Essential oils for relaxation: calming lavender

While many of you may be at home over the next few weeks, we are hoping to provide you with plenty of wellness content – including our very own series of essential oils, which you can use from the comfort and safety of your own home.

Lavender essential oil is by far one of the most popular and versatile essential oils used in aromatherapy and has long been used by therapists for its vast amount of benefits. Lavender can help to ease symptoms of anxiety, creating a feeling of overall calm, and can even be used as part of your bedtime ritual as it promotes healthy sleep. In this blog, we look at the many different ways you can use this incredible essential oil.

Sleep well

Trouble sleeping? The relaxing properties of lavender means it may help to soothe you before you go to sleep, having been proven to lower our heart rate and decrease stress levels. To get the benefits, try putting two or three drops on your pillowcase before going to bed, and drift off peacefully into the land of nod. If you’re really struggling to sleep, next year we have our very own Serene Sleep Break which offers a variety of workshops and sessions, including Guided Meditation, Deep Relaxation Yoga, Yoga with Sound Bathing Meditation and Tranquil Tai Chi, plus two evening workshops which will cover useful sleep habits to adopt when home, hypnotherapy techniques and nutritional guidance. More information is available here.

In your home

If you’re working from home, make sure to use a lavender essential oil in your vaporiser or diffuser to create an atmosphere of ambience for that ‘spa at home’ feeling. Simply add a few drops of lavender essential oil and let the aroma work its magic!

Bathing

A popular option – make bath-time that little bit more relaxing by adding roughly eight drops of lavender essential oil to your warm bath. Make sure you give the water a good stir before hopping into the tub as this will help to evenly spread the oil. While you soak away your worries, your skin will absorb a small amount of the oil and the scent will give you that ‘aaaaah’ feeling.

Skincare

Lavender oil is known to be loaded with antioxidants, which can reduce the appearance of wrinkles by protecting you from free radicals. Add a drop to your daily moisturiser to reap the benefits, or combine with coconut oil for extra soft skin.