Blog - Stress Free Mama

Where Can I Buy High Quality Essential Oils?

I write a lot about using high quality essential oils to reduce stress. I encourage people to buy quality essential oils produced for health and not for perfume.

That’s good advice but I admit, it’s confusing.

When you go to a store, how do you know what’s pure?

There are many different labels and classifications–too many. Essential oils are not a highly regulated industry so each company is free to define their product with their own descriptions.

The following are my essential oil recommendations but I’ll be honest, there may be other good companies out there. One of the keys to finding high quality essential oils will be your intuition. Call up the company and ask them questions. Smell their oils and see how they make you feel. In the end, trust your instinct.

I can’t guarantee that instinct means your oils will be pure, but your instinct will guide you to the oils you need at that moment. Use the oils conservatively and you should be fine.

High Quality Essential Oils

The 2 biggest essential oil companies in the US that produce oils for healing are Young Living and doTerra. Both of these companies are quite careful about the purity of their oils and both of them are MLM’s (multi-level marketing or network marketing companies).

I use the oils from Young Living and (full disclosure) I am a Young Living distributor in Madison, WI. I have not used the doTerra oils but I hear good things about them.

There is another company that I have heard good things about and which is not an MLM. Original Swiss Aromatics is run by Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt, a well respected classical aromatherapist. Kurt has a school on aromatherapy at the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy. I have not taken any of these courses but I understand they are good.

My background is in French style aromatherapy. You can also find high quality essential oils in France.

Young Living Essential Oils

The high quality essential oils I know and use are from Young Living. These oils are pure and produced for medicinal use. I have used these oils for years and find them excellent for supporting my health.

If you are interested in getting Young Living oils, you can contact me for more information. Since Young Living is a MLM, you will get the best prices if you buy a starter kit. We can discuss which kit would be best for your health needs.

If you contact me, my primary goal is to find what oils or supplements would best support your health. I am low pressure and I’m definitely not one of those network-marketing crazies you bump into (with due respect to the people who love their MLM!)

And if you want to sell essential oils as a business, I can help you there also. Because I was a Thai Massage Practitioner I’m familiar with how to sell essential oils with your existing business. Even if you don’t have a business now, I am an experienced business owner and can give you strategies for starting and running a business.

What you won’t get from me, however, are tips about how to bug your family and friends to buy your products. If you want to build a downline using old-school MLM techniques (the 3 foot rule, memory jogging lists, cold calling people you knew in grade school, etc.) I’m not your gal. I don’t use those techniques, nor do I encourage them. I can tell how to build a legitimate business but I won’t give you pie in the sky fantasies about making $3000/month in 6 months by “just finding 6 who find 6”.

By Julia Rymut;

The Truth About Stress You Won’t Want to Hear

You do it to yourself.

That’s it.

That’s the truth.

You create your own stress.

Yes, there are challenging events and difficult circumstances and lots of demands. Yes, it’s tough. But stress… worry… In the end, the upset is entirely your creation.

But why do you do it? How do you stop?

These are the questions that we all Google, ask our Gurus, and journal for answers.

Why? If you know you create the stress in your life, why is it a daily challenge to cope?

One solution is to get help. Find some stress support. [Read more…]

By Julia Rymut;

What Would Help You Manage Stress?

It’s hard to manage stress.

There are lots of strategies.

Time management
Breathing techniques
Yoga, exercise and other physical activities
Biofeedback
Massage
Stress games
Journal, visualize, and use affirmations
Spend time in nature
Pet a dog
Engage in an enjoyable activity
Meditate

The list is long and this is just the beginning. But where do you start?

I would like to help but I don’t know what you need to make a plan to manage stress.

What is your biggest obstacle to managing your stress? What would be most helpful to you?

Do you know what you need to do but can’t fit it in? Or do you have no idea where to start? Do you need regular reminders?

Do you prefer to relax your body (like using yoga, massage or breathing)? Or do you prefer to manage your stress (like setting boundaries, managing your time, and saying no to stressful obligations)? Do you need to re-prioritize your life to include enjoyable, nourishing activities?

Leave a comment below with your ideas, worries and suggestions.

I’m developing some stress management solutions designed to help you. Your comments will help me.

Thank you.

And stay posted. I’ll have something new for you soon.

By Julia Rymut;

Yoga for Stress Relief

Yoga is excellent for stress.

Doing yoga for stress relief is one of the most effective ways to move back into a calm frame of mind, and it can do it almost instantly. Yoga stretches and relaxes the body and calms the mind. It can change a crazy day to a peaceful one. It grounds, centers and puts you back inside your body so that you can accomplish what you need to do.

Yoga can relieve your stress by:

increasing your oxygen flow
slowing or stopping the lists of things-to-do in your mind
giving you a chance to do something nice for yourself
keeping your body in good working order to better cope with stressful situations

Yoga stress relief is one of my favorite tools for stress. I have done many yoga classes and many yoga styles. After a good yoga class, I feel fresh and relaxed, much like the “glowy” feeling after a sauna.

Choosing Your Yoga Class

If you have never done yoga, the many teachers, studios and traditions can be daunting.

To pick your first class, you might make convenience your most important consideration. Can you get to the class easily? Is the location convenient? Can you afford it? Sometimes work places or your hospital/clinic provide classes which fulfill these qualifications.

