Elevate Your Yoga Practice With Aromatherapy
Explore the mind-body connection and discover the essential oils that can help enhance your relationship with yoga.
We might be biased, but we think just about everyone can benefit from the delights of aromatherapy. While you might not typically associate your yoga practice with aromatherapy, finding the right essential oil blends for you or your studio can add another layer to your daily poses, immersing you more fully into the present moment. Today, we’re delving into the crossover between yoga and how we think the right blends can enhance your practice and take your mind, body and soul to new levels.
Common themes between yoga and aromatherapy
Yoga is an ancient practice that’s gained popularity worldwide for its calming and strengthening benefits. It’s not just an exercise regime but a lifestyle that benefits your mind as much as your body. Whether you’re a new yogi who’s only been to a few classes or a lifelong practitioner, we’re sure you’ll know just how rejuvenating yoga can be.
When you engage your mind with your body simultaneously, it brings you back to your centre - giving you that sense of alignment both physically and spiritually. You’re focussing on your breath, your stance and enjoying being totally present in the given moment. Maybe you enjoy a more gentle and slow form like hatha or a more intense experience like bikram - either way, yoga has something unique to offer every-body.
During each pose, you’re focusing on a multitude of senses already. Your sense of balance is engaged, feeling the space your body occupies is important, and with each breath - you’re expanding your chest to take in fresh lungfuls of air. Pairing an aromatherapy blend with your yoga practice can help enhance the spiritual aspect - stimulating your mind through your olfactory system. Whether you’re winding down with a gentle child’s pose at the end of the evening or waking yourself up with more active movement, aromatherapy can add a new dimension of engagement.
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are an extract from natural ingredients including leaves, bark and flowers where the fragrant parts have been distilled into an oil based liquid. They’re a concentrated and more potent way of enjoying the benefits each plant can offer. Due to how concentrated they are, a little goes a long way and they can be enjoyed in a number of ways. You might put them into a diffuser to gently evaporate into the air, or you can use them topically with a carrier oil and apply them directly to your skin or pop a few drops into your bath or the walls of your shower.
In the same way that certain plants can offer different benefits when used in things like teas and cooking, essential oils of those same plants offer a new way to utilise botanicals. Whether you want something reviving and invigorating like ginger or an option that’s a little more calming like lavender, picking one to match your mood and needs while enjoying yoga can enable you to immerse yourself fully into the practice.
Top 10 essential oils for yoga
There are so many different essential oils and blends to choose from so we’ve narrowed down our top ten to give you some inspiration. Each one has its own unique properties, ranging from reviving and warming to cooling and calming. You can enjoy each alone, or pair a few together to create your own unique mix.
Lavender
Lavender is a firm favourite for a reason. This fragrant, woodsy and floral essential oil has a beautifully calming nature. Lavender grows all over the world though you’re probably most familiar with the French lavender variety. Lavender is of course the ideal partner for an evening yoga session, soothing frazzled nerves and helping you relax before you slip into bed.
Bergamot
Another calming option with a citrusy edge is bergamot. Bergamot essential oil is made from the peels of the citrus fruit, originating in Italy. This bright, reviving and refreshing scent is actually a great option for anxious minds and is incredibly uplifting when your mood is a little low. In contrast with lavender, we love this one for morning yoga sessions or when you need a little extra boost if you’re in need of a touch of zesty positivity.
Neroli
Similar to bergamot, neroli has a citrus undertone with a more floral quality to it. It’s made from the flowers of the bitter orange tree that bloom throughout spring and summer, giving you the fragrance of warmer weather in a bottle. This one is wonderful for mood boosting and while we love it year round, it’s especially comforting in the darker months. Known to boost your mood and act as a mild aphrodisiac, neroli is amazing to use during hot yoga sessions and those poses with deeper stretching like hatha.
Lemon
Another in the citrus line, lemon is the most astringent and sharp in our list. Made from the peels of the lemon fruit, it’s beautifully refreshing due to its ability to help with blood flow and lymph drainage, it’s a wonderful choice for a muscle rub before you lean into your poses. In the same way having a glass of lemon water can rev you up for the day, lemon essential oil achieves the same effect. Enjoy this zesty option to help with focus during your morning routine.
Eucalyptus
A classic we had to include, eucalyptus can be found the world over but of course is especially loved in Australia. With its green, herbaceous and slightly camphorous fragrance, it has a cooling and restorative effect. Whether you use it diluted on sore muscles or in a diffuser, it offers a wonderfully clarifying effect for both tired bodies and minds.
Rose
Incredibly luxurious and floral, rose is an indulgent essential oil to enjoy. Made from the petals of the damascus rose, thousands of flowers go into a tiny bottle of this precious oil. With its sweet, delicate and intoxicating fragrance, rose is an essential oil we think you can enjoy just about any time. Its inherently healing nature makes it a calming and healing option that relaxes both body and mind.
Ylang ylang
Another beautifully floral option we love is ylang ylang. This heady and intense essential oil has an exotic botanical fragrance and brings with it the feeling of being on holiday in the tropics. Calming for anxiety, it’s a natural mood booster for the mind and when used topically it can offer anti-inflammatory properties making it a lovely option for both skin and muscles.
Ginger
While you’ve probably enjoyed ginger in your cooking or as a tea, the essential oil created from the ginger root has a lot to offer too. It has a spicy, peppery and invigorating quality that makes it a great option for when you’re feeling that brain fog. Ideal for an afternoon pick-me-up, ginger can help increase blood flow making it a perfect choice for using on the skin in cooler months when you need to pep yourself up as well as to dust off the cobwebs mentally.
Cinnamon bark
If ginger is your type of spicy, cinnamon is a wonderful alternative and a great partner for your yoga practice. Derived from the bark of the cinnamon tree, it’s another fragrance you’ve likely encountered in food before. Incredibly warming and reviving, it helps calm your nerves while also giving you a little energy boost. If you’re feeling a little out of equilibrium, cinnamon bark essential oil can help bring you back to earth and into your body while you’re enjoying your yoga session.
Peppermint
Last on the list is a herbaceous and crisp option that delivers a cooling effect while simultaneously increasing blood flow. Made from the leaves, flowers and stems of the peppermint plant, it’s a delightfully menthol packed fragrance. Perfect for enjoying in the morning on a hot day (or during a hot yoga session), peppermint wakes up your body and mind. Apply it topically to help any stiffness or pop it in your diffuser and enjoy the invigorating effect it has on your mind.
Which essential oils are best for my yoga practice
If you’re still struggling to pick just one, or you’re not sure which to mix together, you can also explore our essential oil blends. Each one has been specially formulated to achieve a certain effect, all while adding a heavenly fragrance to your space. If you’re ready to dive in and start creating your own custom blends, an essential oil kit with a selection of our best sellers might be just right for you.
