Your web browser is out of date

For the best experience, please upgrade. Learn more

Unwind with this Massage Blend Including Lavender, Palmarosa & Frankincense

Our modern world is full of daily stressors: traffic, long hours at work, caring for ailing parents or ones own children, etc. Unfortunately, many people are overworked and under rested in general. Further, only 31% of Americans say that they get enough sleep at night. Everyone else attempts to function on a less-than-adequate 5-7 hours [...]

October 16 2012

Our modern world is full of daily stressors: traffic, long hours at work, caring for ailing parents or ones own children, etc. Unfortunately, many people are overworked and under rested in general. Further, only 31% of Americans say that they get enough sleep at night. Everyone else attempts to function on a less-than-adequate 5-7 hours of rest.

When mild to moderate sleep deprivation is combined with ongoing stress (and little or no exercise), the body cannot relax. Eventually, the build up of stress hormones – adrenaline & cortisol – causes damage to the body in the forms of a weakened immune system, heart disease, etc.

Ahhh…

Scheduling 10-15 minutes every day for self care is a really nice way to undo some of the stress we all face in our hectic lives. Recently I read about creating a bed time ritual to promote relaxation and allow adequate time for the mind & body to wind down at night. One way to carve out some ‘me’ time is give yourself a foot massage before you go to sleep.  Of course, having someone else do it doesn’t hurt either.

Below is a recipe for a relaxing lotion specifically designed for this purpose. It contains several gently sedating and calming essential oils to relax your mind and muscles. (It’s a good hand lotion too!)  Focus on taking slow, deep breaths and inhale the soothing aroma of this blend as you rub the tension away…

The blend can work just as well as a massage oil by using Sweet Almond or Grapeseed as carrier oils. It’ll work nicely in a diffuser too –  just combine the essential oils without a carrier or cream base.

Therapeutic properties of the ingredients:

Frankincense:

Frankincense is ideal for meditation as it aids in calming & centering the mind, ceasing mental chatter. Frankincense supports emotional healing and offers clarity when one is distracted and overwhelmed; the earthy, warm, resinous aroma can be very soothing after a long day. It’s very helpful for treating headaches or tension in the neck muscles.

It has traditionally been used to treat asthma and bronchitis as well, for it can be quite helpful for someone with an asthmatic condition associated with nervousness – it deepens the breath.

Lavender

Lavender:

Lavender is easily the most versatile and widely used essential oil in aromatherapy. The sweet, floral aroma seems forever linked to the words ‘stress relief’ and ‘relaxation’ in my mind. It boasts quite a broad range of therapeutic uses which include the treatment of menstrual cramps, insomnia, and digestive issues. Lavender essential oil has an overall balancing effect on the nervous system.

Rose Geranium Essential Oil

Rose Geranium:

The rosy, herbaceous scent of this oil is fresh and uplifting yet soothing due to it’s cool, moist energy. Many sources state that Geranium essential oil has the ability to regulate and balance fluctuating hormones so it’s helpful for mood swings associated with PMS and menopause.

Palmarosa:

Palmarosa has a fresh, green, slightly rosy scent and has a calming yet uplifting effect on the nervous system. It reduces anxiety, calms the mind and encourages a sense of free-flowing adaptability and security.

Marjoram essential oils

Sweet Marjoram:

Sweet Marjoram is sedative yet tonifying and it’s sweet, herbaceous, warm smell has an immediate calming effect every time I smell it. This oil is a really wonderful choice for a massage blend or in the bathtub at night as it’s an excellent cure for insomnia. It’s soothing, warming, fortifying vibe will make your worries melt away.  It helps reduce obsessive thinking and supports self care. 🙂

Virginia Cedarwood:

Cedarwood essential oil increases feelings of strength and endurance during difficult times. It’s deep, rich, woody odor is very emotionally grounding, which encourages the ability to stay confident and persevere under challenging circumstances. The oil has a sedating effect on the Central Nervous System.

Roman Chamomile:

Roman Chamomile is in the top three of my list of ~calming~ oils! It’s soft, herbaceous, almost fruity scent has a very soothing, sedative quality to it and it therefore it’s a great choice for reducing worry & over-thinking. It’s also a great anti-spasmodic so it’s wonderful in massage oil blends. I can attest to it’s frequent use in aromatherapy blends for PMS-related symptoms, including mood swings.

Vetiver:

Vetiver is steam distilled from the roots of a perennial grass grown in Sri Lanka and it’s aroma is very unique! Energetically, Vetiver is cool and moist; it’s a deeply grounding, centering oil that can really stabilize ones emotions, and must be experienced first hand to be truly understood.  You’ll only need 2 drops of Vetiver, which can be obtained from a sample vial.

