Mood Management: A Multifaceted Approach

Adding Essentials To Your Toolbox

When I am working at the computer, I wish that I could be in a yoga pose with an easy meditative awareness! Wouldn’t that make things a breeze? Sadly, that is not possible, so I stop to take breaks and deep breaths – which help. Another important essential for me is my cache of Essential oils. They have sincerely become my “I-can’t-do-my-yoga-practice-because-my-mind-needs-to-be-on-something-else” yoga. I’ve got Motivate to lift my spirits and Serenity to help me calm down. I use them in the office, in the car, on the airplane, for sleep, and even on my yoga mat. Yes, essential oils help make my life a little sweeter.

High School!

When I was a teenager, I was a bit of a goofball, as you can see. And I was suffering quite a bit. I was severely anxious, didn’t sleep well, and had terrible eczema outbreaks. Even the prescribed steroid cream did not alleviate my discomfort or make a difference. I read that Lavender oil was good for eczema, so I tried it out. The oil was so soothing on my poor hands, and within days it helped ease the outbreak (it took years and many changes to get rid of my eczema). With my first sniff of the lavender oil, I felt something shift in my anxiety. Of course, the lavender didn’t miraculously cure my anxiety. Instead, it showed me that a life of ease might be possible. Sometimes a little light is all we need to change the course of our lives.

I share this with you because factors governing our moods are complex and multifaceted; the best treatment plans reflect this. As I reflected on the potential influences on our moods and energy, many emerged. Each of us is unique, you could probably add to this list. We all experience these influences in different intensities and ratios.  At the end of the day, these all cause stress in the brain.

The stress response in the brain is controlled by the limbic system. Simply put, this determines things like our heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, breath rate, and more. The more stress we experience, the more our brains become hardwired to be stressed out; literally there are structural and biochemical changes in the brain that make us more susceptible to stress. We need tools to help us turn off the stress response switch in the brain.

LifeForce Yoga is committed to helping you find the tools you need to support your self-healing journey. Our toolboxes need to be as multifaceted as the issues that impact our moods. No one thing heals all issues and we need as much support as we can get! Essential oils are another piece of the wellness pie!

This is where practices like yoga, exercise, and meditation come in. This is also where essential oils can have the greatest (positive) influence. We smell an oil, like Wild Orange, and it triggers the calm brain effect, which turns off the stress response. Something as simple as a pleasant smell can change our outlook!

A perfect example of this is a study that was conducted in the Emergency Room at Vanderbilt University Hospital, in Nashville, TN. Hospital administrators wanted to improve the smell and atmosphere of the hospital, while decreasing stress and increasing energy for staff. What they found was astonishing. After the study, 3% said they were stressed out at work, compared to 41% before. Only 6% said they were frustrated at work, compared with 60% before. Imagine how much your mood and energy might shift if your environment had an uplifting scent.

We will be featuring articles about essential oils, their affect on the mood, and ways to incorporate the oils into your life. If you would like to learn more or have a free consultation about which oils would fit best in your wellness plan, send us an email, rose@yogafordepression.com.

About the Author

Rose Kress

Rose Kress ERYT-500, C-IAYT, YACEP, Owner/Director of the LifeForce Yoga Healing Institute, and author of Awakening Your Inner Radiance with LifeForce Yoga. She directs retreats and training programs on using LifeForce Yoga to manage your mood.

Leave a comment.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sign up for our Newsletter

