Transcript: *

Hello dear friends.

This week’s clinical tip will be a bit different. With the seasons shifting in the Northeast, I wanted to take a pause to appreciate what the great outdoors can do for our emotional and physical health.

Specifically, I will discuss four ways the aromas of autumn enhance our resiliency for the colder seasons ahead. Then, I will compile multiple ways that essential oils can enhance our immune health and overall body and mind vitality. These are based on a few of my articles, my previous clinical tips, and several journal publications. As always, all of these will be referenced in the resource section. Finally, I’ll conclude with a practical tip bringing all this information together.

So, let’s get started.

 

Nature’s Intelligence Makes Scents in the Fall

Although the fall can be a time of tribulation and more stress due to hectic back-to-school schedules, nature has a way of comforting us through it. Personally, I am so grateful for how her scents and sights immersed within the crisp autumn air gently tend to our needs and assist us in getting through the transitions of life’s ups and downs.

Mother Earth offers kindness and wisdom in her design. This is based just as much on environmental signals as the connection between her people and the planet. Have you noticed how the trees seem to sense our need for nurturing and warmth as the seasons change? Their beautiful tapestry of brilliant richness catches our attention and almost forces us to take a deep breath and pause for a moment of appreciation.

This creativity is inspired by the dwindling hours of sunlight. Without the abundant availability of the sun’s rays, there is a decline in the chemical process of making food within the green chlorophyll-filled leaves. As a result, the trees bloom into their radiant fall hues. (R, R, R, R, R)

Along with the innate intelligence of nature to soothe us with her creations, she also conspires to enhance the well-being of her creatures through her aromatic influences.

 

Four Ways the Aromas of Autumn Enhance Resiliency

There are four incredible ways that mother nature’s odorous compounds support our bodies and minds for the chilly fall and winter months ahead. These include:

  1. Through the tickling of our noses with the beloved smell of spice oils. During the fall, we naturally crave warm spices and seek out ginger and cinnamon along with the pumpkin in our lattes. All these herbal aromatics have powerful protective, antimicrobial, antioxidant, and health-promoting properties.
  2. The musty scent that is emitted from the volatiles during the process of leaf senescence. These aromatics are also known as essential oils, which as we know support the body, mind, and spirit in many ways. When we venture into the crisp air, the trees emit their compounds, and they all blend to form one of the largest diffusers world-wide! Have you also experienced the scent-sational gifts of the deciduous trees bringing you into the moment and calming your mind and body as you stroll outside all bundled up?
  3. Emitting a predominance of phytoncides, powerful compounds released from the leaves and stems of fir oils. These pinenes are constituents in essential oils. They have been shown to decrease stress as they build up our defense and immune processes all through the year. This is why a walk in the woods among the pine and spruce trees can be so exhilarating, uplifting, and promote well-being. In Japan, it is known as “Forest Bathing,” shinrin-yoku.
  4. Versatility and need. Due to the fact that plants vary in the quantities of constituents produced in their essential oils depending on the season, climate, and atmosphere (R, R, R, R, R), it is likely we are getting just the right amount of compounds we need from what we are exposed to. Many essential oils we are enjoying throughout the year are extracted from leaves of plants that are shifting their phytonutrient production based on their survival demands. These compounds which are specific to the time, place, and environmental exposures results in better support for our human wellness as well!

So, these are four ways that nature supports us with its scents during the fall. Now, let’s review other ways essential oils can enhance our health from previous tips so we can wrap everything together, as we like to this time of year.

 

Keeping Our Emotional and Relationship Health Balanced During Transitional Times

Of course, we don’t want to forget how essential oils benefit our emotional and relational health, which is needed this time of year when more activities and to-do lists sprout up. In the past few clinical tips, I have explored with you how our favorite therapeutic scents can:

 

Essential Oils for Our Physical, Brain, and Overall Health

On the physiological level, I recently reviewed the many brain and overall health factors essential oils modulate. These scientific-based mechanisms add to nature’s ancient wisdom in her caring for us. They include how essential oils:

  • Modulate the immune system, inflammation, and cellular stress through various molecular pathways. This supports mitochondrial health and overall vitality.
  • Support enzymes that help the body detoxify and act as antioxidants. This can help to relieve the negative impacts of man-made environmental exposures that can lead to detrimental effects, such as neurodegeneration.
  • Are neuroprotective, helping to preserve cognitive health and assist in recovery from any form of brain trauma or stressors.
  • Are antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal, aiding in mitigating unwanted infections.
  • Can positively affect neurotransmitters, balancing our mood.
  • Support digestion and a healthy microbiome, improving our assimilation of nourishment.
  • Beneficially modulate stress, cortisol and other hormones, and resulting blood sugar issues which must be balanced for enhanced immune health.
  • Enhance vagal tone, increasing parasympathetic activity. This brings calm to the mind and body so autonomic physiological functioning can be optimal.
  • Impact our emotional health, helping us heal from trauma and adversity. This is based on the concepts of psychoaromatherapy and neuroplasticity. They also influence brain electrical activity.

So, there you have it!

I wanted this clinical tip to be educational and inspirational in enhancing your appreciation for nature and essential oils.

Now let’s get to the practical.

You can always use essential oil diffusers to bring in some of the outdoor benefits inside, especially if you use fir and tree oils.

In fact, I often recommend to my clients to blend their favorite citrus and tree oil in a diffuser while they are working, following the specific machine’s oils drop recommendations. This can help to ground them, uplift them, relieve stress, boost focus, and enhance their resiliency as they pour through tasks.

My favorite way to diffuse is through intermittent exposure with 20 to 40 minutes on and a few hours off. This benefits the mood effects of the oils the most, because your brain and nervous system won’t build a tolerance to the aroma.

Now, that’s a wrap!

Let me know your thoughts and your favorite essential oils to use for your own resiliency in the chilly months below!

If you like this content, please help me spread the word by sharing the links to my YouTube channel and newsletter. This will help us reach more people and empower them with natural health information and safe and evidence-based essential oil education.

As a subscriber yourself, you’ll stay up to date on my latest clinical tips, blogs, news, and podcasts. You will also be the first to hear about the release of my upcoming brain health program!

If you haven’t checked out all my free resources and additional educational tools, what are you waiting for?

Learn more here.

Thank you for joining me today.

Take gentle care and enjoy immersing yourself in the aromas of autumn.

 

Resources

*Transcript has been edited for grammar and ease of reading.

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Disclaimer: This material is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe for any illness. You should check with your doctor regarding implementing any new strategies into your wellness regime. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. (Affiliation link.)

This information is applicable ONLY for therapeutic quality essential oils. This information DOES NOT apply to essential oils that have not been tested for purity and standardized constituents. There is no quality control in the United States, and oils labeled as “100% pure” need only to contain 5% of the actual oil. The rest of the bottle can be filled with fillers and sometimes toxic ingredients that can irritate the skin. The studies are not based solely on a specific brand of an essential oil, unless stated. Please read the full study for more information.

Thanks Pixabay and Canva.