Essential Oils and Yoga

This post was borrowed from my new blog which is linked with my new twitter: @oilpeeps.  Follow me there too by clicking the white twitter button on the lower right (or go straight to the blog at http://essentialoilmavens.blogspot.com/)!

The last time I had a steady yoga practice (and I’ll admit it was only four days in a row, but at the time it was revolutionary), I was traveling to attend the annual convention of the essential oil company with which I’m aligned for my health and livelihood (ok, cat out of the bag- it's Young Living).

I was heavier than the previous year, attending without my partner and rooming with someone I’d never met before (who was a delight as it turned out). I was a bundle of insecurity on a mission to untangle myself by engaging fully in all the sessions and “putting myself out there” socially (NOT my forte! I’m a recluse in the disguise of a gregarious teacher type).

Since the Convention experience (3,000 people heading to keynote engagements, expo demonstrations, and trying to choose 6 of the 12 available breakout sessions) is pretty much an exercise in distractibility and busy-ness, you’d think I’d have my whole “not-gonna-do-yoga” excuse in top form.

Ah, but not so. All of the equanimity, stamina, and focused attention that expressed itself through me I attributed to the the 6 am yoga classes taught by other Convention attendees who were also yoga instructors, and who were using essential oils in their personal practices as well as in their classes.

The whole thing probably came into being because Rodney Yee was teaching one of the break-out sessions; a 90 minute on-the-mat yoga class which incorporated essential oils throughout.

In the hustle and bustle I never made it to Yee’s class. But I did make it out the door, across the street, down the block and up a formidable set of stairs to class by 6 am each day to stretch, honor, and care for my being. We were a diverse bunch; from the fit and toned to the brave unfit, and never was there a better smelling bunch of sweaty people!

We began by sanctifying our practice with intention and frankincense, which heightens spiritual receptivity. Each participant duly anointed, the entire energy in the space shifted in a matter of 90 seconds. Suddenly we were on holy ground.

There’s a lot I can say about essential oils, and a lot of reasons I only use and teach about Young Living’s oils... matters of purity and integrity and authenticity and validation, and so on. I could (and do sometimes) go on for days. It’s all on the upcoming site.

What it came down to for me in that moment, was that because the integrity of the plant is honored and never distorted with all the chemical alterations that other companies do, the holy component of this oil is still intact. It doesn’t just impart the smell, it actually has the mojo. It’s the closest thing you can get to when the yogis of old would simply rub the resin on themselves in preparation for meditation.

This stunning moment was mine to cherish each of the four days of Convention. It was followed every morning by an experience of Valor when we did a more challenging pose, Peace & Calming with Savasana, and Deep Relief when I paid later for having gone deeper than good sense would have indicated.

Of all the astounding amount of information imparted to me those four days, what struck me most deeply was the impact of using the oils during yoga practice. Every day I looked forward to putting my body through a difficult challenge with the subtle emotional-spiritual support of the oils chosen to compliment the day’s routine. Once home and asked to declare what one thing stood out the most from the entire experience, I could only point to the pouch in which I carry my oils about and declare, "this stuff is holy!"