Using Essential Oils for Yoga Practice

Yoga and essential oils complement each other. You can use essential oils for yoga practice by diffusing them during your session, using a room spray, blending a pre-yoga massage oil, or making a mat spray.

Diffusing Essential Oils for Yoga

You can diffuse essential oils during your yoga practice. Which oils? It depends on how you feel, the mood or atmosphere you want to create, and your personal preference. Here are a few suggestions:

• Bergamot – spiritual connection
• Cedarwood – grounding, centering
• Frankincense – expression, centering
• Ginger – grounding
• Jasmine – meditative
• Lavender – calming
• Lemon – energizing
• Patchouli - grounding
• Peppermint – concentration, uplifting
• Roman chamomile – restorative, calming
• Rosemary – breath focused
• Tangerine – fearlessness

Experiment with different essential oils to see how they affect your practice. Also see essential oils for chakras and essential oils for meditation.

If you are taking a class and cannot use a diffuser, blend a few drops of essential oil with some carrier oil and apply a little to your wrists and neck.

If you're feeling anxious going into your yoga practice, diffuse this blend from Essential Oils For Healing:

• 2 drops peppermint essential oil
• 2 drops neroli essential oil
• 2 drops jasmine essential oil
• 2 drops rose essential oil

Space Clearing Diffuser Blend

• 6 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 3 drops patchouli essential oil
• 1 drop sage essential oil

Room Sprays

If you don't have a diffuser, you can make a room spray using any of the suggested essential oils. Use about 15 to 20 drops essential oil in 2 tablespoons distilled or filtered water. Shake well before each use.

Here are two additional spray blends:

Calming:

• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 10 drops tea tree essential oil
• 2 tablespoons distilled or filtered water in spray bottle

Uplifting:

• 5 drops orange essential oil
• 5 drops rosemary essential oil
• 5 drops lavender essential oil
• 2 tablespoons distilled or filtered water in spray bottle

Shavasana Spray

You can spray a blend around your mat before you lay back in shavasana (corpse pose) to relax.

To one ounce (30 ml or 2 tablespoons) water in a spray bottle, add:

• 5 drops black spruce essential oil
• 5 drops mandarin essential oil
• 10 drops frankincense essential oil

OR

• 5 drops black spruce essential oil
• 5 drops mandarin essential oil
• 10 drops frankincense essential oil
• Shake well and spray as desired.

Source: Aromahead

Warming Pre-Yoga Body Oil

Massage your body with this some of this blend before starting your practice.

• 3 drops marjoram essential oil
• 3 drops lemongrass essential oil
• 1 drop black pepper essential oil
• 1 tablespoon carrier oil

Source: Suzanne Banks

Essential Oil Yoga Mat Spray

You can also use essential oils to clean your yoga mat. Here's one option:

• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup distilled water
• 10 drops lavender essential oil
• 15 drops tea tree essential oil

Mix ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. Shake before each use. Spray on mat. Use a soft cloth to dry the mat.

Alternative essential oil blend for the spray: 12 drops tea tree and 12 drops patchouli.

Minty Yoga Mat Spray

• 2 tablespoons tea tree hydrosol
• 10 drops bergamot mint (mentha citrata) essential oil
• 5 drops sweet orange essential oil
• 3 drops tea tree essential oil

Make your yoga mat spray in a 1-ounce (30-ml) glass bottle.
To use: Shake the bottle. Spritz the spray onto your mat.

Source: Aromahead

Interesting Books

Aroma Yoga: A Guide for Using Essential Oils in Your Yoga Practice

Aroma Flow Yoga

Chaos to Calm: A restorative practice for troubled times with gentle yoga, chakra balancing, and aromatherapy 

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Photo Credit: Eli Christman on CC BY 2.0