Balms and Manna Blog - Balms and Manna

5 Benefits of Oil Pulling

6/23/2022

5 BENEFITS OF OIL PULLING

Oil pulling is an oral detoxification done by swishing 1 tablespoon of coconut oil around in your mouth for 10-15 minutes. It works by pulling the toxins out of your mouth and creating a clean environment that contributes to the proper flow of saliva. This makes it curative as well as preventative when it comes to oral health.

5 BENEFITS OF OIL PULLING

Can kill harmful bacteria
Could help reduce bad breath
May prevent cavities
Decreases gum inflammation and improve oral health
Simple and inexpensive

HOW I DO OIL PULLING

First thing in the morning before eating or drinking, swish 1 tablespoon of organic unrefined coconut oil in your mouth and between for 10-15 minutes. I like to do this while I am taking a shower or getting ready for the day.
Make sure you don't swallow the oil. After 10-15 minutes, spit it in a trash can (not in the sink or it will clog the drain over time). Rinse your mouth with warm water and then brush your teeth.
The recommendation is 3-4 times weekly but after doing this for years, I have found that my mouth and teeth feel gross if I don't do it daily.

* I like to add 1 drop of Clove Essential oil to my mouth after adding the coconut oil for an added oral health boost.

Here Comes the Sun!

6/9/2022

HERE COMES THE SUN!

Summer is almost here and so is the sun! Sunshine has so many benefits but what about when you get a little too much? I have the perfect relief for you:

AFTER SUN CARE
In a 4 ounce spray bottle combine:
10 drops Frankincense
10 drops Lavender
5 drops Peppermint
5 drops Geranium
1/2 ounce of FCO
Top with water

Shake and spray on affected area.

And if you would rather avoid the need for AFTER SUN CARE, stay tuned as doTERRA releases a brand new suncare line in July! Excited for these non-toxic, light weight, non nano zinc oxide, water resistant products!

If you are new to essential oils and are looking for the best way to get your oils, check out the doTERRA enrollment kits! All the basic oils in one kit with a free 1-yr wholesale membership ($35 savings with 25% off for the next year!)

How to Make Your Christmas Gifts Scentsational

12/8/2021

HOW TO MAKE YOUR CHRISTMAS GIFTS SCENSATIONAL

Ever want to add just a little something to a gift to make it personal and special? A drop or two of essential oils are the perfect way to create a warm, inviting gift that makes the receiver feel loved and treasured!

Scented Envelopes- A fun way to add sparkle and depth to your cards! Add 2-3 drops of essential oils to a cotton ball and place in a plastic bag with your envelopes or card. Let sit overnight or for 8 hours and then remove and send.

Scented Pinecones- A subtle way to add aroma to a room at the same time being decorative. Purchase a bag of pinecones or gather them from outside. If they are dirty, have bugs on them or are closed up, give them a quick rinse in the sink and then place in the oven on a sheet at 200 degrees for one hour. Add one drop per pinecone and place in a bowl, string as garland or give as a gift in a decorative bag. Reapply oils as needed for desired scent. Cinnamon, Holiday Peace/Joy, Fir or Pine oils are great choices for oils!

Scented Neck Wraps- Purchase a neck wrap or create your own with a tube sock or piece of flannel. Add 2-3 drops of a calming oil such as Lavender, Siberian Fir or Balance to the wrap. Consider giving a small bottle of oil along with the gift for continued scenting.

Scented Car Diffusers- I love how personal and customizable this can be! Create your own simple car diffuser by gluing felted stickers to clothespins and clipping to the vent or by sewing felted balls together.

Scented Body Scrub- Such a fun spa gift! Add Peppermint to make a candy cane scrub, Lemon or Rosemary & Spearmint for a refreshing, uplifting experience.

Scented Room/Linen Spray- So simple to make with a few ingredients! Plus you can customize the scent for holidays, seasons and moods.

Kick Up the Flavor

8/19/2021

Did you know you can use essential oils in your cooking? Not only does it add amazing flavor but it's easy and gives you added health benefits!

4 Reasons to Use Essential Oils in Cooking-
1- Powerful, fresh flavor
2- Long shelf life (even if you don't use it often, it will be fresh every time)
3- Easy and convenient- no chopping, peeling or mincing
4- Added health benefits of each unique oil

How to Cook with Essential Oils:
*1 teaspoon dried herbs = 1 tablespoon fresh herbs = 1 drop essential oil
*Zest of 1 lemon/lime = 8 drops
*For hot or spicy herbs use a toothpick swirl -dip a toothpick in the essential oil bottle and swirl it around in the recipe
*Error on the side of less oil. Taste your recipe and then add more if needed.