Once you have done enough yoga to know the difference between triangle pose and warrior pose, you may want to pick a particular style and study it more deeply.

Some yoga traditions will emphasize that they are relaxing or restorative. Often these classes will have quiet, longer poses. The poses will often emphasize forward bends and they will be supported. The classes will slow you down by being, well, slow.

However, to reduce stress, consider this: sometimes one can relax by focusing deeply on vigorous poses as well–but the key is focus.

If you are competitive with yourself or your neighbor, or if you turn your mind on and “think” too much, active yoga classes will be one more thing in your energetic day. You’ll become cranked up and euphoric, and take that rush with you when you leave the studio.

So if you can go deeply into your yoga practice, don’t limit your stress relief to just restorative yoga.

Here is a list of some popular yoga styles:

Iyengar yoga

My favorite yoga style is Iyengar. My first yoga classes were Iyengar and perhaps I’ll never love another school as much as this one.

Iyengar yoga is best known for its use of props. Props are used to allow you to get the benefits of a pose, even if your body can not get in the position completely. Some people love the props, others hate them. Depending on the instructor, the props can make a pose more deep or they can be a nuisance that you fuss with.

For me, the props are the least important part of Iyengar yoga. Iyengar yoga is taught with very precise instructions about how to move and position the body. I often feel very deep movements which I have never experienced (translation: I often come home very sore!). My poses are better and my body becomes more limber.

Because of the precision, Iyengar yoga is good for focusing the mind. My undisciplined thoughts focus on my body, and then body and mind come together.

Anusara Yoga

Anuara yoga has its roots in Iyengar, and teaches precise poses, however it is slightly less technical and more heart centered. In the classes I have taken, it is definitely supportive, with people clapping when someone does a difficult pose.

Bikram Yoga

Bikram is called “hot yoga” because it is done in a hot room–a very hot room. The heat helps your muscles to relax and your body to detox. Be prepared with an extra set of clothes for after class, because you will not want to wear your soppy yoga attire home.

The same set of poses are done in each class. This sequence is designed to be an overall body workout, a tonic of sorts, which balances the whole body and detoxes the system.

By Julia Rymut;

Online Yoga and Stress Management

Yoga and stress management go hand in hand.

Yoga relaxes the body, stretching the muscles, oxygenating the blood and relieving sore, tense knots. Having a relaxed body will automatically lift your mood.

And in addition, yoga helps train your mind to be quiet by focusing on your pose. You concentrate on one thing, and all the little worries of the day melt away. You become grounded and peaceful with yoga. Stress Management becomes automatic.

How to Begin with Yoga

Classically, the best way to learn to do yoga is with a teacher.

Teachers help to focus you on your pose. They give you corrections in your posture, but more importantly, a teacher can give you insight about your practice. Are you pushing too hard or are you too lax?

Sometimes yoga poses create an inner battle. A teacher can help you with this. Years ago, every time I sat in Gomukhasana (Cow Face Pose), I would go nutty. My stomach would clench; I would tense my jaw; I felt like crawling out of my skin. Having a teacher helped me through the pose. In class I stayed in the pose longer, and gradually I learned how to cope with it. Without my teacher, yoga and stress management would have been contradictory.

Once you know how to do yoga, the next ideal yoga and stress management plan is to have a personal practice.

Practicing on your own allows you to go deeply and listen to your body and inner voice.

As ideal as classes and personal practices are, they are not always practical. The cost is high; the time commitment often impractical. Sometimes, you can’t find local classes. And we don’t always have the discipline to practice yoga entirely on our own.

The bridge between having a teacher and an active personal practice is an online yoga class.

Online Yoga and Stress Management

Online yoga classes offer an excellent way to practice yoga, have instructions and do it at your own pace and convenience. You are both alone and supported. Yoga and stress management both become possible.

Online yoga reduces the stress of getting to class. No longer do you rush to class after work, fighting traffic and then try to sit calmly on your mat. If you are uncomfortable in a class setting, from body issues to shyness, online yoga avoids those problems.
Online yoga gives more detailed instruction than a book, and you can tailor it to a more personal program than a TV show. By choosing your class, starting and stopping the video, and repeating sections or entire classes, you can make sure you really understand an instruction before you go on.
Many online yoga programs offer a forum and other community interaction, so you have a ready source of help, support and information. You are not alone, wondering why your back hurts in Ustrasana (Camel Pose). You can ask a question and get feedback.

Online yoga gives you training wheels to start your own personal practice. By using videos or audio instructions, you practice practicing on your own. You have guidance and independence.

I have an online yoga program that I highly recommend.

My Yoga Online

My Yoga (affiliate link) is a robust online yoga program.

Here you have many different instructors with many different backgrounds. You can see videos of many yoga practices, and choose a practice that fits your time and health needs. You view the videos as you wish, in any order, at any time. It is a huge library of yoga videos.

Typically, the videos are a voice over while one or two people do the pose. Many of the videos are yoga sequences–one yoga pose flowing to the next and the next.

My Yoga has a wealth of information, from yoga philosophy to healthy living, from pilates to T’ai Chi. If you want to learn about yoga, you can help here. The site is like yoga and natural health course.

Combine Yoga and Stress Management

Yoga is a great gift to quiet your mind. Stopping the blah, blah is one of the first steps to stress management. Yoga and stress management are truly two great sisters for your health.

My Yoga Review