Essential Oil Therapy for your Animals – and You!
Nayana Morag
What are Essential Oils?
Many of you will be familiar with the wonderful smells and relaxing effects of essential oils from having an aromatherapy massage. However, what you may not know is that essential oils have many properties that can help your animals as well.
Essential oils are volatile extracts of plants with a wealth of healing properties. On a physical level they can be anti-inflammatory, pain relieving, digestive, expectorant; on an emotional level they can: relax, help concentration, reduce fear, release past trauma. Therefore they can be used to help relieve swellings and strains, coughs and allergies, skin problems… a whole host of conditions. They are also very useful in behavioural problems and as a training aid.
One of the key points of using essential oils with animals is allowing them to guide us in the application of the oils. In the wild animals self-medicate, choosing the herbs and grasses they need to keep their bodies in a healthy balance. Domestic animals are deprived of this, at who knows what price to their health and happiness? Essential Oil Therapy for Animals respects this right to choose, so although a therapist chooses the appropriate oils for the condition, the animal has the final say in when, how and what is given to it.
One of the great benefits of this method is the increase in trust and communication between handler and animal. We all know how good it feels when we are ‘heard’, a good listener is one of the most effective healers. Allowing the animals to guide their own healing process makes them feel ‘heard’, and you as the ‘listener’ become their healer (and trusted friend!).
One of the other benefits of Essential Oil Therapy is for the handler. It is often true that animals and their owners mirror each other emotionally and physically. Therefore the essential oils that are good for one are good for the other. Sitting quietly with your animals and offering the essential oils you are also reaping the benefits, as you breathe them in or put them on your hands.
Essential oils are useful to have in the cupboard for first aid or emotional trauma, for pest control or the control of infections. However, it is important that essential oils are used with knowledge and respect and never forced on animals, remember natural is not necessarily safe! To learn more about how to use essential oils safely on your animals you can contact Nayana Morag.
Nayana is one of the UKs most experienced Essential oil for Animals Therapists. She can give you a full assessment of which essential oils a particular animal may need for a problem and teach you how to use them. She also runs workshops teaching animal owners how to use Essential Oil Therapy safely and effectively for day to day maintenance of health and wellbeing in your own animals. Check out the contacts below for more information.
Case study
Chappy was a laminitic rescue pony. For twelve years he had lived alone in a neglected weed patch and had been tormented by the local children. Now he was living in a pleasant pasture with two other horses and had a loving owner, however.... he bit, climbed out of his stable, wouldn't be left alone, barged into anyone who entered his paddock and chewed the gate anxiously as people approached. He was also arthritic in two shoulders, the near back leg and his knees. His glands often swelled and his nostrils were always inflamed, some days he had a deep raucous cough.
He was offered five separate essential oils diluted in sunflower oil infused with the herb comfrey. The oils were:
- Seaweed, (fucus vesciulosa) strong immune stimulant, anti-inflammatory and de-toxifier, very good for laminitis
- Great Mugwort, (Artemesia arborescens) a natural anti-histamine for his allergies
- Hay: Another good oil for allergies
- Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) Anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, and releases past trauma. This is a very useful oil and often indicated for horses that have suffered abuse
- Ginger(Zingiber officinalis) this oil is good for arthritis and muscular aches and pains, particularly for older animals. It is warming and analgesic, stimulates circulation and on an emotional level gives a feeling of self-confidence and inner strength.
He accepted all the oils, inhaling the seaweed and great mugwort and licking the others. The physical symptoms of allergic reaction had cleared within a week, he allowed his owner to show him affection and enter his space without anxiety and lost interest in most of his oils. He showed continuing interest in the ginger until he was put on a herbal maintenance mix for the arthritis. I also made him up a blend of oils to apply topically on the days when his arthritis seems bad. Nowadays he 'always seems to be smiling' according to his owner.
Nayana Morag specializes in working with people and their animals to improve understanding and communication. To find out more about her work and workshop dates call 07979 515 812 or go to www.essentialanimals.com
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