New Tricks to Beat the Heat!

Every year the heat catches me by surprise. I always think, this year will be better! I can't wait for summer. Then, that first day that hits near 70 or so reminds me why we were adamant about buying a house with central air. However, I can't spend all summer in the house!! I have a two year old that wants to be outside, and for that matter so do I! Through the years and trial and error I have learned a few tricks and here are a couple of the best.

I know you see ads for them all the time, but I finally bought a cooling vest, or an ice pack vest. Ice is a great way to soothe and get rid of inflammation, so wearing a vest that is concealing about six ice packs is definitely going to be MS friendly! Finally, I am able to sit out at a family BBQ and enjoy summer. The best part is that everyone is pretty jealous of my personal cooling vest, it gets pretty hot for a few weeks out of the year here!

My second trick was completely new to me. Over the last year or more I have been learning about essential oils, Doterra essential oils to be more specific. Peppermint essential oil, either directly on the skin or in a spray bottle with water is amazing at keeping you cool through the heat. I usually place a drop or two on the back of my neck and down my spine. This method is completely safe, portable and a little less embarrassing than wearing a dorky vest. Plus you smell amazing and the scent is uplifting and energizing to you and those around you. I love using peppermint oil when the heat starts to get to me.

I would love to know what special tricks you have for keeping cool during the summer. Share them in the comments or on our Facebook page!

For more information on essential oils visit:

 http://www.mydoterra.com/meganreed/essentialDefinition.html

or contact me here and on our Facebook page!

Essential Oils

I am a huge fan of essential oils, something so amazing in such a potent form! However I was surprised to learn that company's who produce essential oils are allowed by the FDA to say their oils are 100% pure even if it only contains 10% pure essential oils! No wonder so many try essential oils with no benefits to notice! For me and my family personally we use doTerra's essential oils, they are CPTG (certified pure therapeutic grade) essential oils that can be trusted! I know there are other brands out there who produce quality products as well, but for the purpose of this post I can only tell you the benefits I have experienced with doTerra's oils.

Every night I go to bed in pain, achey muscles, tight joints, my back is mess when I lay down at night. I go to bed every night hoping that a good nights rest in a comfortable bed will help soothe these aches and pains, but when I wake up in the morning they are worse. It takes a good hour or so for me to get my body moving smoothly again. Where do essential oils come in to this thought? Well I started using doTerra's frankincense oil on my spine before bed. I was amazed to wake up the next morning not as sore as I usually am! Normally my legs quake for the first few seconds they hit the floor, and I have to stretch before I can even think about going to get my 19 month old son out of his crib. After using frankincense oil at night the quaking is gone in the morning! Such a simple thing to use at bedtime! No wonder frankincense was a great gift idea even in Bible times. Not only has frankincense been an amazing help for my MS symptoms, but doTerra's Deep Blue blend of peppermint and other soothing oils is amazing at pain relief. There are days when I have to take the prescription pain killer to get through the day, but when I can avoid it this is my go to pain relief! It's always so nice when you can find something that helps you with your specific set of problems, and since this helped me so much I wanted to share it with you.

Interested in learning more about essential oils? Contact me here through the comments or check out doTerra's official site: http://www.doterra.com/us/