Great Expectations

The festive celebrations and the parties are now all over, the New Year is here and no doubt many of you will have already made the annual ‘resolution’ to mend your wicked ways in some way or another. Usually, we resolve to eat less junk food, cut down on alcohol, get ourselves more organised, do more exercise etc, etc. All highly commendable stuff.

So you buy the book about healthier eating habits or time management and rush off to join a gym, but within the first few weeks you’ve totally lost interest because you haven’t seen the improvements you were looking for. And the reason for all this disappointment is usually because you held unrealistic expectations. You aimed too high, and set unrealistic goals for yourself that were just destined to fail.

Easy does it

Most self-development coaches advise that to achieve and maintain your desires for a healthier and more productive lifestyle, it is made much easier by taking small steps. Small, incremental changes are far more sustainable than diving into a radical crash diet or exercise program that you won’t stick to in the long term.

So this year resolve to make minor adjustments to your diet, organizing skills or exercise routine, and together with a little help from aromatherapy you will be able to achieve your desires and stick to your New Year’s resolution throughout the year, and beyond.

Bringing change into your life usually involves a new way of thinking or behaving, which ultimately requires us to let go of the past and clear things out on both a physical and mental level to make room for the new. Essential oils are great for this because of their great cleansing action and ability to focus clear thinking.

Out with the old – in with the new

Put yourself in the mood for change by using your essential oils and hydrosols to clear away emotional clutter in preparation for the healthier, more enlightened person you will soon become. The mood enhancing properties of essential oils can really help to strengthen your resolve for change, as well as giving you that extra boost of self-confidence.

Start by adding a table-spoon of your favourite hydrosol to the final rinse cycle of your washing machine to introduce a subtle fragrance to your underwear, bed linen, towels and clothing. Rose is associated with the heart chakra and balances the emotions, whilst melissa facilitates change by helping you to let go of the past.

Harmony and balance

Add a few drops of uplifting oils such as frankincense, geranium, grapefruit, lavender or litsea cubeba to cotton wool pads, sachets or pieces of tissue and place them in your linen drawers, cupboards and wardrobes.

This creates a harmonious atmosphere that will help keep your mood positive whilst you tackle the changes in your life that you truly desire. Also, using essential oils is a far more environmentally friendly way of fragrancing your home than using the usual chemical-laden aerosols that just create a flowery fog and do absolutely nothing for your wellbeing.

Whilst ironing your clothes, spray them with your favourite hydrosol to fragrance them and give your spirits a much needed boost whilst you tackle the drudgery of this thankless chore. Symbolically, this represents you smoothing out life’s little wrinkles – revealing the fresh and fragrant person you are striving to become!

Healthy eating

Anyone who has ever set an unrealistic weight loss goal will tell you that not meeting your own expectations is the fastest way to fail at weight loss, so to begin with you should plan to lose no more than 1 or 2 pounds per week. The aim is to eat healthily, not kick off with a crash diet.

Start gently on the first week by reducing your alcohol, coffee and fizzy soda intake whilst increasing your water consumption, and then the next week focus on eating closer to nature. The week after that, start cutting sugar out of your diet . . . and so on, working every week to add a simple but positive change.

Put away your deep fryer and frying pan and consider steaming, baking and grilling meats and vegetables instead. Steaming vegetables and potatoes is a great way to cook them, plus it leaves the essential nutrients and vitamins intact. Simply changing the way that you cook the foods you normally eat will have a huge impact on your weight loss efforts.

Remember, a well balanced diet is considered to be one that includes bread, cereals, fish, lean meat, chicken, potatoes, and dairy products, this along with exercise not only makes you look better but can help to counteract the onset of many health related problems.

On yer bike

If like me, you have embarked on a new year keep-fit regime you might be looking forward to lots of cycling, power walking, jogging or regular trips to the gym to burn off those extra Christmas calories. Keeping active by exercising not only helps you to lose those few extra pounds, but it also tones your muscles leaving you looking better too. To maintain the peak of health you only need to exercise for 30 minutes every day whilst maintaining a healthy balanced diet.

When you return home from your energetic encounters take a nice long, reviving bath soak with restorative rosemary, black pepper, lavender and ginger, and your muscles won’t ache so much the next day. Eucalyptus, sweet marjoram and roman chamomile are very soothing in a bath too.

If you overdo things a bit in the race to find the new you, mix up a comforting massage oil containing sweet marjoram, roman chamomile and black pepper and massage the painful area twice a day. The powerful combination of massage and the therapeutic essential oils will bring almost instant relief to all types of muscular aches, pains and strains.

After any type of aerobic exercise where your feet have taken a bit of a pounding, revive those tired tootsies with a spray of peppermint hydrosol – it soothes, cools and refreshes aching feet in a second. If your feet are really aching after working out try a hot footbath with essential oils of peppermint, rosemary and lavender. Works like a charm every time.

Positive outlook

Make it a goal to obtain a healthier outlook on life and it will undoubtedly lead to a healthier you. If you are truly determined to reach a better state of health, making it a reality becomes so much easier when you change your outlook.

Support your new outlook by learning as much as you can about the different ways of achieving better health by living a healthier lifestyle. Use the internet, books, DVDS, clubs, gyms and support groups to your benefit, since this knowledge gives you a great base to work from.

One of the truest sayings I ever heard is ‘The only thing in life that will always remain the same – is change’. In our life we have the power to make the necessary changes if we really, really want to. Even when we find ourselves in the most unbearable situation we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too will change.

All we need do is take the first small step towards our desires, be positive, and hold Great Expectations.

Copyright © Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd 2009. Written by Sue Charles