Essential Oils - How I got started!
Updated: Mar 1, 2020
HELLO FRIENDS!
I am so excited about the feedback that you all gave me for my first blog entry! Just a little does of getting to know me! 😉
Ok so Essenital Oils! Not a foreign as they used to be. What was once considered "crunchy" and exclusively for those who didn't vaccinate their children, or subscribe to modern medicine, can now be found at Target and Marshalls! The added attention towards Essential Oils has mirrored the way that yoga has popularized through the past 20-25 years. Yoga used to be considered "out there" too. As society has become more and more intolerant of toxins, chemicals, and fake ingredients in their food, soaps, cleaning materials, etc.. they have allowed the glory that is essential oils filter into the mainstream (almost).
HOW I FOUND ESSENTIAL OILS
Ok, so when I was growing up, everyone knew lavender was relaxing. That was a standard. To this day Lavender is the one-size-fits-most and poster child for essential oils. As I fell deeper into my yoga practice, I was introduced to Jessica Lohrey (https://www.jessicalohrey.com). Who was... the coolest. She grew up in a log cabin and was into essential oils before most people even knew what they were. From her own website
"As a teenager, Jessica worked with her mother's bulk herb and flower business selling essential oils. The family relied heavily on medicinal plants and folk remedies passed down from Cherokee roots.
Jessica has been studying and using herbs, aromatherapy and other holistic healing modalities for more than 30 years."
She founded Tree of India essential oils and at some point made her way from the woods to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where I eventually met her.
To be honest, I'm not sure at what point I met Jessica, but I know that I fell in love with Tree of India essential oils the moment I experienced her signature scent "Blend #5" (that blend is now renamed Forrest Therapy).
FUN FACT: My first essential oil purchase was Blend #5 in a body/room spray!
Through the next 5 or so years I bought ALL of my oils from her. I encouraged many of my friends and family to do the same. She would host Essential Oil education classes where I learned a lot about how the oils work with our body to alleviate systems, affect the brain through the limbic system, and raise our vibration overall. We would make our own blends in these classes. Even my husband was into it! Jessica even made him a special insect repellent for his camping trips.
HOW I STARTED WITH YOUNG LIVING
Listen, I will ALWAYS love Tree of India oils. She has really high quality standards and most definitely has earned her steps in the world of Oils. So here's what happened with me. I was selling a ton of oils for Jess. I'm happy to do it. My best friend bought, Lilly's nanny, my yoga students, etc... At the time I started realizing that I really had a passion for them, I also realized that passion was coming through an connecting with people. I wasnt spouting off about things I didnt know about. There is a TON about oils I still dont know. I was sharing what worked for me and that was resonating with people. I had oils at my desk at work, I had them in my delivery room, I had them to help put Lilly to sleep at night, I used them for emotional support (becoming a new Mom is hard!), and I used them for yoga/meditation,
When Lilly was about 9 months old, some things changed with my Crime Scene Investigation job. I had to make a really upsetting decision to leave. I still cringe when I think about leaving a job that I loved so much, but if I'm honest with myself, it was definitely the right decision for my family (more on that in another post!). I dove into teaching more at Florida Gulf Coast University and a LOT more yoga! Which was great! Little by little I was beginning to replace the income that I had been making at the police department. There was still a void.
I started researching Essential Oil companies that had a reseller program. I researched deep. I wanted to know the science behind what each company puts into their oils, how they treated their soil, their farming methods, their distillation, and extraction methods. Let me just say... there is a lot of JUNK out there. There are also a lot of great companies. I landed on Young Living. A college friend of mine was part of the company, I started off with the premium starter kit. $165 was a TON of
money for me to spend at the time. I actually had a decent attitude about it because I already had a ton of oils. My friend told me about Essential Rewards, I had EVEN MORE attitude. I was NOT going to spend $50 a month on oils. She told me to play around with the products, and if I changed my mind I could cancel before the next billing cycle. FINE SHEA!
Of course, she was right. I was provided with so much more information. I fell IN LOVE with the oils in my kit and I WANTED MORE! Especially, Valor. That blend... was made just for me I swear.
I did not do the business at first. I did share my new love of the oils on social media. People just naturally asked! Especially, because I was using the oils for Lilly to help her sleep, to help her tummy, and when she had the sniffles. I took a video of her throwing a tantrum, then I used my "tantrum tamer" blend and she calmed right down. Parents loved it! So next things I knew, I was selling oils for Young Living pretty easy. Then it happened... the haters.
PYRAMID SCHEME
The truth is... other people have been complete dicks with their direct sales companies. Pressuring friends and family, posting ever 5 minutes on social media, flooding inboxes, etc..
Very recently a popular fitness direct sales company DROVE ME CRAZY. I am happy to support a friends small business, but every one of my friends involved with that company flooded my social media newsfeeds with videos of them working out, promoting their shake, and newest program. It was exhausting, So in a way, I get it.
But it is annoying when someone immediately rolls their eyes at your little business. I'm not trying to pressure, persuade, or annoy anyone into buying Young Living oils. Thats why I have an entirely separate Facebook/instagram for my oils business (@seasideandsage) and I only really post to the stories on my main page. Regardless of that people, sometimes very close to me, were saying nasty things to me like "I don't want to be a part of your pyramid scheme." or things of that nature.
- Ok, first of all, rude.
- Second, I'm not asking you to be part of a pyramid scheme. (PS they are illegal, so there is that)
- Third, I don't mean for this to sound aggressive. Speaking my truth is part of being a yogi, even if that truth is a little loud.
- Fourth, I don't solicit anyone to do anything unless they have reached out to me and expressed interest first. I wouldn't want to be hounded, so I won't do that to you.
BUT, part of blogging/social media means sharing what's happening in my life. If that means its my dogs, my baby, my yoga, my forensics, my fashion, my makeup, my travel, OR my love of oils, then I'm going to do that. Feel free to scroll past/skip those posts. 😉
I also get that oily life isn't for everyone, but it has made a huge positive impact on my family. So here I am. I thought I would share with you (as quickly as I could) how I got here. I PROMISE not every post will be about oils. Not even close. That isn't the point of my page. It is part of my life, so it will show up.
XOXO,
L