My Tips and Favorites:
*Cilantro essential oil in fresh salsa and guacamole is amazing!
*Add 4-5 drops of On Guard or Wild Orange to a bowl of sliced apples covered in water. Let sit for 15 minutes, drain and enjoy a new twist on apples and keep them from turning brown.
*Place 1 drop of favorite essential oil in hot water for a soothing tea.
*Add 2-3 drops of Citrus oil to smoothies for increased flavor.
*Substitute Lemongrass & Ginger essential oils for ginger root and lemongrass to save time and a trip to a specialty grocery story
*Add 1 drop of Cinnamon, Clove or On Guard to oatmeal or hot breakfast cereal.

I'd love to hear which recipes you make and what your favorite tips and uses are with essential oils! Check out doTERRA's Top Ten Essential Oil recipes for more inspiration!

*Make sure all essential oils used in cooking are labeled for internal use

Emotionally Overwhelmed?

7/15/2021

Do you ever have days where you feel so emotional overwhelmed you exist in a fog or cry at the drop of a hat and struggle to find reasons to smile or feel joy?

Life is hard. And emotions are real. When we find ourselves in this place, sometimes we feel guilt. Guilt because we think we should be stronger and handle life's issues better. Guilt because we feel focused on ourselves and don't have the capacity to be there for other people.

While it's tempting (and maybe even default) to push the emotions away, it is healthy to experience our emotions. And not to just feel them but to process them, work through the situation that triggered them and support our body in the emotions.

A few tips to turn emotional overwhelm from an internal festering wound to a beautiful, healing experience:

1- Give your self permission to feel the emotion and to be ok with how you feel. You might need to tell yourself this out loud or to someone else.

2- Journal how you feel. Write down your regrets and what you need to take ownership for in the situation. Write down all the things you want to let go of in the form of "I forgive...". Write down all the things you wished people would know.

3- Use Console oil. Console soothes feelings of sorrow & grief and promotes feelings of hope and peace. Roll on the inside of wrist or over heart several times a day or when feeling overwhelmed.

4- Nurture yourself by going for walks, spending time with friends, listening to music, making more space in your schedule to just be or whatever brings you joy.

5- Ask Jesus to heal your emotions. Jesus understands what it feels like to be overwhelmed, sad, sorrowing and abandoned. He not only understands but is with us in every emotion we feel. Invite Him to join you in your emotions and to heal your hurts.

6- Give yourself time. It takes time to process and work though hard emotions. Everyone process at a different pace so don't compare yourself to others. Be gentle with yourself and know that in time, healing will come.

Ready for Anything

6/11/2021

Recently I was with a friend and we were both feeling anxious. I reached into my purse and got out my Liquid Calm blend. A few minutes later exactly when I felt much calmer, she seemed visibly calmer too.

Later she told me she was having really bad cramps. Again, I reached into my purse and gave her some peppermint oil. At the end of the evening, she commented, "I don't think it's going to be long and I will have my own keychain of oils with me!"

You don't have to just "deal with" these discomforts and challenges in life! Be prepared for anything that comes with these simple tips!

*Around the House- Keep frequently used oils handy by your bedside, in the bathroom and kitchen. You'll use them more often and have better results if they are easily accessible. I like to keep my oils that I use daily on the bottom of my feet in my sock drawer to help me remember to use them.

*Keychain- These small, cute keychains are a life saver! They hold eight small vials of oils so you can support your mood, digestion and any issue that arises.

*Car- Apply oils to a car diffuser, your wrist or add to water to keep you awake, ease stomach discomfort and stress while driving.

*Diaper Bag- This is great place to keep your keychain! Kids love to do the unexpected and you never know when a bumps, scrape or temper tantrum will arise.

Pre-make your oils into rollers and fill your keychain (available at the Country Cupboard) today so you can always be ready for life's emergencies!

Are Your Oil Bottles Getting Dusty?

4/15/2021

There is nothing worse than investing in essential oils only to have them sit on the shelf and get dusty! Raise your hand if you can relate!

If you have oils that aren't being used, I want to help you!

