Vetiver for Mind-Body Connection
I am rooted and connected to the Source of energy and peace.
If you’ve ever smelled Vetiver, you won’t forget it easily. It’s a rich, thick, amber colored essential oil with a sweet, woody and almost overwhelming smoky fragrance. It is widely used by the perfume industry as a base note in colognes. It has been used for centuries in ancient eastern medicine to balance the delicate mind, body and spirit connection. It calms and cools the body systems while simultaneously invigorating the mind.
It is said to calm an overactive “root chakra”, which is the lower portion of the torso, spine, and organs, due to shock or trauma.
Thinking about the lower part of the torso... you have the adrenal glands and kidneys that are big players in the stress cycle and trauma connections in the brain.
This full system of responses between the brain and glands in the body is called the HPA Axis in scientific terms.
Opening a healthy flow and calming the nervous system in this area is key to interrupting chronic stress cycles. You can think of the “root chakra” as what grounds you and where your biggest energy and creativity comes from when it’s open and relaxed… passion, excitement, determination when balanced, or aggression, restlessness, and insecurity when out of balance.
It’s not uncommon for people addicted to their own stress cycle to be resistant to the strong comforting smell of vetiver at first. Imbalances and disconnections from our root area can manifest as high levels of stress, overwhelm, scattered thoughts and feelings, depression, and obsessive disorders.
Not only does vetiver ground the nervous system, but it also stimulates or streamlines brain function.
One study stated that vetiver supports refreshing electrical brain activity and alertness. So you might say that it corrects the flow of energy by grounding it and sending a calm but refreshing, deep laser focus to the brain.
When you have that kind of balance, you have a great handle on your intuition (gut instincts) and can act in alignment with that inner wisdom that’s always whispering the next step. You might say that it helps to cultivate a deep sense of confidence, not by overthinking and having to have all the answers but by listening calmly and recognizing them. There has been more research being done recently about this balance between the nervous system and the heart’s part in synthesizing information that the brain and body receive. Vetiver is a great bridge to open us up to depth and greater awareness while simultaneously helping us to enjoy life in the moment.
The plant itself is a tall grass that grows up to five feet. It is very resilient, resisting drought and helping to protect soil erosion around it and even to make roofing for houses in some countries. The strong roots, which the essential oil is distilled from, are used to stabilize railway cuttings to prevent mudslides. They grow up to eight feet deep, which is even deeper than some tree roots!
Learn more about doTERRA’s sourcing practices, vetiver plant, and the farmers who create the oil.
FUN BRAIN FACT: Deep within the brain is the amygdala gland, which was only discovered in the past few decades. This gland stores and releases emotional trauma. Most of our stress reactions are because of the amygdala reacting to what it perceives as a threat.
The connection between smell (olfactory bulb), the limbic system, and the amygdala is so close that smells have a profound effect on the emotions stored in the amygdala. If you want to release trauma responses with essential oils, applying them to the back of the neck, at the base of the skull, is a great way to remind the body to release and relax.
This connection to smell is so persuasive to the brain that big business brands are creating brand identity and simulating the environment they want customers and clients to FEEL in order to sell more. (Check it out at the Harvard Business Review)
Stay rooted and connected to the Source of energy and peace.
When to use vetiver:
When you need to slow down and process more deeply
When you feel scattered by life or overwhelmed by priorities
When you feel the need to escape emotional pain instead of discovering its root and leaning into what it’s telling you
When you are doing identity work and deeper self discovery and letting go of the attachments to noise and surface labels
When you want to nourish skin and help with discoloration
When you want a deeeeeeeep night’s sleep
