The Adrenal Glands and That Important Hormone Cortisol
Albert Einstein is reputed to have said that he studied science in order to better ‘understand God’s thoughts’ as He created this wonderful world. As I have studied anatomy and physiology and the healing properties of ‘God’s pharmacy’—for a lifetime—I am, like Einstein, absolutely in awe of the genius of our Creator and of His overwhelming love for each of us!
With plants, in either herb or essential oil form, we have been given wonderful ways to nourish and heal our bodies. I have also been fascinated by and love the study of anatomy (where things are placed in the body) and physiology (what their functions are and why they are where they are)! Placing those little adrenal glands right on top of the kidneys makes perfect, beautiful, harmonious sense! Because of their importance to survival, they are placed with each other in a well-protected spot in the body!
Most of this perhaps too-long article is taken directly from part of what I teach about the Endocrine System during Foot Zone Therapy classes at Butterfly Expressions, LLC in Clifton, Idaho.
Please ponder for a moment what is causing stress in your life. What in your life is ‘stressful’ to you? And, please, consider for a moment that our bodies and our minds are simply not equipped to handle long-term, chronic stress without suffering serious consequences, big and small.
Some people – I wish I were one of them – respond to most situations calmly. They simply handle stress well, with little or no ill effects on their bodies or minds. For these people, stress is not all bad. In small doses and handled properly, stress can even help us accomplish tasks quickly and well.
Can alternative health products such as essential oils, herbal remedies, and Blessed Water/Homeopathic remedies really help us reset our thinking and handle stress more appropriately? I certainly do believe that they can! Some of those remedies are featured in this month’s newsletter. Let’s begin today, however, with a little bit of information about the effects of stress on us physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Why am I taking up time and space to point out to you the long-term effects of stress and to discuss the things that might be stressing each of us out? Because, as I said in the first paragraph, I am hoping you will ponder the stress in your life and take steps to minimize the effects of stress on your health and happiness.
Before we begin today’s discussion of essential oils, herbs, and Blessed Waters (homeopathics), I would like to provide a little bit of extraneous, but I feel quite necessary, information. I searched both the Butterfly Express and Butterfly Expressions sites and was disappointed to find that the information I have written and taught in various places over the years on the topic I am about to summarize briefly below is not to be found on either site. It doesn’t seem to be in any of the books I have written, either. (However, I made only a rudimentary search, so . . .) If this oversight is actually real, I intend to remedy the situation as soon as I can find a minute (or a few hours, as it will likely be).
Two key factors in understanding essential oils are recognizing the differences in healing properties among plant families and understanding how various parts of the same plant can offer different therapeutic benefits. It probably doesn’t surprise you that the medicinal properties of the conifer family (spruce trees, for example) are very different from the healing properties of the various herbaceous or ornamental plants (such as the Lauraceae, Labiate, Compositae, and Umbelliferae families).
Even within the same plant family, whether an essential oil has been created from the wood, the seed, the root, or the leaves, dramatically affects the healing properties of that essential oil, and does so to an incredible degree.
A well-built blend allows us to combine, synergistically, the benefits of several plant families as well as the healing capacities of various plant parts, all with the goal of increasing the capabilities of each single essential oil. Just as a chocolate cake is more pleasing—and tastes better—than the varying ingredients separately, an essential oil blend has the potential of being so much more than any of the single oil ingredients by themselves
Let’s keep this information in mind as we discuss various essential oil blends in the pages of this (and every) newsletter.