A Beginner's Guide to Essential Oils. Hayley Hobson

      I’m not exaggerating when I say that several years ago, incorporating essential oils as part of my wellness program saved my life. I was virtually one breath away from the edge and the only thing left was for me to take that final step. But I never gave up.

      My body was deteriorating. It was responding to a noxious lifestyle and mental state; neither of which were very healthy. I had been dealing with poor health since I was a child and it was coming to a head.

      Here’s where my story began.

      At the age of five, I was diagnosed with severe stomach issues, starting a chain reaction of illness that continued until I was forty years old. My health eventually got so bad that my liver, pancreas and other organs started shutting down—I was experiencing autoimmune disease-like symptoms. Can you imagine living this way as an adult, let alone as a child?

      My dad was a doctor and what kid doesn’t hang on every word their dad says? He was compassionate with my health challenges and really tried to help. He believed western Medicine had all the answers, and I trusted it because he did. We never questioned it, even though I wasn’t getting well.

      Throughout my young life and into adulthood, I ended up in the hospital for weeks at a time, on IV antibiotics. This weakened my immune system and irritated my gut even more. It had also probably been irritated from the toxic products and foods my body could not digest. So, basically, I had a stomach ache my entire life.

      As most of society at the time, we didn’t know what we didn’t know. We consumed too much dairy, and I later found out I was completely lactose intolerant. We used household cleaning and personal care products that today head the list of contributors to sickness and disease. Most of the western world didn’t know wellness was in our own hands and so we lived toxic lives.

      People who know me are shocked to hear that when I was young I was super insecure and gawky. I wasn’t just shy. I was petrified; literally unable to hold a conversation.

      In high school and college, I was terrified in social situations, and as an adult I used to have to hold a drink in my hand just to relax. My insecurity was serious.

      I finished college and went to law school. After passing the bar I opened a law practice within a boutique firm and I was pretty successful, earning a six-figure income. Most people in my position would have been happy. But I wasn’t.

      You see, I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I followed someone else’s plan for my life. I was sad and dissatisfied most of the time, just going through the motions.

      Physically, I was a mess; suffering from poor digestion and hardly eating because of it. Seriously, I almost never felt well. Add this to my emotional distress and there wasn’t much quality of life. It had been that way for a long time.

      I wouldn’t go to parties or clubs without heading straight to the bar the minute I walked through the door. OMG! Even to speak to one person freaked me out. I never thought I had anything important to say. So of course, with that kind of thought process, I’d feel nervous just having to open my mouth. I went on that way for many years until one day I found myself at a crossroads. It hit me like a slap in the face.

      It was obvious. What I was doing wasn’t working and I had run out of road. Two choices were in front of me and I had to make one of them.

      Either I could take an honest look at my life and where I was headed, you know, contemplate.

      Or I could STOP immediately, own-up to the past choices I had made, turn and walk in another direction.

      I chose the latter. If I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have written this book. Honestly, I am not sure I would even be here today.

      I did one of the hardest things any of us can do, and that is to admit I needed to leave behind everything I stood on my entire life. An obsolete thought process and toxic lifestyle were slowly destroying me every single day. I had to acknowledge that what I was doing wasn’t working and then make some changes.

      It took a lot of courage to act on my new choices for life, but let me tell you, I was ready. I am forever grateful to the part of me that picked me up by the shoulders and set me on my current path; one that embraces Integrative Wellness. That meant looking at the role lifestyle was playing in my health.

      If you’ve ever had to make huge changes in your life, you know that any kind of change requires willingness to be honest with yourself, right? So, what did I do? I opened my mind. I began exploring edgy wellness ideas that went in the opposite direction of the conservative western practices I was raised with.

      Along the way, I discovered essential oils, almost by accident. And you know what? I experienced results almost immediately. The oils not only helped support a healthy immune system but also aided in transforming my mental and emotional life.

      Do I still suffer from shyness? Not any more. Oh, I still have a moment once in a while, but it feels more like a jolt of adrenaline now. My new thoughts are, “People like me and like what I have to say,” and “People want to hear what I have to say.” And those kinds of thoughts make me feel WAY more confident.

      I’m super grateful that I now feel comfortable in social settings. Want to know the irony? By teaching other people what they have to share matters, I’ve learned the importance of stepping forward in my own life.

      Where Do Essential Oils Come From?

      Essential oils come from naturally occurring aromatic liquid found in flowers and plants. You might be surprised to know they also come from tree bark, seeds, roots and other parts of plants. When you bend to smell a Rose, you are taking in the sweet fragrance of its essential oils. Crush some fresh Basil between your fingers and essential oils are released. That smell of pine when walking through a forest? Yep, essential oils.

      You might be thinking there must be hundreds of scents.