“Fad”. “Overpriced”. “Placebo”.

These were words I used whenever essential oils came up in conversation. It was safe to say that I was an unbeliever.

Coming from the point of view of a healthcare professional, it felt like blasphemy for anyone to claim that anything other than a prescribed medication by a licensed physician could benefit, even heal, the body.

Coming from the point of a sonographer, I had become resistant to anything holistic by a few patients who choose those methods over the medication and monitoring suggested by the physicians I work with.

These two things caused me to be turned off by any mention of anything that extended outside of the holy trinity of a balanced diet, regular exercise, and a prescription with a doctor’s signature.

Then, I began my own personal health journey.

I hired a nutritionist, started doing CrossFit again, and took a hard look at what I believed about health. First off, what affects my health? Is it just food? I eventually decided that health is affected by the environments we subject our body to and the environment we create inside our body. So, this lead me to ask… what was I using to support the state of my body and systems, even improve it?

In walks Young Living.

It all started with a fellow sonographer finding me on Instagram. She was happy to connect with a fellow “sono babe” and I was too! When I wandered into her account, I saw she was sharing her love not just for essential oils, but for Young Living’s specifically.

After a few inquiries on my part, I decided to buy a Premium Starter Kit. She told me it was the best way to get started because it included a diffuser and 11 of the most popular and versatile oils Young Living had to offer.

Mind you, this wasn’t my first rodeo with essential oils. Over a year ago, I bought a starter pack of essential oils and a diffuser from a random company off of Amazon. Between not really knowing how to use them and not liking how medicinal they smelled, I gave them away and wrote off all essential oils.

So, my mindset wasn’t the most objective when I opened that box. Sure, there was something exciting about using natural products in the midst of this health journey I was on. Yet, I still had the Amazon kit in the back of my head and prepared myself for a product that promised so much and delivered very little.

It wasn’t until using PanAway that all of that was changed.

PanAway is a blend of peppermint, wintergreen, and other essential oils that are great for soothing sore muscles (basically, an all-natural Icy Hot). One night, I realized my body was going to be very sore the next morning after working out the previous day (we know Day 2 is the worst after working out. Built-up lactic acid is no joke). So, I haphazardly slathered some PanAway onto the different muscle groups I had worked on and allowed myself to half-hope it would work.

Next morning rolls around and as I stretched, expecting my body to ache in response, I felt…nothing.

I literally sat up in bed and started contorting my body every which way, searching for the pain that I knew should be there…somewhere. Nothing.

I have a distinct memory of slowly looking over at that bottle and staring at it for a solid few seconds. This was the moment that a lot would change for me.

I’m now 3 months in to using Young Living, not just their oils, but also their products! They are all-natural, infused with essential oils, and because I’m on a monthly program called Essential Rewards through Young Living, I get free oils and cash-like points to use to buy products, like their cleaning items, shower supplies, and even makeup to continue in healthy living!

Why the transition to all-natural products? When I started looking at the ingredients list on my day-to-day products and researching those ingredients, I started to realize just how much of them were harmful or just plain gross! Parabens, synthetics, fake fragrances, animal fats, the whole shebang. I had not even thought about what I was subjecting my body to by what was being soaked into my skin every day! All the hard work I was putting in with my diet and exercise, I wasn’t going to counteract that with products that disrupted those improvements!

I wholeheartedly believe that it is a privilege to do what I have been able to do so far for my health. The realization that I am a steward of what has been given to me humbled me and called me to action: I have no excuse to not pursue health. I have been given the means and the knowledge, now I must choose what to do with them. I choose to pursue health completely. Intentionally. Gratefully.

So, why are basically all of my “Ditch and Switch” items Young Living? Because I trust them.

I’ve been with this company for 3 months and already I have learned so much about their processes and practices. They don’t hide them. In fact, their farms are open to the public. They send their members to the farms as rewards for reaching certain milestones. They’re passionate about doing things the right way and are completely transparent about that. Their “Seed to Seal” promise involves practices such as third-party evaluations, strict regulations, and high standards that they have released publicly for built-in accountability.

Also, does anyone else do their grocery shopping somewhere because it’s a one-stop shop? I know I do! Young Living is the same way! I can get it all in one place and get those points back for free products! Now, all I really get at the grocery store anymore is food!

Young Living has overrun my life and it has been the best thing. I know that what I’m using on my body now is all safe and all-natural. It’s a company I believe in and want to support as it has supported me in my health journey! I can say with confidence that what is going in/on my body is not only complimenting the other choices I’ve made for my health, but is also helping improve it in the process!

I’m still growing and still learning. But I’m loving it all along the way.