Autumn can be a difficult season to live through, more conducive to depression and fatigue. Unless you have these essential oils.
Autumn is a season that invites you to slow down and have more moments for yourself. Conducive to well-being and relaxation, essential oils are true allies for the body and mental health. Sophie Benabi, expert in Ayurvedic medicine, gives us her 3 essentials.
The first is that of ylang-ylang. “The little recommendation that I like to give is to smell a little Ylang-Ylang essential oil (respecting the contraindications) to soothe your mind“, confides Sophie Benabi. Ylang-Ylang is a so-called balancing essential oil: it easily calms the nervous system and fights against the blues. Ylang-Ylang also has antispasmodic properties and facilitates “digestion which can be a little more capricious in autumn” warns our expert. Warning: it should not be used during pregnancy and breastfeeding, nor in children under 3 years old. At too high a dose, it can cause headaches and nausea.
The second one that you may already have at home is lavender. Diffused in the room or by applying 3-4 drops to the solar plexus (under the sternum), the inner side of the wrist or the arch of the foot, it has a calming action and acts against fatigue. Our expert recommends using it for massages: “Fall is the ideal season to self-massage for 10 to 15 minutes because our skin is drier and our tissues are more fragile. To massage, we use hot vegetable oil that we heat in a bain-marie or using an oil heater. For example, you can choose sesame oil (it is the flagship vegetable oil of autumn but it is not suitable for people who have digestion problems or those who have a very heavy tongue in the morning), rose oil or grapeseed oil to which 5 drops of lavender essential oil are added. If we don’t have time, we focus on key areas in autumn such as the feet, knee joints, the digestive system with the navel, ears and temples.“, explains our expert in Ayurvedic medicine. It is a great relaxer for overworked muscles. Please note, it is not recommended for pregnant or breastfeeding women, children under 3 months and in cases of severe hypotension.
Finally, with a relaxing action, Roman chamomile essential oil is particularly suitable for autumn because it is calming and regulates the nervous system. It is ideal for people prone to insomnia. “For example, inhaling it (directly above the bottle) just before sleeping helps you fall asleep.“, advises our expert. Anti-inflammatory, this essential oil also has benefits for sour stomach, a relatively common symptom in autumn. It is not recommended during the first three months of pregnancy and in children under 3 years.