3 WAYS TO LIVE A HAPPIER LIFE
Kayla Howard grew up near Young Living’s St. Maries Farm in Idaho and can remember hearing about ‘weirdos who sniffed oils’ all her life. But it wasn’t until she tried her first essential oil in 2011 that she began to understand their usage and set forward on a path of abundant wellness and financial freedom with Young Living.
She was skeptical in the beginning, Kayla admits, and purchased just one essential oil to try. It was Stress Away™, a Young Living blend of Lime and Vanilla mixed with Copaiba, Cedarwood, Ocotea and Lavender Essential Oils. “I was so immediately impressed that I dove right in,” she says about the world of essential oils. “I’m the type of person who really likes to educate myself on whatever I’m doing, so I went to all the classes that were available and then took online classes and read books. I began incorporating oils into everything we did at home.”
Since then, Kayla says, her family has benefited in many ways from essential oils. Helping others find that same joy has become a passion for Kayla.
Here are three of her tips for living a happier life:
1. Use Daily Affirmations or Declarations
Kayla does this with scripture and prayer, along with Valor® or Joy™ to increase the impact.
“We know that smells are tied to memory,” she explains. “So if you want to change the way you think and choose joy and happiness in your life, you literally have to retrain the way you think. Oils can help with that.”
Many people are completely unaware of their negative self-talk: I’m broke, I’ll never have enough money to do that; I’ll never be strong enough; or simply, I can’t. The body is listening, whether we realize it or not.
It’s easier to stop negative thoughts when you focus on positive ones instead. So instead of simply saying, I have to stop thinking like that, our bodies respond better if we choose an affirmation, which can be tied to an essential oil. For example, you might breathe in Lemon Essential Oil while declaring: It is my honor to be a lover of people. I will believe the best and look for the gold in people. There’s a connection made also between the yellow of lemons and the gold in people that helps increase retention. Another example from Kayla is to use Bergamot Essential Oil over your heart and say, Because joy is my inheritance, I will facilitate joy wherever I go.
2. Slow Down and Actually Apply Your Oils
Essential Oils work best when they’re used on a regular basis, combined with intentional rest.
“Most of our lives are hurry, hurry, busy,” Kayla says. “At the same time, we know that we’re supposed to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. But the truth is, most of us push ourselves, are really hard on ourselves and put ourselves down. We’re so intense about going and going, and not letting ourselves rest. If that’s the way we’re treating ourselves, that’s the way we’re going to treat other people.”
Instead, Kayla recommends that we take time to rest. “It’s actually really loving to others, and it’s not selfish, if we take time to center ourselves,” she adds. This might mean taking time to have fun, watching something funny, or just letting things go. When you enter into a more relaxed state of mind, the essential oils work better.
One example of this is anointing the crown of your head with Frankincense or Cedarwood Essential Oils and then going into a closet or a quiet spot to pray or re-center yourself. Come back to balance, and breathe the oils in as you do so. “Another pleasant practice I do before bed is to apply Valerian or Lavender on my feet or swiping it across my pillow and then inhaling deeply from your hands before going to sleep,” she says.
For Kayla, this recommendation falls in line with her practice of “soaking.” To do this, Kayla listens to relaxing music or a teaching designed for this purpose and ‘saturates’ her brain with truth, while diffusing Bergamot or a blended Young Living Essential Oil like Highest Potential™ or Awaken™.
3. Diffuse Essential Oils in Your Home, 24/7
Because oils are so important in her life, Kayla uses them all the time and recommends utilizing a diffuser with timer settings, such as Young Living’s TheraPro™ Premium Diffuser or the AromaLux™ Atomizing Diffuser.
“It’s so convenient to be able to put a bottle in and have it run for several days before you have to put a new one in,” she says. “I typically set mine to run one minute every 20 minutes, so you get continual bursts.” One of her favorite oils for this is Peppermint, she says, because it’s so universally liked.
By running the diffuser all the time, everyone in your home—your kids, your family, your guests—will receive the benefit of the oil. “Essential oils are really the ‘completer’ of the picture of health and they’re something I want to share with everyone,” she says.
About Kayla Howard
Kayla Howard loves doing business from her home in the woods where she is a master real food chef, homeschool teacher, goat shepherdess and head gardener. She is the co-author of Essential Chefs: A Beginner’s Guide to Using Essential Oils in Your Kitchen. She is also a business coach, graphics designer, Certified Revelation Wellness Instructor, Hoopnotica Instructor and holds a certificate of studies from The Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy. Her passion lies especially in equipping women with tools for vibrant health.
