Essential Oils Update

A couple of weeks ago, I discussed essential oils and what to look out for when buying them. Until recently, the only source of high-quality chakra oil sets I was aware of was a multi-level marketing company.

I'm a bit suspicious of multi-level marketing, personally; I think the prices tend to be inflated, and there's a lot of work required to actually make any money at it. Sure, I've bought the occasional product at a friend's party, but I've never been tempted to get involved myself. And given the option, I prefer supporting local artists, artisans, and small businesses.

Thanks to my amazing massage therapist (who is in yoga teacher training herself) I found a wonderful local source in the Indianapolis area. Melissa uses high quality ingredients and her prices are extremely reasonable, considering the high quality of her product. A nice touch is a tiny, chakra-appropriate mineral chip in each bottle.

I could practically feel the good vibes coming off the bottles; it's obvious that a lot of care goes into the work. If you're local, I encourage you to give it a try, and if you're not in Central Indiana, I encourage you to seek out and enjoy the work of your local equivalent.

Caveat Emptor

I was recently at a yoga teacher training where one of the major topics of discussion was chakra balancing. Without getting into a long discussion of either the science or the merits, there are a couple of key points that are important to know if you choose to use either essential oils or minerals for chakra balancing or aromatherapy, or even making your own jewelry and perfume for fun.

Essential oils. In the U.S., essentials oils are regulated very differently depending upon the "intended use". If the intended use involves treating or preventing any condition or disease, it's regulated as a drug. If not, it is regulated as a cosmetic, and those regulations, as you may imagine, are considerably looser. Consequently, you will almost never see essential oils with a non-cosmetic intended use. Furthermore, organic food standards do not apply to cosmetics. That means that the word "organic," when used in a cosmetics label, doesn't mean the product has met the same standards as organic food, or even any specific standard. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has a handy list of companies that have agreed to certain standards. If you're really hardcore, you can read the entire text of H.R.2359 -- Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, which was referred to the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections last time I checked. Please note that European, Canadian, and other countries' regulations differ, and individual U. S. States also have various regulations.

Minerals or "gemstones". Read the labels; there are a lot of simulated or look-alike "gems" out there. Reconstituted malachite is common, as is faux turquoise and faux hematite. Real citrine is extremely rare in its natural form, and you're unlikely to find it in a craft store, or possibly even in a jewelry store. Also, it's very common to find dyed quartz and other treated stones offered as low-cost substitutes for the real thing. (Common treatments are heating, dyes, acid baths, irradiation, stabilization, composite, etc.---the Fire Mountain Gems catalog is nice in that it actually lists which of its stones are treated and how; reading it can also give you a feel for what is usually "real" and what isn't). Glass and plastic "simulated" stones are also common. Names can be deceptive, so ask questions. Finally, if you see a stone that's markedly different from the normal color range (i. e., yellow jade), be skeptical.

How Do I Clean My Yoga Mat?

I've tried a couple of different ways to clean yoga mats. For a quick surface cleaning, there are a variety of mat wipes out there; I can't say that I have found any one brand to be better than the other; I usually choose them based on the price and the scent. If you have any kind of sanitizing wipe, I suspect it would do the job. Avoid anything with moisturizers, though, unless you prefer a slippery mat to a sticky mat.

Recently, I mixed up my own yoga mat spray; just a few drops of tea tree oil in water. A good spritz and wipe down with a clean cloth is good for basic cleanup. If you tend to be sensitive to cleaning chemicals, this is also a good choice.

For a deeper cleaning, I have actually put basic sticky mats---one at a time---in the washing machine on the hand-wash cycle with cold water and baking soda in place of detergent. They do soak up a lot of water, and they have to air-dry, so this is best done on warm, dry days.