Your inner world creates your outer world

I recently heard this statement and felt it was perfect for helping people understand how powerful and efficient essential oils can be for health and emotional balance. Working as an integrative bodywork therapist and energy healing arts educator for so many years, of course I knew this statement was valid, but I had never heard it stated so succinctly.

I have found that combining a certain essential oil blend called Young Living’s Inner Child™ with restorative yoga poses is an effective and simple way to help my clients and students overcome emotionally charged issues. This mix helps bring lightness to themes that have been so heavy and hurtful in our childhood memory banks. Inner Child™ is a blend of orange (Citrus aurantium), mandarin (Citrus nobilis), jasmine (Jasminum officinale), ylang ylang (Cananga odorata), fir (Picea mariana), sandalwood (Santalum album), lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus), and neroli (Citrus aurantium).

Here is a simple exercise that you can practice with the Inner Child™:

Bring the intention of your breath and this oil mix into the part of your brain that stores all your childhood memories, all of them good, bad and neutral. Intend that the time you are taking to stop and visit your inner landscape will help you to clear lingering childhood hurts or traumas. Remember: your intention is a powerful tool to do anything.

Lie on your back, bending your knees, with your knees touching each other. Place a firm pillow or rolled blanket under your knees to relieve pressure on your lower back.

• Part One: Place a few drops of Inner Child™ in the palm of your left hand and gently rub your hands together three times. With a steady, even, and centered breath, inhale Inner Child™ and close your eyes. As you exhale, fully expel all the air from your lungs, pausing for two seconds before your next inhalation. Continue to inhale Inner Child™ in this manner for 10 to 15 breaths. You may want to use an eye pad to cover your eyes; this can help you to have a more internal experience.
• Part Two: Reapply Inner Child™ to the palm of your left hand, gently rub your hands together, this time rubbing the mixture into your lower abdomen. Place your left hand on your forehead and your right hand on your lower abdomen and continue with your breath. Close your eyes and breathe in the same way as before.

From a mind/body perspective, the belly button represents our ancient consciousness and, of course, was our physical connection to our mother; the forehead represents the new consciousness. This simple hand placement is a self-healing polarity therapy technique that can be used to calm the mind.

When you’re done, roll onto your right side, bring your knees in toward your chest, and pause in the fetal position for five to 10 breaths. Place your hands on the floor and push your upper body up into a sitting position, making sure your head is the last to come up.

When you reach a comfortable sitting position, once again inhale the Inner Child™ from your palms. As you exhale, release any lingering thoughts or emotions that are not currently serving you. On your next inhalation, extend your arms out to the sides and up overhead, palms touching, and as you exhale, bring your hands into a prayer position with your thumbs touching your chest. Take a few moments to feel your heart, smile, and give thanks for all the blessings in your life.

When we take the time to go within and make the decision to remove negative emotions and memories from our past, we can build our outer lives from scratch. And in my experience, Inner Child™ is the perfect combination to help you start your own path.