NOTE: For most folks, Vetiver is a ‘Love it!’ or ‘Hate it’ kind of oil.  If you really like deep, smoky, earthy aromas, you’ll probably enjoy Vetiver.

“Unwind the Mind” RECIPE:

Blend the indicated number of drops for each oil listed below in a 4 oz jar of our Organic Coconut/Jojoba Cream Base. (This blend is formulated at a 2% dilution, appropriate for daily, ongoing use.) This blend works well as a foot cream, massage cream or hand lotion.

  • Frankincense – 11 drops
  • Lavender – 9 drops
  • Rose Geranium – 7 drops
  • Palmarosa – 7 drops
  • Sweet Marjoram – 4 drops
  • Virginia Cedarwood – 4 drops
  • Roman Chamomile – 3 drops
  • Vetiver – 2 drops

Let us know your thoughts/comments on this calming blend and please feel free to adjust it to your personal taste by switching up the formula. (Just be sure to use only a maximum of 48 drops for a 4 oz jar of cream or lotion.)

Share Share

Discover how to enhance your life with Mother Nature’s remedies

We’ve got the blueprints for health, beauty, spirituality, and more..

Start Quiz

Transformative Times 9/27/2020

ANANDA CONTINUES JUST DIFFERENTLY You will soon see a slight change to our website. We  have decided to transition the online store to a resource and information site.So while you can not purchase products, you can still have access to the incredible depth of information!We have 16 years of research, and useful tidbits about Essentials oils, CO2 extracts, Carrier Oils and […]

In Eternal Memory of  Eric Cech, Ananda’s Founder 

    In Eternal Memory of Eric Cech, Ananda’s Founder “The best business model I can hope for is one that will run out of business.” – Eric Cech Eric’s business mindset was otherworldly. He admitted in casual conversation to his wife Anita one day: “The best business model I can hope for is one that […]

Thank You for Your Incredible Support

It Comes with the Greatest Pleasure To let You Know… that…Because of YOU Ananda has Managed to Survive one of the Most Uncertain Times of its Tenure  ~ We can not thank you enough for your enormous patience, understanding and support. From your incoming calls, comments on social media, direct messages across various channels, emails […]

CUSTOMER HEARTFELT RESPONSES

Here are a small fraction of the heartfelt responses we have received following the notice of our business closure and liquidation sale. We offer all of you a deserved shout out for being the improbable,  most essential, significant, factor in creating the Dream you are voicing to us: Hope for a Sustainable Future and Provider […]

Thank You For your Support

Thank You For your Support Since 2004 The Ananda Apothecary is Closing Business   SAD BUT TRUE As previously disclosed, The Ananda Apothecary has been greatly affected by to the global health situation. Bottom line is, we were increasing growing slim on product with no resupply any time soon. We are unable to get goods […]

Spring Cleaning Special

* SPRING CLEANING SPECIAL * *OFFERS VALID APRIL 24 – MAY 2, OR UNTIL SUPPLIES LAST. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY. WE’RE GIVING OILS AWAY Get Yours Today! WITH ANY PURCHASE THAT FITS YOUR BUDGET GET UP TO THREE OF YOUR ALL TIME FAVORITE OILS FREE *We have limited supplies due to overseas shipping restrictions. Order now while supplies last. ALSO […]

Ananda Apothecary 100% pure and genuine
×

What aspect of your life are you looking to improve?

quiz icon

Pain & Mobility
quiz icon

Sleep & Stress
quiz icon

Spirituality & Meditation
quiz icon

Something Else

How long have you been trying to find a solution for this problem?

quiz icon

Months
quiz icon

Months
quiz icon

Months
quiz icon

Longer than 1 year

How much do you know about essential oils?

quiz icon

Nothing, I'm a blank slate!
quiz icon

I know a few things, but not very much
quiz icon

I've had success using essential oils to improve my health
quiz icon

I'm an expert or professional aromatherapist

Where do we send your results?

