Essential Oils for Pets and People
It has been a blessing to work at The Pet Beastro. The knowledge I’ve gained here has helped me give my rescue dog, Corvin, a healthier, calmer, and more stable home. Through my experiences, I’ve also become passionate about natural and alternative wellness options and helping other pet owners learn about them.
by Shannon McCabe
It has been a blessing to work at The Pet Beastro. The knowledge I’ve gained here has helped me give my rescue dog, Corvin, a healthier, calmer, and more stable home. Through my experiences, I’ve also become passionate about natural and alternative wellness options and helping other pet owners learn about them.
One such alternative modality I’ve learned about recently is essential oils, a wonderful tool for physical and mental well-being. I recently took a weekend course at Naturopathic Institute of Therapies and Education (NITE) to learn more in-depth about the benefits and uses of essential oils.
How Essential Oils Work
It's no wonder that essential oils were used over 6,000 years ago by priests and physicians for medicinal purposes, as they are such a beneficial form of healing for both pets and people. Oils have a chemical structure that is similar to the cells and tissues in pets and humans. Essential oils and blood share many common properties including the ability to fight infections, hormone-like compounds, and the capacity to initiate regeneration. This makes the oils readily accepted by our bodies. They have the ability to penetrate cell membranes and diffuse throughout the blood and tissues within a matter of three seconds!
Frequency is another component of essential oils that makes them a good tool for healing. Frequency is the measurable rate of electrical energy flow that is constant between any two points. Everything has frequency. When pets' or humans' frequency is low, illness or disease will set in. On the other hand, the higher our frequency, the more balanced we become. Essential oils are proven to have the highest frequency of any natural substance. Using natural oils helps rebalance us the fastest and with no side effects.
Choosing an Essential Oil
Both single oils and blends can be used for healing purposes. When working with essential oils, the most important thing to remember is to always use therapeutic-grade oils. Our pets' systems are sensitive, so using a low-quality brand can hurt them and even cause death. Please do your research and always ask a professional when using oils on your fur babies and yourself. Rocky Mountain Oils, Young Living, Be Young , Uttati and Nature's Sunshine are all trusted brands of essential oils that I've been taught to work with. We also offer essential oil blends at The Pet Beastro as part of our A la Carte Holistic Services. Learn more here.
Ways to Use Essential Oils
There are three main methods by which essential oils can enter the body for healing:
- Ingestion via the mouth or a suppository.
- Inhalation (Aromatherapy) via tissues, Q-tips, hands, steamers, misters, diffusers, or cotton balls.
- Absorption through the skin via a compress, gargling, or bath.
Aromatherapy is one of the main forms in which we use essential oils for alternative medicine. Out of all the senses, our sense of smell is what responds the fastest in our bodies. A French chemist, René-Maurice Gattefossé, first coined the term "aromatherapy" back in the 1920s. He discovered this powerful therapy while working in his perfume laboratory. His arm caught on fire and he immediately put it into what he thought was a vat of water, which was actually lavender essential oil. His arm healed with no infection or scars and minimal pain. From then on he devoted his life to researching the healing properties of essential oils. Isn't that amazing? Why didn't I learn that in all my history classes?!
Take a moment now, close your eyes and inhale deeply. Smell the sweet calming scent of lavender or the mouth-watering scent of fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. For our pets it might be a fresh batch of tripe, dehydrated catfish skin, or maybe the bully stick wrapped in a Himalayan Chew! Now exhale and enjoy the healing powers of aromatherapy.
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