By Alyssa Serchia of Home Field Fitness

It’s all a part of a Fit Mama’s life: coffee, leggings, top knots, Momsanity BCAA’s ….and…essential oils?

Have you heard about using essential oils but not quite sure what to make of it all?

I’m super excited that the Momsanity Coaches have asked me to share with you some of the basics today! As a busy, healthy mama of 2, essential oils have become GAME CHANGERS for me and my family!

So what ARE essential oils, you might ask?

ESSENTIAL OILS: Natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, flowers, bark, rind, and leaves of plants, extracted and distilled for health benefits. They are extremely concentrated, so when you have therapeutic quality pure oils, you often only need a drop or two to have a huge impact!

And why would I want to use them?

Well, there are many, many ways you can incorporate essential oils into your life. We live in a world that has become increasingly full of toxin-filled products.

Did you know that the average woman is exposed to at least 168 chemicals A DAY?! That’s between skin, hair and face products, soaps, cleaners, air fresheners and more.

Because of this toxic load on our bodies, many things can start to happen. Our immune systems can suffer, our internal organs have to work harder and even our hormones and mood can be negatively affected.

Essential oils are a great way to use the medicine that God provided us when he created the earth. Rather than adding chemical additives and preservatives that cause side effects or other reactions, we can use pure, plant extracts for their therapeutic use! Most essential oils have numerous benefits – which makes them so convenient to use! Their uses range from therapeutic health benefits, to pure skincare to toxic free cleaning, emotional support and more!

And how the heck do you use them?

There are 3 ways you can get the benefits of essential oils:

1. Smell them! Simply from the bottle or a drop in your hand, or with a diffuser! A diffuser is great way for your entire family to reap the benefits of essential oils economically and safely!

2. Apply them! Essential oils are easily absorbed into your bloodstream and work really fast once they are applied onto your skin. Most of the time it's a good idea to dilute them with a carrier oil like coconut oil before applying, especially on sensitive skin or kiddos. Applying them on the feet or spine is a great way to start, or directly on the affected area (like on the tummy, for example).

3. Eat them! Or drink them. Not all oils are safe for internal use, so you want to be sure you’re using high quality, therapeutic grade oils. They label the ones that are safe to ingest, like lemon, wild orange, cinnamon and more! You can take oil drops in a capsule for health benefits or add them to your water, tea, smoothies or even food recipes to replace dried or fresh herbs or flavor extracts. I love adding a drop of cumin oil into my taco meat, and wild orange into our morning smoothies!

Here are a few of the ways I personally use some of my favorite essential oils.

Lavender: This is the perfect oil for moms. It’s gentle enough for little babies and it’s powerful enough for your big strong husbands. It aids in calming, sleep and even stress relief. It’s soothing to the skin as well as the brain! I diffuse lavender at night, I use it on skin irritations and include it in my favorite bug bite relief blend!

OnGuard: OnGuard is a blend of 5 powerful essential oils that all support a strong immune system. They are also powerful cleansing agents. I diffuse OnGuard during sick seasons, apply it to our feet daily for on-going support and make a DIY cleaning spray with it to take care of all of the germs in our house!

Peppermint: This is the kick-you-in-the-pants essential oil. It smells so fresh and uplifting, it is sure to wake you up in the morning! I love taking a big inhale straight out of the bottle to get me energized for a workout or to get me through a long afternoon! It also supports a healthy respiratory system by opening your airways, and is very soothing to an upset stomach. There are literally DOZENS of practical uses for peppermint. My absolute favorite? Homemade peppermint mochas!

As you can see, essential oils are an incredibly versatile and SAFE way to care for your family. I love how empowered I feel as a mom to handle so many of our needs with them.

Find more healthy mom tips from Alyssa at

www.homefieldfitness.com

(click ESSENTIALS)