the best essential oils to add to your yoga practice
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The Best Essential Oils To Add To Your Yoga Practice

Yoga is known for flexibility and complicated poses. It is currently one of the most popular ways to exercise. But it is so much more than that. Yogis, as well as those interested in trying yoga, can elevate their yoga practice with essential oils. Learn which essential oils should accompany you in your yoga practice.

Yoga Practice

Yoga is an ancient practice and one of the major aspects of Hinduism. The word “yoga” means “union.” According to Sadghuru, yoga is the practice of moving toward an experiential reality. Yoga, indeed, is as much a physical practice as it is a spiritual practice.

For many people, yoga is a combination of physical poses, deep breathing, and meditation which may also involve chanting mantras. The practice helps maintain physical health, through poses, and mental health, through meditation, mantras, and deep breathing.

Why Use Essential Oils For Yoga Practice

woman practicing yoga with aroma lamp

Essential oils have an effect on the mind as it travels through the olfactory system and into the limbic system. As a result, they have abilities to stimulate the mind, influence moods and certain bodily processes. Thus, using essential oils during your yoga practice could help you get into the right mindset, focus better, and achieve your goals for practicing yoga.

Some of the things to expect when you use essential oils in your yoga practice are:

  • Reduces stress and anxiety
  • Increases mental alertness
  • Energizing
  • Improves focus
  • Facilitates heart opening
  • Cultivates a sense of gratitude
  • Kills bacteria (for your yoga mat!)

10 Best Essential Oils For Your Yoga Practice

Essential oils have different properties and benefits. To maximize the incorporation of essential oils into your yoga practice, you should know what you want to achieve or what you need to focus on. Learn which essential oils will work best for your yoga practice.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender is renowned for its relaxing and calming abilities. It is said to melt away stress, which is great for those who wish to alleviate stress through their yoga practice. This essential oil will help you relax, letting go of your day and focus on your practice. Alternatively, you could use this oil at the end of your practice while you lay in savasana to allow your body and mind to relax after rigorous yoga practice. Apart from that, lavender essential oil also has anti-bacterial properties, making it perfect for yoga mat sprays.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil

You may know this essential oil for its usefulness in decongesting nasal passages. For this reason, eucalyptus would be a great addition to your yoga practice. This essential oil could help improve your breathing so you can practice deep breathing.

Patchouli Essential Oil

Patchouli essential oil is an effective stress and anxiety reliever. It’s a great essential oil to complement your yoga practice, especially if you practice managing your mental health. This essential oil also promotes balance so it can help you open your heart as you practice.

fresh mint or even rosemary essential oil is great for yoga

Mint Essential Oil

Mint essential oil is quite similar to eucalyptus. It has a cool, refreshing scent that helps decongest the nasal passages. Additionally, this oil stimulates creativity and helps increase energy levels. It can help you revive your energy in the middle of your practice when you’re feeling tired or energize you to get down on your mat when you feel sluggish.

Frankincense Essential Oil

Frankincense is an essential oil that has been used since ancient times for sacred ceremonies, as well as meditation. This essential oil is said to promote the purification of self, balance of the mind, body, and soul. It also inspires gratitude. Aside from its spiritual value, frankincense essential oil is also relaxing and energizing, making it a truly excellent part of any yoga practice.

Vetivert Essential Oil

Vetivert essential oil is not a very popular oil but it is just as good as lavender essential oil for calming down nerves and relieving stress. It also helps boost concentration. Another benefit of this essential oil is its ability to improve blood circulation and boost metabolism. It has benefits for both mind and body, making it a perfect pair for yoga.

Woman practicing yoga

Cananga Essential Oil

Cananga essential oil is produced from the same tree as Ylang Ylang, but they are very different. The benefits of cananga essential oil include the ability to uplift the mood, relieve stress and tension, as well as anti-bacterial and anti-microbial properties. So, you could use cananga during your yoga practice or as a yoga mat spray.

Lemon Essential Oil

Although you may associate the scent of lemon with cleaning products, lemon essential oil offers some benefits that can help elevate your yoga practice. Lemon essential oil can help you calm down and uplift your mood. It can also help you stay concentrated, which would be helpful for those just starting their meditation practice.

Plus, lemon essential oil has strong anti-bacterial, anti-septic, and anti-fungal properties, which means you could use it to clean your yoga mat.

Lemongrass Essential Oil

Lemongrass essential oil has a citrusy scent that has an energizing and uplifting effect. If you are feeling sluggish, tired, or gloomy, you may not feel up to the task of practicing yoga. The scent of lemongrass can help charge you up so you can practice yoga to the best of your abilities.

yoga mat spray

Bergamot Essential Oil

Bergamot is another citrusy essential oil, which means that it has an uplifting effect. It helps increase positive feelings, relieve stress and anxiety. These are all great additions to a yoga practice.

How To Use Essential Oils For Yoga

There are two main ways to use essential oils for yoga practice. The first is through aromatherapy or inhalation of the essential oil. You can accomplish this by either diffusing the essential oil or a blend of essential oils with a diffuser or by spraying an essential oil spray, which you can create by combining filtered water and essential oil. The second method is to take advantage of essential oils’ anti-bacterial properties to sanitize your yoga mat and keep them smelling fresh. You can choose from our variety of yoga mat sprays: Energizing, Lavender, or Supa Dupa.

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20 Comments

  1. I’ve used essential oils with yoga for awhile now. I’m a very olfactory person and I find they greatly improve my zen mood and relaxation as well as help me focus my mind.

  2. I alway’s wanted to try yoga, I feel zen just reading through your site.

  3. ADDING OILS TO YOGA PRACTICES HAS BENEFITS THAT I WOULD NOT HAVE THOUGHT OF.

  4. I never really thought about combining essential oils w/ yoga. I’m not sure how much yoga I can do because of mobility issues and being unable to be on my knees or get up and down easily but it’s certainly worth researching to see if I can find modified workouts that will accomodate my limitations.

  5. Lavender and eucalyptus oils are my go-to oils for yoga (and other activities as well).

  6. Lavender, frankincense & patchouli are my faves. Never heard of cananga – I don’t love the scent of ylang-ylang but if it’s pretty different I’m intrigued!

  7. Thank you for this info – I practice yoga but never thought about using essential oils along with yoga.

  8. Thanks for the guidance… I actually never thought to use essential oils while doing yoga but it makes sense 🙂

  9. I often use Lavender Essential Oils to relax and calm me. I never thought to use it while doing yoga.

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