Essential Oils for Meditation

November 3, 2009 | By admin In aromatherapy essential oils |

In today’s busy life, everyday seems so busy that 24 hours is not enough to complete our daily jobs, more and more people feel the tension of living. That’s the reason, meditation become more popular and important nowaday.

Meditation is practised in our daily living to help us transporting ourselve to a place of inner peace so that we can totally rest our mind, our body and feed our spirit. Breathing is at the very core of meditation, by using proper essential oils, it act as natural sedatives and helps create peaceful atmosphere and enhance the relaxed state of meditation.

Meditation is not exclusive to any one particular culture or religious/spiritual group. Generally speaking, meditation induces a sense of relaxation leading one to become receptive to enlightenment.

Whereas prayer is the state of speaking to God or the Divine, either out loud or silently, meditation is the state of silently and calmly listening to hear insight, enlightenment and empowerment from our Divine creator. Meditation allows us to relax our minds, focus upon a particular point of reference and take a mini-vacation from the stresses of the day.

Below are the types of essential oils which suitable for meditation:

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) is very grounding. It is considered the oil of peace. With its earthy aroma and sedative properties, it can help quiet the mind during meditation. Patchouli’s primal scent is arousing and helps to dispel anxiety about sex; it is often used as an aphrodisiac. It is also calming and can help rebalance the body when stress has caused nervous exhaustion. It has antibacterial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic properties that make it good for use in skin care. Patchouli can be used as an inhalant with a diffusor or on the skin with a carrier.

Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica), with its sweet, woody-balsamic, slightly camphorous scent, helps focus the mind and relieve anxiety, nervous tension, and stress. It is uplifting, strengthening, comforting, and grounding, and it helps to create balance. With every breath, cedarwood’s antiseptic properties protect the lungs against respiratory infections. It is a mucolytic (breaks down mucus), which makes it an excellent treatment for catarrhal conditions, especially chronic bronchitis.

The steam-distilled roots of vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides) are restorative and help reconnect us to our roots. The aroma encourages a sense of inner strength and protection and is therefore grounding and nourishing. The musty-earth scent of vetiver is generally used as a base note when blending essential oils. It blends well with oils such as clary sage, jasmine, lavender, patchouli, and rose. Vetiver is antiseptic, antispasmodic, a sedative for the nervous system, a stimulant for the circulatory system, and a tonic that can be used for conditions such as arthritis, muscular aches and pains, rheumatism, sprains, stiffness, depression, insomnia, tension, and stress. It can also be used for skin conditions such as acne, cuts, oily skin, and wounds. Vetiver can be used as an inhalant, with a diffusor, or on the skin when mixed with a carrier oil.

Indian spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi) has an aroma that is warm, earthy, peaty, bittersweet, and woody. It is native to the Himalayan mountains and is also known as “nard.” It is one of the most ancient of aromatics, considered precious to the early Egyptian, Hebrew, and Hindu civilizations for both ritual and medicinal purposes. Mary Magdalene is said to have anointed the feet of Jesus with this oil before the Last Supper. In 1652 herbalist Nicholas Culpeper wrote that spikenard “comforts the brain” and helps “passions and swooning of the heart.” Spikenard is in the same plant family as valerian and shares the intense, pungent scent of its sister root.

Sandalwood (Santalum album) essential oil is quickly becoming rare; it will be increasingly harder to find the real thing because of years of unsustainable over-harvesting practices. If you already have some of this sweet woody oil, keep it for sacred use such as meditation. It is a relaxing and meditative oil with sensual properties, soothing and comforting to body and mind. Sandalwood encourages feelings of well-being and has been used traditionally as an incense and perfume.

Frankincense resin (Boswellia carterii) aids in meditation, fortifying and quieting the mind. It is an excellent oil to use for respiratory conditions. Frankincense lifts the spirits, encourages feelings of well-being, produces heightened awareness of spiritual calm, reduces tension, and gives strength .

Below diffuser blends can be a good starting ideas for creating your own personal meditation blends. Be sure that you understand the safety precautions of essential oils and how to properly use your diffuser.

Om Diffuser Blend

4 drops orange (Citrus sinensis)
2 drops bergamot (Citrus bergamia)
2 drops rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora)
2 drops patchouli (Pogostemon cablin)

Add to an aromatherapy diffuser before starting your meditation practice.

Balancing Meditation Blend

10 drops frankincense (Boswellia carterii)
10 drops mandarin (Citrus reticulata)
20 drops cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica)
5 drops rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora)
2 drops vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides)

Add to an aromatherapy diffuser before starting your meditation practice.

Chakra Balancing Meditation Blend
4 drops frankincense (Boswellia carteri)
4 drops mandarin (Citrus reticulata)
4 drops cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica)
2 drops rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora)
2 drops vetiver (Vetiveria zizanioides)

Add to an aromatherapy diffuser before starting your meditation practice.

Space Clearing Spray
30 drops Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica)

Add essential oil drops to a 60 ml spritzer bottle of distilled water. Shake well before using each time.

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