RAVINTSARA: 4 POWERFUL WAYS TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM ALL YEAR ROUND!

If I was to tell you that it is possible to maintain optimal health all year long (and particularly in winter) in a natural way, without cluttering your pharmacy cabinet, and for a wallet-friendly budget of 7 USD, would you go for it?

Here are 4 simple, easy ways to use this fabulous oil to boost your immune system and stay healthy:

1- Steam

• Boil some water and transfer to a bowl.

• Add 1 drop of ravintsara essential oil (one is more than enough) into the bowl.

• Wrap your head with a towel above the bowl, and inhale the smoke for 5 to 8 minutes. Have tissues near you as you will probably need to blow your nose (it's a good sign!).

I usually do this:

• Immediately after having been in contact with coughing / sick people (at a supermarket or a hospital for example), once a day for 2-3 consecutive days.

• Immediately after feeling any symptoms like sore throat, headache, chest congestion, or fatigue. Twice a day until symptoms stop.

• If I am already sick: 3 times a day, along with fasting (more on this in a future post) and homemade immune boost tea (unsweetened) with organic turmeric, black pepper, freshly grated ginger, and squeezed lemon or lime. Learn how to make it here.

Did you know?

A regular mindfulness practice (like breath work, yoga, Qigong or any form of meditation) will increase your body awareness, and help you catch sickness symptoms much earlier. The earliest you can feel something is wrong in the body, the fastest you can act upon it, and the most efficient and rapid the recovery.

2- Diffusion

• Add 8 to 12 drops of ravintsara essential oil to your diffuser. You can diffuse at night near your bed as you sleep, or in the day at your working space. It's a great way to avoid contamination at the office (if your Management allows it!).

• Be mindful of others when diffusing essential oils: people react very differently to scents and their intensity. What smells awesome to you might be overpowering or disgusting to others, and even trigger migraine. If people around you do not enjoy diffusion, try the steam method described above on your own, or keep on reading the next two methods below.

• When blending for health, always avoid candle diffusers, as they can burn your oils, which modifies their molecular structure and can compromise or annihilate their therapeutic benefits.

• For a synergetic (stronger) action, you can combine ravintsara with eucalyptus globulus and niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia) essential oils, for a total of 12 drops (4 each).

Read my article about what diffusing method is best here.

Did you know?

• In aromatherapy, less is always more!! Using more oils will not bring more benefits. The same applies to diffusion.

• Most diffusers have an automated program of 1 hour, alternating between a few minutes of diffusion and a few minutes of pause. This prevents your nose from being saturated, and your oil from being used up too quickly. Launching a cycle like this once to twice a day is enough, there is no need to diffuse constantly all day long.

3- Feet and chest massage

A lesser-known method (yet efficient) is foot massage. Be mindful to always dilute your essential oils in a carrier oil. You can easily create your own stock bottle using these ratios:

• Add 6 to 10 drops of ravintsara essential oil in 30ml (1 Oz) of carrier oil (I like jojoba, as it is a fast-penetrating oil with no strong scent. But other oils are fine too, like coconut oil, sweet almond, and calendula, or even olive oil if that's all you have at hands).

• Stir well and transfer to an opaque glass bottle (essential oils are light-sensitive and can lose some of their therapeutic benefits when exposed to light), add a label with the date, oil names, and purpose of the blend, so you will remember what it's here for! The blend can be kept for up to a year.

• If you want to add eucalyptus and niaouli to your blend, make sure the total count of essential oil does not exceed 10 drops for 30ml / 1 Oz (only 6 drops in total if the blend is for a child of at least 5 years old).

• You can massage a few drops of this blend on the soil of your feet before sleep, and on your chest and upper back.

Did you know?

• Feet have a lot of nerve endings: essential oils can be absorbed extremely fast through this channel when applied topically on the soil of the feet, before sleep.

• f you live in Asia, bring your own stock bottle to the foot massage parlor, to combine the delight of a professional acupressure foot massage with the powerful effect of aromatherapy. Sadly, most massage parlors use cheaply produced, synthetic massage oil blends made of mineral oils (derived from petroleum), which have 0 therapeutic benefits of their own.

4- Inhaler

The last fun and very handy way to protect your immune system is by making your own aromatherapy inhaler!

What are inhalers?

Inhalers are small reusable tubes that contain a cotton wick on which you can put essential oils according to your desired therapeutic purposes. You can then inhale through the tube anytime you feel the need, to give your immune system a much-needed boost.

To create your own simple, immune-boost inhaler, use a total of 15 drops of essential oils on the cotton wick of your inhaler (you can find unbleached, organic raw cotton inhalers at Aromatics here). For children of at least 5 years old, reduce this count to 10 drops in total.

• 6 drops of ravintsara (Cinnamomum camphora)

• 5 drops of eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)

• 4 drops of niaouli (Melaleuca quinquenervia)

Add a label with the date, formula, and number of drops, so you know how to make it again in the future. They can be kept for a year, and you can reuse the tube by buying wick refills.

Did you know?

• Inhalers are particularly helpful when traveling by plane, where cabin air is recycled... along with pathogens from a few hundred other travelers!

• You can make inhalers for other therapeutic or energetic purposes as well! I have my "better than coffee" inhaler for energy increase, my "chill pill" inhaler for relaxation, and even an "Abundant mindset" inhaler to help me fight negativity and self-limiting thoughts. they are little lifesavers and can easily travel with you in a cabin luggage!

The last words

When using essential oils for health or for energetic purposes (and not just "to smell nice"), it is important to buy organic grade, if your budget allows.

• Organic essential oils are made with the highest integrity: soil quality, sustainable harvesting methods, and the absence of synthetic chemicals. The end product is very pure, respectful of the environment, and as close to its natural wild state as possible

• The vibration of organic essential oils is much higher than that of massively industrialized, synthetically monitored ones. It's the same as food!!

• Make sure that the organic certification is showing on the label: AB, Ecocert or USDA organic. Some vendors will try to confuse you into thinking their oils are organic, by using vague words like "therapeutic grade". If the oil is organic, it MUST show a certification from a recognized institute like AB, Ecocert, USDA or similar right on the label. "Therapeutic grade" only means the oil is supposed to be pure and natural, but not organic.

• There are many great brands available on the market, but here are some of my personal favorites: Florihana, Oshadi, Aromatics international, Moutain rose herbs, Pure Essentials, and Aroma-zone.

• Always buy from reputable brands. Verify that the oils are 100% pure and natural and that the botanical Latin name and origin of the oil are clearly listed on the bottle. These simple tips should help you avoid synthetic or adulterated oils.

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If you want more on this topic, here is a selection of our most useful resources:

- The best essential oil diffuser method ever! article here

- 5 reasons why you should drink herbal teas (with favorite brand names!) article here

- Our Nebulizer diffuser offers here

- Learn how to make powerful diffuser blends to support your health with our newly released E-book "The Diffuser Bible" here