grounding practices

Essential Oil Blend for Presence: A Grounding Aromatherapy Ritual for Mindful Living

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In a world that constantly pulls our attention outward, presence has become both a practice and a refuge. Presence invites us back into our bodies, our breath, and this moment—exactly as it is. Aromatherapy can be a gentle yet powerful ally in this practice.

This essential oil blend for presence was intentionally crafted to support grounding, calm the nervous system, and encourage mindful awareness throughout the day.

Why Use Essential Oils for Presence?

Scent is processed directly through the limbic system—the part of the brain connected to emotion, memory, and regulation. When used with intention, essential oils can:

  • Support nervous system balance
  • Encourage slower, deeper breathing
  • Reduce mental distraction
  • Anchor awareness in the present moment

For those living with chronic pain, recovering from surgery, navigating stress, or practicing mindfulness and yoga, grounding essential oils can serve as an accessible daily ritual.

The Essential Oil Blend for Presence

This blend balances earthy, floral, and citrus notes to create a sense of calm alertness—rooted yet open.

Ingredients & Benefits

Frankincense
Often called the “oil of awareness,” frankincense supports deep breathing, emotional regulation, and spiritual connection.

Lavender
Known for its calming properties, lavender helps quiet the mind and soften physical tension without dulling awareness.

Bergamot
A bright citrus oil that uplifts mood and eases anxious thought patterns, bergamot encourages gentle optimism and clarity.

Cedarwood
Warm and grounding, cedarwood promotes a sense of safety, stability, and embodiment.

Presence Essential Oil Blend Recipe

Roller Blend (10 ml):

  • 3 drops Frankincense
  • 3 drops Lavender
  • 2 drops Bergamot
  • 2 drops Cedarwood
  • Fill with a carrier oil (jojoba or fractionated coconut oil)

Diffuser Option:

  • 2 drops Frankincense
  • 2 drops Lavender
  • 1 drop Bergamot
  • 1 drop Cedarwood

How to Use This Blend for Mindfulness

  • Apply to wrists, heart center, or back of the neck before meditation or yoga
  • Use during breathwork or body awareness practices
  • Diffuse while journaling, resting, or during recovery time
  • Pair with a daily affirmation or mindful pause

Mindful Affirmation:
“I am here. I am grounded. This moment is enough.”

A Gentle Daily Ritual for Presence

  1. Apply or diffuse the blend
  2. Close your eyes and inhale slowly through the nose
  3. Exhale fully through the mouth
  4. Name three sensations you can feel right now
  5. Return to your day with softer awareness

This ritual takes less than two minutes and can be repeated whenever you feel scattered or overwhelmed.

Safety Notes

  • Always dilute essential oils before topical use
  • Avoid bergamot before sun exposure unless using a bergaptene-free (FCF) version
  • Consult a qualified professional if pregnant or managing medical conditions

Presence Is a Practice

Presence isn’t about perfection or constant calm. It’s about returning—again and again—to yourself. This essential oil blend is not a solution, but an invitation. A sensory reminder that you are allowed to slow down, breathe, and be here now.

If you enjoy practices that support mindful living, gentle yoga, and healing rituals, explore more resources at Embracing Spirit Yoga.

Nervous System Support: My Essential Oil Blend for Calming Chronic Fight-or-Flight

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Finding Calm When Your Nervous System Won’t Settle

A Personal Blend for When You’re Stuck in Fight or Flight

If you’ve ever lived in a season where your nervous system feels like it has one setting — high alert — you’re not alone. After months or years of stress, pain, recovery, or constant caregiving, the body can forget how to step out of survival mode. You might feel jumpy, restless, easily overwhelmed, or like your mind won’t quiet down even when your body is exhausted.

This state is often called chronic fight-or-flight, and it’s something many of us quietly struggle with. When the body stays “on” for too long, even small tasks can feel heavy. And yet, the moment you begin supporting your nervous system with intention — breath by breath, choice by choice — small shifts begin to happen.

As many of you know, this has been my personal reality. My body has been through an intense year. Surgeries, recovery, pain, stress, and the emotional heaviness of trying to keep up with daily life have kept my nervous system running at full speed. Some days it feels like it never gets the memo that it’s allowed to rest.

But healing happens in layers.
And one of the most supportive tools I’ve leaned on is essential oils.

Why Essential Oils Can Support the Nervous System

Certain essential oils interact with the limbic system — the emotional center of the brain — helping signal the body to soften, release, and shift into the parasympathetic nervous system. They don’t “fix” stress, but they help create an internal environment where your body can breathe again.

Over the years, I’ve crafted many blends, but this one is deeply personal — something I’ve been using daily as I navigate this season.

My Nervous System Support Blend — “Safe in My Body”

This blend is steadying, warm, grounding, and soothing without being sedating. It’s made to help ease tension, soften the stress response, and bring you back to a place of inner safety.

Essential Oils:

  • Copaiba – 4 drops
  • Lavender – 3 drops
  • Frankincense – 3 drops
  • Bergamot – 2 drops
  • Cedarwood – 2 drops
  • Vetiver – 2 drops
  • Patchouli – 2 drops

Add these oils to a 10 mL roller bottle and fill the rest with fractionated coconut oil or jojoba.

How To Use It

Roll it over your heart when I wake up feeling tight or anxious.
Use it on the wrists when you feel overwhelmed or overstimulated.
Apply it to the spine to help ground your energy.
When the breath gets short, pause, inhale the blend, and let the exhale be longer than the inhale — a simple way to signal safety to the nervous system.

A Gentle Reminder

Healing your nervous system isn’t about perfection. It’s about creating moments where your body feels held.
If you’re living in survival mode, please know:
You’re not broken.
Your body is protecting you the best way it knows how.
And with time, breath, support, and compassion, it can learn to soften again.

Affirmation

“I am safe in this moment. My breath is my anchor. My body remembers how to calm.”