.
Research has given us a lot of confidence to rely on the effectiveness of aromatherapy.
Beyond the basic documented effects on the nervous system and centers of the brain, experience and other perspectives and practices have shown how lavender works deep within the mind-body connection. Stress is a general term that says the nervous system is overwhelmed, but there are so many flavors and shades depending on what specific experiences and thoughts are tied to the situation.
One of the most deeply engrained and harmful sources of stress is the stress of the experience (or at least perception) of rejection. When someone has experienced rejection in life, or even if they’ve perceived situations as rejection from something they wanted/needed/expected, the wound left behind is a deep rejection of self.
Rather than leaning into self love and acceptance, many people just disconnect from the pain on a conscious level and let the wound remain under the surface. This further disconnects them from their own self love, understanding and acceptance. It creates stress in friendships, work environments, and more when we live in a state of preparing to defend ourselves against the hurt of rejection. It is inevitable that we will encounter people that won’t love every single thing about us or stick around in our lives, but constantly trying to safeguard against that leaves us pouring energy into trying to earn love and approval or just isolating to avoid pain.
This creates a deep disconnection with the self and a stress loop that cycles throughout life until the connection and acceptance is restored. What comes along with the deep disconnection is the inability to be aware of or communicate what is happening in the inner thought and feeling world, therefore making healing very difficult because part of healing is knowing what you need and finding or asking for it.
You Have to be willing to know yourself well to accept yourself deeply.
Lavender helps to restore the connection between the mind and body, soothes the nervous system, quiets and calms the mind and therefore encourages emotional honesty, helping one communicate, or at least become aware of, innermost thoughts and feelings. As we learn to convey our deepest feelings and bring them into the light, we can free ourselves from the self made prison of disconnection and rejection.
And then the healing cycle begins.
To say the least, lavender is one of the basic oils I recommend for anyone to start with because of its many health benefits and uses, as well as its foundational role in helping us stay connected to ourselves and the constant state of growth and healing.
Tips for using lavender daily:
add a drop to your tube of mascara for healthy lash growth
add a drop to your shampoo each time you wash your hair for a healthy scalp and hair growth
add a drop into your daily moisturizer for healthy skin regeneration and eye health
add a few drops to bath water (or put in a cup of epsom salt first, then add to water)
apply to skin irritations
add a few drops to the diffuser before bed for more restful sleep
Tips for Using Lavender for Mind-Body Connection
Quiet Time Diffuser Blend
3 drops Lavender
2 drops Frankincense
Before bed, find a quiet spot, turn the lights down, turn on a lamp, and grab a journal. Put these oils in the diffuser. Jot down any thoughts or feelings that come to the surface. Don’t try too hard, This isn’t a digging exercise, just a noticing and observing activity.
If you’re having trouble, put one drop of lavender on your fingers and apply to the throat area on your neck.
If you have stress from the day, write it down. You can tear the page out and throw it away afterward. So don’t filter your thoughts as if someone is reading them.
Set a timer for five minutes and just dump it all out.
Now, when the timer goes off and the thoughts are all out, don’t feel any pressure to solve any of them or feel overly responsible or worried about them.
Place a hand over your heart. Breathe in deeply 2-3 times, imagining the breath moving in and out through your heart area.
Connect to one idea or memory that brings you a deep sense of gratitude and joy, and let that simmer for just a moment.
When the thought passes, take a deep breath, and know that as you sleep, your marvelous and fascinating brain is going to take the problems of the day and sort them into the proper places while your body and mind rests and renews itself for a new day.