In addition to the services listed on the Embody Your Mind site, we enjoy the relaxing effects of essential oils. It is easy to over rate such tools*. At the same time, we also see that some people who have a bias against the integrative medicine movement, assume that such tools have no viable science to support them. See here, here, and here for a small sampling of interesting research publications on the mechanisms of impact of fragrance and volatile organic compounds.
We are fascinated by herbal medicine, nutrition, food as medicine, and nutraceuticals and the growing body of research supporting these fields. If you would like to purchase oils directly, you can go to the Be Young site and use the partner ID 13861.
We are also a professional distributor of nutritional supplements through Emerson Ecologics as part of food and nutrition plans. We believe nutritional supplements are often overused as well as used out of context, and so working with a well-trained, evidence-based practitioner to determine your unique needs, is vital. Please contact us directly for more information on products from these sources at discounted prices.
*Be sure, when looking at nutraceuticals, supplements, and oils, to not buy into exaggerated claims about their usefulness. Approach your consideration of use with realistic thinking, as well as the larger context of “integrative” which acknowledges complexity in all things. Essential oils, for example, aren’t going to “heal your depression” or “cure your diabetes”. If you find them relaxing as part of your environment, and combined with other tools like music therapy, mind-body skills like guided imagery, or restorative yoga, see it as enhancing your overall experience of well-being and self-care. We are at risk for placing too much power onto such external “fixes”. Ultimately we are looking for a sense of empowerment and/or nurturance. Such concepts bring perspective…
Links and Recommended Resources:
The Center for Mind-Body Medicine
University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality & Healing
National Center for Complementary & Integrative Health
IAYT – International Association of Yoga Therapists
Here is a small sample list of interesting mind-body related learning tools, in no particular order – I recommend reading the overviews and reviews online before deciding if a book is of interest to your learning path…
- Full Catastrophe Living, Jon Kabat-Zinn
- Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, Robert Sapolsky
- Unstuck, James Gordon
- Molecules of Emotion, Candace Pert
- Your Body is Your Subconscious Mind, Candace Pert (audio lecture)
- Waking the Tiger, Peter Levine (trauma studies)
- Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, Joan Borysenko
- The Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton
- The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel VanDer Kolk, (trauma studies)
- Awareness, Anthony deMello (spiritual/psychology)
- The Immune System Recovery Plan, Susan Blum (diet, lifestyle, comprehensive)
- Inner Work: Using Dreams & Active Imagination…, Robert Johnson, (psychology)