Message me with a list of oils you have that you aren't using and your health priorities

*I'll create a personalized plan for you to use your oils
*You will receive a beautiful handout on each oil you have with great tips on how to use them
*If you aren't already receiving it, I will send you my weekly 1 minute Stop, Drop and Roll essential oil tip
*Provide you with continued education and resources for essential oils

I will work with you until you are 100% confident with how to use your oils so that you too can live a vibrant, abundant life!

Three Are Better than One!

3/10/2021

Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint are three of the most common, yet powerful essential oils! Essential oils are lovely by themselves but when you combine them together you create a synergy that supersedes their effect individually! This is the case with Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint.

LaLePep as we like to call this blend is an amazing remedy to use for this time of the year as the flowering trees start to bud, the pollen content goes up and things are blooming! It soothes and calms seasonal discomforts and helps you enjoy this time of year.

Lemon is a great cleanser for the body, sinuses and your home! In this blend, it helps to clear out congestion and irritants.

Lavender is soothing and calming to your bodies reaction to irritants. I love to apply this to my throat, forehead and cheekbones when things feel tight and uncomfortable.

Peppermint opens the airways, allows for more blood flow and promotes circulation to assist the body with clearing out irritants.

This blend is best when used multiple times daily before you start to have discomfort. If discomfort arises, apply every 60 minutes until issue is resolved.

To use:
Blend equal parts of Lemon, Lavender and Peppermint in a bottle. Use 2-3 drops internally several times a day, diffuse 3-4 drops of the blend or dilute and apply topically to areas of discomfort.

This trio is the perfect blend of oils to start with if you are new to oils and come prepackaged all ready to go in a kit!

Do You Know What's In Your Laundry Detergent?

2/25/2021

The warmth of the sunshine, the birds singing and the daylight lasting longer means spring is almost here! Yay! That makes me think about washing my sheets and hanging my laundry outside! Who doesn't love the fresh scent of air dried laundry?

And speaking of fresh scents of laundry, do you know what gives your laundry it's scent? FRAGRANCE. Fragrance is the term for a companies "patented formula" that they aren't required to disclose. But loaded in "fragrance" are chemicals that our bodies absorb as we wear our clothes all day. These chemicals degrade immune systems, alter hormones, promote free radicals and can cause birth defects and cancer! Learn more about toxins in cleaners at ewg.org

So....these are a few of my favorite non toxic laundry detergents!

1- doTERRA's OnGuard Laundry Detergent
*Free of fragrances, dyes and toxins
*Perfect for top and front loaders
*Color safe and an effective stain remover
*A little goes a long ways- 64 washes per bottle
*Smells amazing
*Wash in all temperatures
*Every bottle has 10 ml of OnGuard Protective Blend essential oil in it!

2- Homemade Toxic Free Laundry Soap
*Economical
*4 simple ingredients
*Easy to make
*Can personalize scent
*Gentle, non toxic
*Wash in all temperatures

Homemade Laundry Soap:
1 bar shaved Castile bar soap (available at the Country Cupboard)
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup washing soda
3-15 drops of Purify or OnGuard essential oil (or scent of your choice)

Add 1-2 Tbsp of powder with warm or hot water. If using cold water, first run hot water in washing machine to slightly dissolve so it distributes evening through the clothes. You won't see a lot of suds but your clothes will be spectacularly clean!

Tried and True-For Me and You!

12/30/2020

It was one of those days....
I had a rough day at work and needless to say, I didn't come home in the best mood! I was cranky and whiny and my poor sister patiently listened while I vented. She quietly went to diffuser in the kitchen and put in a few drops of Balance.

After 10 minutes of being home, I was feeling much better. In fact, I thought to myself that my day wasn't really that bad and I totally over reacted. I shared this with my sister and she smiled and said, "That's because I put Balance in the diffuser!"

This was my first experience with Balance and after feeling the difference, it has become part of my daily routine. I roll it on the bottom of my foot in combination with Serenity essential oil. I also have a small bottle of it that I keep in my purse and I feel anxious and stressed, I open the bottle and smell it or rub a little drop on the insides of my wrist.

I have seen this oil calm babies, anxious dogs and confused grandmas! It's an oil that I recommend to almost everyone because who of us doesn't need a little bit more grounding and a little less stress in our lives?

If you don't have this amazing oil and would like a sample, please let me know and I would be happy to send one to you! Or you can get a whole bottle for yourself!