Subscribe

Cart

What People Say

“Yoga Skills for Therapists is the ideal resource for those who want to bring yoga practices into psychotherapy or healthcare. Weintraub, a leader in the field of yoga therapy, offers evidence-based, easy-to-introduce strategies for managing anxiety, improving mood, and relieving suffering. Helpful clinical insights and case examples emphasize safety, trust, and skillful adaptation to the individual, making it easy to apply the wisdom of yoga effectively in the therapeutic context.” — Kelly McGonigal, PhD, author, Yoga for Pain Relief, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Yoga Therapy
“My patients can now have the same effects as many medications without having to actually take medication!” — Deborah Lubetkin, PSY.D, LFYP, West Caldwell, NJ
“I integrate strategies like mantra tones and pranayama, but above all I invite myself and those I teach to cultivate svadhyaya, to practice self-observation without judgment.” — Barbara Sherman, RYT 200, LFYP, Tucson, AZ
“A client who returned said, "When I came before, you helped me understand and get where I wanted to go. Now you show me yoga practices I use to help myself understand and get where I want to go.” — Sherry Rubin, LCSW, BCD, LFYP, Downingtown, PA
“Words do not do justice to all that I learned. This workshop changed my life!” — Jen Nolan, Teacher, Cortland, NY
“I began a fantasy during the meditation exercise... almost as if I’d been there. It’s now an on-going work of fiction.” — Serian Strauss, Tanzania
“This program changed my life in a significant way. It helped me connect with the spirit which is something you can’t get from psychotherapy and medication.” – G. W., artist, Pittsburgh, PA
“I gained tools for working with my own depression and with my clients’ depressions.” — Robert Sgona, LCSW, RYT, psychotherapist, Yoga teacher, Camden, ME.
“I have gained a softer heart, more receptive mind, and tools to enrich both personal and professional aspects of my life.” – Regina Trailweaver, LICSW, clinical social worker, Hancock, VT.
“My life is already changed! I will use the tools I learned in my own practice and in my work. I feel safe and seen.” — Susan Andrea Weiner, MA, teacher/expressive arts facilitator, El Cerrito, CA.
“I utilize the LFY techniques in both a class room setting and one-on-one environment. The skills have infused my teachings with compassion, mindfulness, and awareness.” — Kat Larsen, CYT, LFYP
“I have been reminded that I am not on this path alone, that others are sharing the journey that sometimes seems so difficult. I have also been reminded of the importance of daily practice and I will do that. The whole program has been an incredible experience for me. Thank you!” — Lorraine Plauth, retired teacher, Voorheesville, NY
“I gained perspective of who I am in the world and this will change my life significantly.” — Mary Ford, artist, Southport, CT
“I feel profoundly transformed, both physically and emotionally. The connection between mind, body and spirit was clearly evident to me, but revealed to me through this workshop as an integrally vital link to overall health.” — Nadine Richardson, program manager at rehab agency, Monroe, CT
I absolutely love this stuff! I have been using it with my clients and I am just finding it to be so incredibly helpful. There seriously something for everything. Although I am not as skilled as I hope to be someday, even at my level of training I’m finding that I am beginning to figure out what to do. It just blows my mind! - Christine Brudnicki, MS, LPC
“This workshop helped me rededicate my energies and begin to work through some of the blocks I’ve felt creatively.” — Steve Mark, college professor, New Haven, CT
“I have found the LFYP training to be incredibly useful in giving people specific tools to use in maintaining physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance, and further opening their intuitive abilities.” — Nancy Windheart, RYT-200, LFYP, Reiki Master, Animal communication teacher, Prescott, AZ
“I learned lots of ways to reduce the anxiety and depression of my patients and myself.” – Aviva Sinvany-Nubel, PhD, APN, CNSC, RN, psychotherapist, Bridgewater, N.J.
“I came hoping to learn to move past some of the obstacles blocking my creativity. Over the course of this weekend, I feel I’ve gained a certain measure of faith in myself and in my ability to change. I also had some realizations that I believe will be very helpful to me. I feel encouraged. Both the content and presentation of this program were so well-thought out that I can’t think of any way to improve it.” — Andrea Gollin, writer & editor, Miami, FL
“This workshop has changed so much — my self-image and my life. My own heart’s desire is 100% clear. I gained tools to help myself and others to live life fully.” — Marcia Siegel, Yoga teacher, therapist, Carlsbad, CA.
“My personal practice will change, as well as my yoga classes. I have a better understanding of yoga!” — Andrea Gattuso, RYT, Yoga Teacher, Hackettstown, N.J.
“I have found the pranayama (breathing practices) especially easy to introduce in a clinical setting. Some people have benefited quickly in unexpected and transformative ways.” — Liz Brenner, LICSW, LFYP, Watertown, MA
“Giving my clients a strategy and permission to quiet their minds and rebalance the sympathetic nervous system has been very beneficial to them and in our work together.” — Sue Dilsworth, PhD, RYT 200, LFYP, Allendale, MI
“I have gained an incredible opening and clearing of old obstructions. I hope to return to my life and fill this opening with things I love to do and that give me joy!” — Lisa Shine, administrative assistant, Ballston Lake, NY
Scroll to Top