window.cfields = {"1":"quiz_score"}; window._show_thank_you = function(id, message, trackcmp_url) { var form = document.getElementById('_form_' + id + '_'), thank_you = form.querySelector('._form-thank-you'); form.querySelector('._form-content').style.display = 'none'; thank_you.innerHTML = message; thank_you.style.display = 'block'; if (typeof(trackcmp_url) != 'undefined' && trackcmp_url) { // Site tracking URL to use after inline form submission. _load_script(trackcmp_url); } if (typeof window._form_callback !== 'undefined') window._form_callback(id); }; window._show_error = function(id, message, html) { var form = document.getElementById('_form_' + id + '_'), err = document.createElement('div'), button = form.querySelector('button'), old_error = form.querySelector('._form_error'); if (old_error) old_error.parentNode.removeChild(old_error); err.innerHTML = message; err.className = '_error-inner _form_error _no_arrow'; var wrapper = document.createElement('div'); wrapper.className = '_form-inner'; wrapper.appendChild(err); button.parentNode.insertBefore(wrapper, button); document.querySelector('[id^="_form"][id$="_submit"]').disabled = false; if (html) { var div = document.createElement('div'); div.className = '_error-html'; div.innerHTML = html; err.appendChild(div); } }; window._load_script = function(url, callback) { var head = document.querySelector('head'), script = document.createElement('script'), r = false; script.type = 'text/javascript'; script.charset = 'utf-8'; script.src = url; if (callback) { script.onload = script.onreadystatechange = function() { if (!r && (!this.readyState || this.readyState == 'complete')) { r = true; callback(); } }; } head.appendChild(script); }; (function() { if (window.location.search.search("excludeform") !== -1) return false; var getCookie = function(name) { var match = document.cookie.match(new RegExp('(^|; )' + name + '=([^;]+)')); return match ? match[2] : null; } var setCookie = function(name, value) { var now = new Date(); var time = now.getTime(); var expireTime = time + 1000 * 60 * 60 * 24 * 365; now.setTime(expireTime); document.cookie = name + '=' + value + '; expires=' + now + ';path=/'; } var addEvent = function(element, event, func) { if (element.addEventListener) { element.addEventListener(event, func); } else { var oldFunc = element['on' + event]; element['on' + event] = function() { oldFunc.apply(this, arguments); func.apply(this, arguments); }; } } var _removed = false; var form_to_submit = document.getElementById('_form_3_'); var allInputs = form_to_submit.querySelectorAll('input, select, textarea'), tooltips = [], submitted = false; var getUrlParam = function(name) { var regexStr = '[\?&]' + name + '=([^&#]*)'; var results = new RegExp(regexStr, 'i').exec(window.location.href); return results != undefined ? decodeURIComponent(results[1]) : false; }; for (var i = 0; i < allInputs.length; i++) { var regexStr = "field\\[(\\d+)\\]"; var results = new RegExp(regexStr).exec(allInputs[i].name); if (results != undefined) { allInputs[i].dataset.name = window.cfields[results[1]]; } else { allInputs[i].dataset.name = allInputs[i].name; } var fieldVal = getUrlParam(allInputs[i].dataset.name); if (fieldVal) { if (allInputs[i].type == "radio" || allInputs[i].type == "checkbox") { if (allInputs[i].value == fieldVal) { allInputs[i].checked = true; } } else { allInputs[i].value = fieldVal; } } } var remove_tooltips = function() { for (var i = 0; i < tooltips.length; i++) { tooltips[i].tip.parentNode.removeChild(tooltips[i].tip); } tooltips = []; }; var remove_tooltip = function(elem) { for (var i = 0; i < tooltips.length; i++) { if (tooltips[i].elem === elem) { tooltips[i].tip.parentNode.removeChild(tooltips[i].tip); tooltips.splice(i, 1); return; } } }; var create_tooltip = function(elem, text) { var tooltip = document.createElement('div'), arrow = document.createElement('div'), inner = document.createElement('div'), new_tooltip = {}; if (elem.type != 'radio' && elem.type != 'checkbox') { tooltip.className = '_error'; arrow.className = '_error-arrow'; inner.className = '_error-inner'; inner.innerHTML = text; tooltip.appendChild(arrow); tooltip.appendChild(inner); elem.parentNode.appendChild(tooltip); } else { tooltip.className = '_error-inner _no_arrow'; tooltip.innerHTML = text; elem.parentNode.insertBefore(tooltip, elem); new_tooltip.no_arrow = true; } new_tooltip.tip = tooltip; new_tooltip.elem = elem; tooltips.push(new_tooltip); return new_tooltip; }; var resize_tooltip = function(tooltip) { var rect = tooltip.elem.getBoundingClientRect(); var doc = document.documentElement, scrollPosition = rect.top - ((window.pageYOffset || doc.scrollTop) - (doc.clientTop || 0)); if (scrollPosition < 40) { tooltip.tip.className = tooltip.tip.className.replace(/ ?(_above|_below) ?/g, '') + ' _below'; } else { tooltip.tip.className = tooltip.tip.className.replace(/ ?(_above|_below) ?