I was due to give birth to my first babe when my bestie gifted me three little brown DoTERRA bottles: Lavender, Lemon & Peppermint (The Introductory Kit you can buy HERE). Little did I know how they would change the trajectory of my life forever, when I haphazardly pop them on my bathroom self...

I had grown up with some essential oils in my life & knew how to use Lavender & Lemon for calming & cleaning. But Peppermint remained unopened for a long time. I was floating along working things out as a new mum when I noticed a friend in Canada posting a heap of interesting info & practical tips using doTERRA oils. I discovered I could clear my congestion & overcome my morning hay fever sneezes by taking a whiff of peppermint oil and pressing a drop to the roof of my mouth. It worked! So naturally, I started opening my three little brown bottles more frequently & my wish list of oils I wanted grew.

That was nearly it for me… Except…

We lived on one income, pay check to pay check & investing in a doTERRA Starter Kit + overcoming my stubborn perception towards network marketing companies (or as I knew them “Pyramid Schemes”) took some time.

At first, all I really cared about was reducing our waste & impact on the environment. It frustrated me how expensive it seemed to shop ethically, but our hearts were fiercely passionate about it and whenever we make something a big enough priority, we always find a way to bend our budget in its favour. Eventually…

I can’t count how many times I nearly pushed the button to set up my wholesale account & buy a Starter Kit. I am not that tech savvy & I had no idea what I was thinking trying to navigate the old doTERRA website without a mentor sitting beside me, walking me through the process. But, I knew I wanted these oils & all I had to do was get over my budget blocks, pyramid scheme biases & fear of online shopping. I know, I'm old school like that but, as Marie Forleo says, “Everything is figureoutable”.

Eventually I investing the whopping $35 for the “Introductory packet” thinking it was the same as the “Introductory Kit” my friend had gifted me back when I was pregnant (INSERT HEAD SLAPPING EMJOI). My package arrived with a pretty information packet but NO oils (Crying emoji). I was so disappointed & confused. A quick chat with doTERRA’s member services got it all sorted for me & I realised the mistake I had made. They graciously let me put the $35 I had spent on the membership, towards the cost of a Starter Kit. 

In just a few days, my second DoTERRA package arrived with the Family Touch Kit — A convenient kit for a new Mumma, with the top 9 oils, pre-diluted in roller bottles. I know now how much more cost effective it would have been to invest in the Family or Home Essentials Kit & then made my own roller bottles. But, we live & learn & now I teach! (Check out all of doTERRA’s Starter Packs here & pick the one that best suits your unique circumstance & needs. You may also contact me for guidance)

When our oils arrived we used them ALL the time, but not in the ways we expected. Remember we originally planned on buying oils to replace cleaning products & reduce our waste, but the first bottles I ordered were pre-diluted roller bottles which are primarily used topically, on the skin. Fortunately I had learnt enough through my friend's posts, we were confidently using our oils for everything.

• Lavender on our teething baby’s jaw, nappy rashes & bug bites.
• DigestZen on our bellies for bloating, constipation, diarrhoea, nausea
• On Guard on our throat area, the bottoms of our feet & back of the spine when a cold struck.
• Easy Air on the chest if we got snotty or my asthma started flaring up.
• Tea Tree on grazed knees, pimples & bug bites.
• Ice Blue on my sore neck (from carrying a baby all day). Also on Laken's legs for growing pains, & Jays feet for restless-leg syndrome.
• Peppermint on the back of the spin if someone's temperature spiked or near the temples if we felt tired or had a headache.
• Oregano on the bottoms of the feet on the odd occasion we got hit with a really nasty bug. This has replaced antibiotics in our home! (We literally have never needed them again)
• Frankincense, ANY TIME! But I mostly use it for my skin, especially my dangerous sun spots.
  
  

The truth is, the more we used our oils the more we figured out they worked & our trust & curiosity in them grew. I started to dig a little deeper & research HOW they worked in the body. What I found blew my mind & shifted my entire approach to health in all aspects of life. It was like I found the missing puzzle piece to a life of holistic health I was already pursuing. I deconstructed years worth of conditioning (thanks to marketing & social norms I never noticed controlled me). To this day I am pretty good an explaining in laymen terms how oils work in the body. Stick around & you will see... I can’t boast that I know everything or EXACTLY how they all work, all the time. I just KNOW that I know that I know! Besides, did we ever stop to ask how EXACTLY pharmaceuticals, synthetic medications, vaccines, or even our body butter & perfumes are working on & in our bodies? No, probably not. I'm convinced, doTERRA essential oils change lives.

Beyond the research, there is a deeper knowing that develops through experiencing the effectiveness of doTERRA oils specially. That is what has freed me to be more intuitive when it comes to looking after myself & my family. Before doTERRA, I was submissive to just about whatever a friend recommended, or a doctor told me. Now I have learnt to ask a lot more questions, do my own research, seek the advice of holistic practitioners, trust my gut & use my fairly educated common sense about how the body generally works. By no means am I going to discredit the gift that western medicine is, but in general, I consider a professional opinion, just that... an opinion, not a concrete foundation I rest all my trust in.

I believe in my own ability to also understand before I submit to any professional opinion. I do not believe we all have to have a degree in medicine, or wear a white coat to have authority over ones health. I actively seek out various medical professionals who embrace plants & a holistic approach in their practice first, then when other forms of intervention are truly necessary I feel comfortable with the advice of my healthcare professional because I know we are working in partnership & alignment. Not every doctor & health professional is the same. Just because your GP is a local or you have been told your surgeon is the best in the world… If something isn’t sitting right in your gut, keep searching! Find your team that aligns with you & ultimately know they are not above you, but partners with you in your journey. Your body is your own, you are responsible for its health. No one else! Don't give your power away.

The introduction of doTERRA’s little brown bottles is just the beginning of a broader journey of empowerment. If you don’t have them in your life yet I can't wait to help guide you in making your first purchase & finally having tools at your finger tips that may be seemingly insignificant at first, until that moment you realise they have changed your life forever.