On scents…

…a perennial favourite, almost every morning

I stepped outside yesterday morning - a fresh rain sitting on my plants, and instantly the smell took me back to elementary school.

Every summer, I would go to camp at a place called Camp Kakawa, just outside of Hope, for a week. And every single year, it would rain at least two or three of the six days that I was there. Not the best, when you’re 10 and have been looking forward to running around outside for a whole year, but also builds character, hair on your chest, yadda yadda yadda.

But the one thing I will always remember is the smell - fresh rain on warm rocks, on dusty leaves, on tree roots. It’s an incredibly distinct smell and it is forever burned in my memory. When I smell it, I am instantly transported back to some of my happiest childhood memories (it got a little complicated with me and the church in my last year as a counsellor there but that’s a post for another day…). I’m walking through the trees, arm in arm with my childhood bestie. I’m running around on a field, shrieking with joy. I’m huddled by the fire, singing at the top of my lungs.

One, simple, deep breath takes me right there.

NATURE IS KIND OF AMAZING

I’m sure you’ve had a similar experience. Fresh cut grass, cigars like your grandpa used to smoke, fresh bread like your aunt used to bake… you ex’s signature scent, ahem (it works both for good and for evil hahaha). When we smell something - especially when it’s a natural compound, more on that in a minute - well, let’s review a quick super simple biology lesson about why we can be instantly transported. The short answer is that the parts of your brain that regulate smells, memories and emotions are very much intertwined - scents travel through the olfactory bulb, which is within the limbic system (one of the most ancient parts of the brain). Brain cells then carry that information to a tiny area of the brain called the amygdala (where emotions are processed) and then to the adjoining hippocampus (hehe - hippocampus! Not a school for hippos, although that would be awesome, it’s actually where learning and memory formation take place).

So - with all this information, it’s probably starting to make sense that we can directly impact mood (and all kinds of other brain function) simply by smelling essential oils.

BUT - what about other uses for oils? What about when people talk about using oils to support pain, or immunity, or the respiratory system?

What we put on, in, and around us, matters. Like - REALLY matters.

Nearly everything we inhale ends up in our bloodstream. This means that simply breathing something in - whether it’s essential oils or that “keep out of reach of children” cleaner (ps let’s upgrade you out of that, shoot me a note if you’re curious to know what I use - it’s so clean my kid can literally eat it), everything we are exposed to can end up inside our bodies. That means that when we use oils, they can be readily transported to all organs of the body (including the brain).

This is a good thing - oils more than just witchy ju-ju, but real tools for healing, that includes actual science that explains how and why they are effective (my science-minded friends, I highly suggest going to PubMed - the US national library of medicine - and searching essential oils. There are a billion - well, 24440 - tagged, don’t get too lost!).

What this means is that not only can I instantly be transported back to the joys of being 8 years old when we have a summer rain, but also that I can immediately and directly impact my health with tools right at my fingertips.

Where is that “scent” coming from?

Oh - and in closing, as promised. Not all essential oils are created equally. That means that when we breathe in an artificial scent, whether it’s something that’s labeled “essential oil” but actually isn’t, or a synthetic perfume, those end up in our bodies too.

Unfortunately, because there’s no regulation in the essential oil industry, you can buy a bottle that’s labeled “100% pure lavender oil” that has no lavender, isn’t 100% anything, and doesn’t even contain an essential oil. This is why being able to look up reporting on batches of oils and knowing where your oils were grown (and by who - is the ecology of the community protected? Is the company investing in the betterment of the community? Are their labour practices just, do they include fair wages?) We vote with our dollars. Where we spend matters, especially when we’re sourcing oils all over the globe (that drugstore “orange” oil probably wasn’t grown in Winnipeg, right?)

Moreover, oils aren’t just about purity, but potency. This means it’s critically important to grow the plants in the part of the world they grow best in. I can grow gorgeous lavender in my backyard, and when I distill it down - even if it’s totally pure, awesome lavender? It simply won’t have the same chemical constituents, aka building blocks, that give dōTERRA lavender (grown in the south of France and Bulgaria) its incredible therapeutic properties. Holler at me if you want to smell the difference - just fill out this form and I’ll pop it in the mail for you! <3