/g, '') + ' _above'; } }; var resize_tooltips = function() { if (_removed) return; for (var i = 0; i < tooltips.length; i++) { if (!tooltips[i].no_arrow) resize_tooltip(tooltips[i]); } }; var validate_field = function(elem, remove) { var tooltip = null, value = elem.value, no_error = true; remove ? remove_tooltip(elem) : false; if (elem.type != 'checkbox') elem.className = elem.className.replace(/ ?_has_error ?/g, ''); if (elem.getAttribute('required') !== null) { if (elem.type == 'radio' || (elem.type == 'checkbox' && /any/.test(elem.className))) { var elems = form_to_submit.elements[elem.name]; if (!(elems instanceof NodeList || elems instanceof HTMLCollection) || elems.length <= 1) { no_error = elem.checked; } else { no_error = false; for (var i = 0; i < elems.length; i++) { if (elems[i].checked) no_error = true; } } if (!no_error) { tooltip = create_tooltip(elem, "Please select an option."); } } else if (elem.type =='checkbox') { var elems = form_to_submit.elements[elem.name], found = false, err = []; no_error = true; for (var i = 0; i < elems.length; i++) { if (elems[i].getAttribute('required') === null) continue; if (!found && elems[i] !== elem) return true; found = true; elems[i].className = elems[i].className.replace(/ ?_has_error ?/g, ''); if (!elems[i].checked) { no_error = false; elems[i].className = elems[i].className + ' _has_error'; err.push("Checking %s is required".replace("%s", elems[i].value)); } } if (!no_error) { tooltip = create_tooltip(elem, err.join('
')); } } else if (elem.tagName == 'SELECT') { var selected = true; if (elem.multiple) { selected = false; for (var i = 0; i < elem.options.length; i++) { if (elem.options[i].selected) { selected = true; break; } } } else { for (var i = 0; i < elem.options.length; i++) { if (elem.options[i].selected && !elem.options[i].value) { selected = false; } } } if (!selected) { elem.className = elem.className + ' _has_error'; no_error = false; tooltip = create_tooltip(elem, "Please select an option."); } } else if (value === undefined || value === null || value === '') { elem.className = elem.className + ' _has_error'; no_error = false; tooltip = create_tooltip(elem, "This field is required."); } } if (no_error && elem.name == 'email') { if (!value.match(/^[\+_a-z0-9-'&=]+(\.[\+_a-z0-9-']+)*@[a-z0-9-]+(\.[a-z0-9-]+)*(\.[a-z]{2,})$/i)) { elem.className = elem.className + ' _has_error'; no_error = false; tooltip = create_tooltip(elem, "Enter a valid email address."); } } if (no_error && /date_field/.test(elem.className)) { if (!value.match(/^\d\d\d\d-\d\d-\d\d$/)) { elem.className = elem.className + ' _has_error'; no_error = false; tooltip = create_tooltip(elem, "Enter a valid date."); } } tooltip ? resize_tooltip(tooltip) : false; return no_error; }; var needs_validate = function(el) { return el.name == 'email' || el.getAttribute('required') !== null; }; var validate_form = function(e) { var err = form_to_submit.querySelector('._form_error'), no_error = true; if (!submitted) { submitted = true; for (var i = 0, len = allInputs.length; i < len; i++) { var input = allInputs[i]; if (needs_validate(input)) { if (input.type == 'text') { addEvent(input, 'blur', function() { this.value = this.value.trim(); validate_field(this, true); }); addEvent(input, 'input', function() { validate_field(this, true); }); } else if (input.type == 'radio' || input.type == 'checkbox') { (function(el) { var radios = form_to_submit.elements[el.name]; for (var i = 0; i < radios.length; i++) { addEvent(radios[i], 'click', function() { validate_field(el, true); }); } })(input); } else if (input.tagName == 'SELECT') { addEvent(input, 'change', function() { validate_field(this, true); }); } else if (input.type == 'textarea'){ addEvent(input, 'input', function() { validate_field(this, true); }); } } } } remove_tooltips(); for (var i = 0, len = allInputs.length; i < len; i++) { var elem = allInputs[i]; if (needs_validate(elem)) { if (elem.tagName.toLowerCase() !== "select") { elem.value = elem.value.trim(); } validate_field(elem) ? true : no_error = false; } } if (!no_error && e) { e.preventDefault(); } resize_tooltips(); return no_error; }; addEvent(window, 'resize', resize_tooltips); addEvent(window, 'scroll', resize_tooltips); window._old_serialize = null; if (typeof serialize !== 'undefined') window._old_serialize = window.serialize; _load_script("//d3rxaij56vjege.cloudfront.net/form-serialize/0.3/serialize.min.js", function() { window._form_serialize = window.serialize; if (window._old_serialize) window.serialize = window._old_serialize; }); var form_submit = function(e) { e.preventDefault(); if (validate_form()) { // use this trick to get the submit button & disable it using plain javascript document.querySelector('#_form_3_submit').disabled = true; var serialized = _form_serialize(document.getElementById('_form_3_')); var err = form_to_submit.querySelector('._form_error'); err ? err.parentNode.removeChild(err) : false; _load_script('https://anandaapothecary.activehosted.com/proc.php?' + serialized + '&jsonp=true'); } return false; }; addEvent(form_to_submit, 'submit', form_submit); })();
You'll receive your quiz results along with occasional updates, news, and training from Ananda Apothecary. We promise to only send you things of real value!