Health Benefits of Peppermint Therapeutic Grade Essential Oil

The benefits of peppermint are many, but the most common reason I offer it to my massage clients is that it relieves muscle soreness at the same time as it reduces inflammation. I frequently see people who have an acute condition, but more often I find overuse of a particular muscle group is the cause of restriction and discomfort. I usually apply 4 to 6 drops along the spine, lightly effleurage the oil with my fingertips and then cover with coconut or apricot kernel oil. Peppermint oil will continue to relax muscles, even after leaving my treatment room for as long as you leave it on your skin. You can further reactivate the effects by applying heat to the area. If you have only one essential oil at home, make it peppermint.

Enough Thyme

My garden reminds me that there is enough time. Even with only 24 hours a day, seven days a week, we have enough time for everything we need to do plus a few things we just want to do because we enjoy them. I have been telling myself that I don't have enough time to walk around the lake, even though I love it, even though it is good for me...For me it was a matter of setting priorities and putting it on my calender. So now I'm back to walking around the lake, one day at a time, and allowing myself that sensory experience of the milkweed flowers and the rose garden. Life is so lovely, so elegant,  yet sometimes we miss it. We get so wrapped up in our grief and disappointment, our fear that there isn't enough and are the dysfunction that fear creates for us. How can we teach ourselves, to remind ourselves that it isn't true. We have time. We always have time; we have now and that is more than enough for the present moment. All those "nows" add up, and create who we are in this world. And who we will become, what our bodies will look like, how they will function and what we have an opportunity to learn and how we participate with others. 

There are some wonderful benefits to using thyme. Diluted in oil it is wonderful for a massage. Massage those parts that you can reach, or have someone else massage any affected area. It will help relieve sore muscles and minor pains of arthritis.

If you add six to eight drops in your bathwater and soak for at least 10 minutes, you will sleep better that night. You can use thyme as a steam inhalant by placing two drops of oil in a steaming bowl of water, draping your head with a towel and taking deep breaths. Using one drop while cooking can help digest your food more efficiently.

Thyme is a strong antiseptic and is often used for disinfecting hands before surgery. It is helpful in gastric infections. Thyme is effective for treating all forms of infection. It’s especially effective against mouth and throat infections, colds, coughs, and sore throats. It can be used as an inhalant, mouthwash, or gargle. Thyme is also good for mouth and gum infections.

There are so many uses for this essential oil, thyme is used in cooking and aids digestion. It’s also good for urinary tract antiseptic, and for use in treating infections in the bladder and urinary tract.

Thyme is used also to ward off infections. By stimulating the production of white corpuscles, it increases the body’s resistance to any organisms that are trying to attack from the outside.

As well as the other benefits that thyme has, it can also be used in hot compresses to relieve pain and joint pain related to rheumatism. Used in hair rinses, it can also be used for sores and wounds. In addition, because it is an antifungal it can also be safely used for athlete’s feet.

Thyme is used in over-the-counter products such as Listerine mouthwash and Vicks VapoRub. It is well-known for its antibacterial and antifungal properties.

Thyme tea is often used for coughs from emphysema, bronchitis, and even whooping cough. Tea made from thyme is also good for colds and flu.

To make the tea you need two teaspoons of dried herb for each cup of boiling water. Let it steep for ten minutes. You may want to add sage to the tea if you have a nagging cough. Thyme was an active ingredient in the over-the-counter cough syrup called Pertussin. You can make the tea a little stronger and it’s effective in treating sore gums.