Essential Oils for Yoga

Aromatherapy was created as a spa treatment, using pleasant scents to relax and reduce tension and stress through application and diffusion. Essential oils made of pure plants can influence a positive sense of wellness, emotional state, and mental clarity. Something that can really enhance your yoga experience is incorporating essential oils to arrive at the same goal. Rubbing the oil on pressure points, like your inner wrists, neck, and chest help the body absorb the oils for their offered benefits.

For Grounding

When you want to connect physically and spiritually with the earth, it’s helpful to use patchouli, ginger, and cedarwood during yoga sessions. These earthy scents can have positive effects on your body as you electrically reconnect to the earth.

For Breath Awareness

To promote clear breathing and breath awareness, it’s recommended to use scents like basil, frankincense, rosemary, spearmint, myrrh, and eucalyptus oil. These smells can help open the lungs, while breath awareness helps eliminate imbalances from your attitude and posture.

For Calming

Yoga in itself is a calming activity, but if you’re having trouble getting to that relaxed point, smelling scents like chamomile, lavender, geranium, and vetiver can help with your meditation or relaxation.

For Centering and Strengthening

The scents of sandalwood, cedarwood, frankincense, and myrrh are great for centering and strengthening. They help transition your thoughts about the past or future to help focus you in the present - where your body is.

For Spirituality

Since yoga is more than just exercise and can be a whole spiritual experience, smelling essential oils of bergamot, lemon, and orange oil can help you explore the spiritual side of life by becoming aware of yourself and the experience of yoga.

For Soothing Sore Muscles

Easing into stretches for stiff and sore muscles is easier when you have the aromatic scents of basil, lavender, cypress, and rosemary essential oils.

For Cleansing

Cleanse your body and mind with lemongrass, grapefruit, and wild orange essential oils. Yoga helps detoxify your body, and using oils can help promote a healthy circulatory system, digestive system and lymphatic system.

For Uplifting

While yoga helps with relaxation, it can have the added benefit of uplifting your mood. Incorporating scents like clary sage, lime, and lemon oil will inspire you to feel empowered, happy, and strong.

Yoga Mat Cleaner

You can also make your own all-natural yoga mat sanitizer spray by mixing essential oils and water. Your custom cleaning blend will need:

• 3 cups of distilled or purified water
• 10-20 drops of the essential oil you prefer
• ¼ cup of witch hazel
• A large spray bottle

Cleaning your mat

1. Spray the cleaning solution onto your mat and let it sit for a few minutes
2. Wipe off the blend with a slightly dampened paper towel or cloth
3. Repeat for the other side of your mat

Practicing yoga offers many benefits to helping you improve your mental well-being by incorporating meditation and breathing. But you can enhance those benefits by incorporating the use of essential oils into your routines.