LOSSES BECOME GAINS

Your gain: Discover the benefits of lavender as a natural way to reduce stress and anxiety, relax, and find peace amidst your loss and in your everyday life.

Lavender… I can’t say enough amazing things about it. Let me start by saying that if it’s not your favorite scent, totally understandable. My dad used to have a little sensitivity to it and it just wasn’t his thing. But if you’re into it, I highly encourage you to work it into your routine. 

Brief History of Lavender

I found this little tidbit of history from Healthline really interesting.

“The word lavender comes from the Latin root ‘lavare,’ which literally means ‘to wash’. The earliest recorded use of lavender dates back to ancient Egypt. There, lavender oil played a role in the mummification process. During later times, lavender became a bath additive in several regions, including ancient Persia, Greece, and Rome. These cultures believed that lavender helped purify the body and mind.”

If it’s good enough for ancient civilizations, it must be pretty good for us too, right?! And, if you didn’t know, my dream career would be to be an archaeologist in Egypt, so I’m already sold.

Anyway, I digress. Amongst other benefits, it can help improve your sleep, offers a natural remedy for pain, and reduces blood pressure and your heart rate.

The Bennies

1. Improves sleep
2. Reduces stress and anxiety
3. Reduces blood pressure
4. Natural remedy for pain and inflammation
5. Lessens PMS symptoms
6. Combats dry skin
7. Natural deodorant
8. Migraine relief
9. Muscle relief
10. Respiratory treatment
11. Helps with circulation
12. Can treat minor burns and bug bites
13. Acts as an anti-bacterial due to its antimicrobial and antiviral properties
14. Reduces fatigue and headaches
15. Clears sinuses
    
    

Forms of Lavender

Essential Oil

Lavender essential oil is one of my all-time favorites. I especially love to use it before I go to bed for a super relaxing sleep. I put a little around my neck and even wrists sometimes, so it wafts up to my nose without being too overwhelming. If you use more than just a few drops, I’ve heard it’s good to dilute it a bit with another oil such as almond, coconut, jojoba, or olive. According to Cleveland Clinic, here’s the best way to do this:

1. Add enough essential oil to your base oil so it falls between 1% (six drops of essential oil per ounce) and 2% (12 drops of essential oil per ounce) of the mixture.
2. Shake it up.
3. Apply.

You can also hold a bottle to your nose (don’t get too close!) and gently inhale. With a few deep breaths–really focus on those–and you’ll be feeling the calming effects almost immediately.

If you ever get a massage, I would HIGHLY recommend opting for a lavender oil (or one that involves lavender). You’ll walk out of there more relaxed than ever.

You can also use a diffuser for a longer lasting experience. I love French lavender in this case to make me feel like I’m in a little slice of the south of France!

Aromatherapy

In addition to essential oils, here are some other forms of lavender that you can enjoy in the form of aromatherapy. 

1. Lavender soap or body wash
2. Lavender lotion
3. A satchel or potpourri bag
4. Scented bath or bath bomb
5. Lavender infused or scented candle

Tea

Ingesting tea with lavender provides double the benefit because you’re inhaling the scent, but also getting the medicinal components of the plant by drinking it.

Again from Cleveland Clinic, integrative medicine specialist Yufang Lin, MD says that lavender tea may give you the most bang for your buck. “The act of making a cup of tea is itself a form of self-care. It gets you into a ‘me-time’ mindset. Then as you drink it, you get both the aromatherapy and herbal part of the lavender.” 

When you’re enjoying your cup, be present with the whole experience. Feel the warmth of the cup and embrace each sup and the flavor components. Feel the warmth of the tea in your body, and focus on your breath as you breathe in and out. Savoring a (decaffeinated) tea as you wind down for the night, or as you begin your day, is an awesome way to get yourself feeling cool, calm, and relaxed as heck!

Epsom Salts

I put epsom salts in its own category here because I have a quick personal story to share. When I was going through the thick of my losses after my dad died and I was finally able to grieve my mom as well, epsom salt baths with lavender were a godsend. 

I have a really hard time relaxing in a bath most of the time. I don’t know why, but I just tend to get bored and want to watch Schitt’s Creek or Sex and the City or some show that makes me happy. And that’s perfectly fine if that’s your thing, too! There’s plenty of time and space for that. 

My issue at the time, though, was sleeping at night. I was completely haunted by everything going on around me. I had a really hard time turning off my brain at night. All I wanted to do was feel more connected to my parents… and get some freaking shut-eye!

Salt Baths and Connecting with the Spirit World

I actually have a psychic medium I go to every so often–I know, I know… it’s not everyone’s cup of (lavender) tea, and it doesn’t have to be yours. The point being, I walked away with some good advice when I was telling her of my woes of grief and lack of sleep early on in my journey.

She recommended epsom salt baths with lavender, which would help two fold.

1. It soothes muscles, relaxes the body, reduces stress, refreshes the skin and improves sleep. Be sure to soak for at least 20 minutes to really reap the benefits. Be sure the light is minimal, if you can. 
   
2. You know how I just mentioned all I wanted to do was feel my parents closer to me, or have any kind of connection to them? Hang with me on this next one. Spirit works with energy. If the vibration is there and you’re open, and there’s an opportunity to communicate, they will. Spirit will often use water to communicate as it provides natural properties to enhance and strengthen that spiritual communication. 
   

Now, I can’t say I had any major moments of communication with my parents in these instances. But with a mix of this salt bath, proper breathing exercises and meditation, I 100% was able to do some visualization and feel extremely connected to them that way. Almost like I could feel them around me. Times where they were here and were giving me a big hug, times we’d laugh together, go on walks together–whatever it was. It took me back to more beautiful, simpler, happier times.

These experiences also allowed an incredible release of emotion. I would be soaking there and find myself letting it all out in a good cry-sesh. Frankly, it was quite difficult some days. Or, I would be left with the effects and it would open some wounds that I would have to work to repair. But you guys, this is the grieving process!

Close Those Cuts

You have to work through those thousand paper cuts. It’s not easy, not one little bit. Why would I put myself in this position of knowing I could get hit with more pain? Because each time I did and was emotionally prepared for it, little by little, the grief eases up. It allows you to process, accept, and that wound gets smaller ever so slowly. Sure, the scar may remain. Mine from my losses certainly will. But that’s not the goal here.

I have to admit, it felt a little uncomfortable at first but it was SO cathartic. Boy, I feel like a new woman afterward. All I’m saying is to give it a shot!

Water and its power to bring a sense of peace and calm to your life is truly a force to be reckoned with. Whether it’s a warm shower or bath, or simply looking at the waves crashing onto the shore. Floating in the ocean or a pool and feeling weightless. Many of us feel a connection with water because it nourishes and sustains us, so embrace it!

Capsules

Full disclosure, I’ve never actually used lavender-infused capsules so I want you to do your research here. I’ve simply heard they can be used to treat anxiety. From what I understand, in small doses it’s safe to take because it’s considered an herbal supplement. If you have experience with these, I would love to hear about what you think!

However you enjoy the benefits of lavender, I encourage you to sit back, relax, and enjoy the many, many healing properties it has to offer. Are there any ways you’re loving lavender that I’m missing here? Are there any other oils or healing tools you use? Let me know in the comments or on Facebook or Instagram!