This post is sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Candle. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Essential oils have been around for decades, but have especially increased in popularity in the last few years. Essential oils are great to be used for a varying amount of reasons and places, but adding the use of essentials oil to your yoga practice is a great way to enhance your yoga practice. When used properly and safely, essential oils can be great for cultivating focus, mindfulness and improving mood.
I’ve loved the added benefits of adding essential oils to my at home practice and can’t wait to share some of my absolute favorite blends with you. There are a ton of different blends that complement your practice, mood and what you’re hoping to gain out of yoga.
Why Use Essential Oils in Yoga
Yoga is a great practice for not only adding more physical movement into your life, but also for improving mood and stress relief. When you combine the use of essential oils to your yoga practice, you can further reap the benefits of the practice. Different oils can assist in setting or changing your mood, helping you become more grounded, promote mental clarity and also help you to focus on the breath (pranayama). I’ve even used them when I’m in a less than stellar mood — I simply diffuse a blend that encourages a more happy, energized mood. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite blends from Chesapeake Bay below!
How To Use Essential Oils in Your Yoga Practice
Essential oils can be used in many different ways, but the most popular in yoga practices are diffusing, anointing (massage) and purifying (cleaning). For this post I’m going to focus on diffusing and sharing a few of my absolute favorites that I use and how to use them based on your needs. When it comes to using oils in my yoga practice, I focus primarily on my home practice. While I love using them, it’s key to be respectful of others that may have sensitivities.
For my yoga practice, I most often use Chesapeake Bay essentials oils and diffusers. I love their Mind & Body Collection that includes mood-enhancing products (they have candles too) that are the perfect addition to your health and wellness routine. This past year they introduce a new line of 100% pure essential oils and essential oil diffusers as part of the Mind & Body Collection. The line includes twelve 100% pure essential oil products, three 100% pure essential oil sets, and 6 decorative essential oil diffusers (I have the Ribbed Oil Diffuser in green frosted).
The line has a blend or pure oil for all your yoga needs (and they’re great for everyday diffusing too). When I’m setting up my space to practice, I simply choose an oil that fits my needs or mood (or whatever mood I’d like to be in). A few minutes before I practice, I add a few drops to my diffuser and let the scent disperse. This diffuser is great for nighttime flows too as it has a beautiful ambient glow that is relaxing and calming.
How To Choose Oils For Your Practice
Below are a few of my favorite oils and blends that I use and my favorite ways to use them. I’m adore all the blends that I’ve tried from Chesapeake Bay so far. It takes the guessing work out of blends for me and it makes it incredibly easy to use as well. All signature and single blends retail at $7.99 and they have some wonderful sets too.
Relaxing:
- Relax: This blend of lavender, rosemary & sage is relaxing, soothing and calming.
- Calmness: Blend of geranium, vetiver, grapefruit provides a spa-like escape with this soothing, clarifying and calming essential oil blend.
Energizing:
- Awake: Blend of orange, ginger, tangerine is energizing, refreshing and renewing that to help elevate your day.
- Revitalize: This blend contains lemongrass, lime and peppermint to stimulate, refresh and uplift.
Increased Focus:
- Mindfulness: Blend of cinnamon, cardamon and cedar to create a peaceful sanctuary with this grounding and strengthening essential oil blend (this is my absolute favorite blend!).
Grounding:
- Balance: This contains 100% patchouli oil to stimulate and balance for a sense of well-being and centering.
Purify/Cleanse:
- Purify: This blend of rose, geranium and clove is uplifting, purifying, and mood-enhancing.
Breath Awareness and Clear Breathing:
- Inhale: Blend of eucalyptus, fir and sage to help you take deep breaths, relax and while purifying the air with refreshing and balancing essential oils.
Do you use essential oils in your home or yoga practice?
It’s pretty much my favorite thing when I go to a yoga class and the instructor puts essential oils on me during corpse pose. I should incorporate EOs into my home practice too!
I’m a yoga beginner and will be hosting other beginners in January 2019. Your article was right on time with the EO. I’ve always used EO for aromatherapy mainly for relaxation, but I’m looking forward to showing off to my yoga buddies. We mainly use a video, we’re not ready to go out in yoga pants just yet. Thanks for the post!
Oh, these are great tips! I love lavender for relaxing and I love the idea of adding it to yoga!
I’ve been hearing about these essentials oils a lot and lavender is my favorite. So calming and very relaxing.
This sounds wonderful! I never thought of mixing yoga with essencial oils! Now I have to 🙂