Adriene Mishler
Founder of the most popular yoga channel on YouTube, Adriene Mishler is an actor and yoga teacher based out of Austin, Texas. She is co-founder of Find What Feels Good opens in a new tab, a growing online library of yoga and yoga lifestyle tools to encourage you to be authentic, do your best and find what feels good. She also leads Yoga With Adriene opens in a new tab, a happy and successful online yoga community which creates free creative content to inspire people of all shapes and sizes to connect to their bodies daily.
Let’s talk.
I want this to be the year I finally let aromatherapy have sweet spot in my life. I think it is time for an essential place in the line up.
After all, I’ve come to appreciate it so.
I rarely have an experience with aromatherapy in which I want to rewind and delete that moment from my life.
Whether it is the smell of dinner on the stove or the smoky magic of a paulo santo stick burning.
I love it. I enjoy. Yes, please.
But, I am not just talking about fresh eucalyptus clipped and set by your bed. (Lucky!) Or a spritz of lavender on your pillow — though I will get to the power of essential oils in a moment.
I’m talking the joy I feel when my dog and I walk by the bbq place in my neighborhood or the feeling I get when I use the soap I hunted down after experiencing it in a Seattle airbnb and it makes me feel like all could be right in the world. It makes me happy and each time I use it I think about where it came from and I enjoy it so much as I clean and wash the day away.
Yoga teaches me to find joy in the practice on the mat and to find joy in the practice off the mat.
My practice has brought me back to my senses.
To be present, as to not miss the little things.
You know, to stop and smell the roses.
Despite the fact that I am committed to sharing the tools of yoga with as many people as possible I will say, you don’t have to do yoga poses to find appreciation for the roses.
The word “yoga” has many meanings and one is union, a connect.
Everyday, aromatherapy (as I like to call it) can evoke feelings, memories and inspire.
Ever smelled a perfume that reminded you of someone?
Ah, that smell of a fresh pot of coffee.
The smell of the Christmas tree… that I refuse to take down.
Garlic and onions in oil.
Puppy breath.
Thriving rosemary bushes on an evening walk.
Aromatherapy appreciation. It is about being present.
Now, while you don’t need anything but a willingness to stop and smell the roses I have enjoyed diving deeper with essential oils. I’ve just begun to dabble and to make concoctions for home.
Recently I made a spray for my yoga mat that doubles as a room spray. I had fun taking a trip to my favorite Whole Foods for ingredients! I love making small concoctions. I get to use my hands. I get to awaken my senses. A little goes a long way so I feel resourceful, not wasteful. I breathe fuller and more conscious breaths while I make them and I take them to my classes.
I love to pass around a bottle of mist at the beginning of class as the last few folks are laying out their mats. It is a small thing that connects everyone as they pass and make eye contact, maybe smiling or saying good morning.
At home I appreciate a simple concoction of lavender and eucalyptus in the bedroom. (Heyo!)
One single but powerful spray of this in the air as you snuggle in with a book is divine. Try a spritz over your pillow for a good rest.
For cleaning the yoga mat or the inside of my gym back (also good in la toilette), I use a tea tree and lemongrass blend to keep things fresh.
They also make great gifts!
The benefits of aromatherapy are vast. Everything from reducing stress to boosting energy.
But really, if I were to inspire or invite you to explore aromatherapy in anyway it would be to simply take more time to stop and use your senses. Start with the everyday aromatherapy — the gems right at your finger tips. Connect to your wellbeing — in the moment.
Not to chase it but to find joy, in the little things.
And yes, to stop and smell the roses.
Watch Adriene’s visit to Whole Foods Market here!
New to essential oils? We’ve simplified the world of essential oils opens in a new tab to help you get started with this natural approach to self-care.
