Applying Your BodyMantra Oils

One of the concerns I often hear from people when they’re introduced to BodyMantra is the product content itself: oil. Oil having a bit of a difficult reputation to overcome, so often associated with words like shiny, greasy, messy and, well, oily. Not to mention the potential for it to create a stain on your most beloved shirt or pair of pants. Leaving you wondering how to incorporate ceremonial oils into your life in a way that has you embracing them, rather than applying them inconsistently or flat out avoiding them. 

My hope is that this article will open your eyes to ways you can weave BodyMantra oils into your everyday life in a way that feels approachable and welcome.

Mixing Water & