As a health coach you’ve likely dabbled in all kinds of unique and interesting things… it’s part of the innate curiosity that got us into this profession in the first place! We sniff out and investigate all kinds of topics related to health and wellness, from unusual superfoods, to new mashups of yoga and pilates, and everything in between.
If you’re like me though, you like to seek out as much fact as possible when exploring a new food, new product, or new exercise routine. I’m not someone who’s easily convinced by marketing messages and fancy product demos or testimonials… Its important to me to seek out the nitty gritty details.
Essential oils has recently been one of those things for me…. a topic that’s certainly not new, and not even that new to me, but one that I’ve begun to look at in a new light since going down this path of chemical toxins.
While I freely admit to not being an essential oil master I do know that they and the plants that they hail from have been used for thousands of years from ancient Egypt to the Arabian Empire and the battle fields of WWII. People back then saw that these oils had medicinal healing properties and many where antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal. The Egyptians used a mixture of salts, waxes and yes, plant oils to prevent bacterial growth in the bodies they so carefully preserved.
Now I’m not trying to preserve bodies or anything… I’m just interested in the powerful properties that essential oils have been shown to have. A quick search in the National Institute Of Health’s PUBMED database pull up over 4000 hits for studies looking at the properties of essential oils.
Just the other day I posted a NYTimes article on my Facebook Page (have you “liked” my Facebook page yet? If not, you’re missing out: “Like” me here: www.facebook.com/pages/LaraAdlerHHC) about how wax paper embedded with cinnamon oils kept breads fresher longer by keeping mold growth at bay.
Essential Oils have been clinically shown in thousands of studies to be just as effective, if not more, at killing bacteria, viruses, and molds. In fact, essential oils have been shown to be effective even against antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria!
Because you’re curious and adventurous (most health coaches seem to fit this mold! We must be if we stepped into this profession where we can often be looked at as a tiny bit kooky!), essential oils may be something that you’re totally open to exploring. Your clients however, might be another story!
Remember that your clients likely aren’t the health, wellness, and nutrition junkies that you are.. they’re coming from a different place. As you help support your clients around upgrading the foods they’re eating, and taking steps to better protect their health, essential oils very well might fall into that conversation. For those clients who are a little more resistant to some of the more “fringe” or “hippy-esque” they might need a little more convincing!
Do you use essential oils with your clients? I’d love to hear about how you introduce this sometimes “woo-woo perceived” topic to clients.
Hi Lara! Thanks for writing this article. I love essential oils and I use them daily – for cleaning, in my skin and body care (I am making more of my own products lately), in cooking, for my health, etc. They are so versatile! I used to keep my essential oils separate from my coaching (I am a doTERRA essential oil consultant) but then I held an essential oils class which a couple of my clients came to, and they actually got upset with me for not telling them about essential oils sooner! I think of it now as just one more tool in my toolbox, one more suggestion or option I can give them. If they think it is hippie-ish or ‘woo woo’ then they haven’t mentioned it to me – though my hippie-ish approach is one reason they are attracted to me, it’s part of my brand. I have had more people look at me oddly when I say I make kombucha or when I mention that I make my own cheese. But I believe that essential oils are becoming trendy…. so maybe that barrier is starting to come down.