Aromatherapy and Angels

By Shari Caspert, Mom to Matthew age 17

I was introduced to Young Living Essential Oils three years ago by another special needs Mom, our son Matthew was 14 at the time… I really had no experience with essential oils, or aromatherapy. I always thought that we lived a pretty healthy lifestyle, ate well, exercised & tried to get a good nights sleep – tricky with our Angelman Kids!

We are now a family that lives on Stress Away, Deep Relief, Lavender, Peace & Calming, Frankincense, Lemon, Thieves, Ningxia, Peppermint and more.. This is my everyday survival kit!!!

I am sure that you are wondering, How can this help me? 

A little cautious, I began our journey… my first move was to rid toxic chemicals out of Matthews environment more Purell, Antibacterial soaps, toxic cleaning products, shampoo or toothpaste. I had no idea that these everyday items were compromising Matthew’s life, disrupting hormones and causing inflammation in his already busy body, gut and brain.

What’s in your Environment?

I replaced everything in our home with “Thieves” , a blend of Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, Rosemary and lemon oil. You can’t control every environment our Angels are in but I continued with Matthew’s school, where he spends 6 hours a day. There he works on Adult Daily Living skills so I provide his own special, non-toxic ADL kit – Thieves hand sanitizer, foaming soap, toothpaste, Ningxia (an antioxidant drink). No more Triclosan, anti-bacterial products, boxed fruit juices, and other products loaded with harmful chemicals.

My next step was to diffuse and topically apply different oils. (Therapeutic grade only. You must be very careful where you get them from). Not all essential oils actually contain therapeutic and healing properties. Many oils/lotions found at general health food stores contain additives or chemicals and may contain plant lifeblood to some degree, but they have not been processed in a way to guarantee therapeutic constituencies that can heal. That’s why it is important to know how the oil is processed and what claims can be made for using it.

I started with the basics, Lavender.  I started diffusing Lavender in Matthew’s room every night, an hour before he went to bed, and he slept, so did we! This has helped to reduce stress for all of us. If you are wondering, the fun cool air diffuser with the light and steam (see photo above) does not remain unattended in his room! Too much fun for sure! I also put a few drops of Lavender in his Epsom salt bath, and on his pillow so it diffuses all night. Lavender has helped us to Relax, Stay Calm, Breathe and Heal.

Our next oil was Peace and Calming. The name alone hooked me. This is a blend of tangerine, orange, blue tansy, pachouli & ylang ylang. The sense of smell is a powerful one and this helps with anxiety, behavior and to take the edge off us all. Much to our surprise this started to help not only Matthew, but his bus aides, personal aide and our family.

I apply Thieves on his/our feet every day. For those of you into reflexology there are incredible benefits, a conversation for another day…I like applying this with a roller cap as I have to be fast with him as he is always on the move! I diffuse & spray Thieves to kill any airborne mold spores and germs. No one got sick last year!!!

Next, I changed Matthews drinks. Who knew that Pediasure wasn’t the “best” ever, as per his pediatrician? He now drinks Young Living’s, Ningxia Red, containing Wolfberry’s, Lemon, Orange, and numerous oils…This has helped his immune system and helps to support his digestive health.

The greatest surprise of all is that we started on this Holistic journey for Matthew and it has changed our entire home, how we live, how we reduce our stress levels and deal with aches & pains.

At 17, you realize that there is no magic answer, but a combination of strategies that will help your Angel, families and caregivers. Aromatherapy, removing toxins, changing Matthew’s diet and replacing our medicine cabinet with plant based products has significantly changed our lives. I now help educate other special needs families.

We learn from each other how to help balance our lives both physically & emotionally.

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2014!!   

Quick tips:

Purification -Diffuse and spray in your home, car, or office rather than toxic air fresheners like Glade, which kills petrochemicals in the air.

Peppermint.. helps with digestion, headaches, extreme heat…..to name a few

Look for my tips in your next Angelman Today!