A mother is not a person to lean on but a person to make leaning unnecessary.
Dorothy Canfield Fisher

This Sunday is Mother’s Day – a day when mothers new and old can hopefully get a little time to themselves.

In this day and age many mothers are busy looking after their family, working, shopping and driving their kids around to various events, etc. with very little time to themselves. In fact they may devote themselves entirely to their family with no timeout for themselves getting more and more stressed in the process.

We all need to nourish ourselves on both a physical, mental and emotional level consistently to keep stress at bay. Here are a few ideas for self-care and essential oils that can help you with that.

First take some time out for doing things you like such as reading, swimming, playing tennis, walking, massage whether on yourself or by a professional. At the very least you can steal a few moments to take some deep breaths and perhaps do some stretches. If you can do these outside in nature with your shoes off and your feet on the ground you will find your stress levels coming down and you’ll be able to deal with the stresses of family life more easily.

If deep breathing is all you can manage, try breathing in a favourite essential oil or one of the calming oils such as lavender, geranium, bergamot, marjoram or one of the citrus (lemon, sweet orange, mandarin, lime or grapefruit) to give you a lift. You can place about 6 drops in a diffuser to perfume the air or add a drop or two to a tissue to inhale or if you literally have no time try having a sniff or two from your essential oil bottle.

Self massage is another good way to release stress. Simply taking the time out to massage yourself whether it is a neck, shoulder and arm massage or a leg and foot massage can bring the stress levels down. One recipe you can try is lavender 3 drops, geranium 2 drops in 10 mls cold pressed vegetable oil or if you don’t like lavender try Australian sandalwood 2 drops and grapefruit 3 drops. Even better if you have the time have an aromatherapy massage, reflexology, Indian head massage or other bodywork done by a professional which will help you relax.  Just the act of taking time to nurture yourself this way can bring your stress levels down.

You can also consider adding essential oils to a non-perfumed shower gel to invigorate you in the morning or even easier adding a few drops to the shower floor and letting the hot water release the aroma as you’re showering.

If you can make the time in the evening having a bath with 4-6 drops of essential oil added to the warm water and swished about with some soothing music playing in the background can also do wonders.

Also consider using essential oils when you are cleaning. For example try using them when cleaning your floor. Add 4 drops of lemon essential oil and 2 drops of eucalyptus to 2 tablespoons of liquid soap. Add this to your warm bucket of water and mop the floor for a fresh clean smell which uplifts you at the same time.

Taking time to eat a healthy meal to which some fresh smelling herbs like rosemary, thyme, marjoram or basil have been added can also bring nourishment to both body and soul.

These are just a few ways you can nourish yourself and keep your stress levels down. If these ideas don’t appeal to you find some that do as it is important that you care for yourself so you have the energy to care for others.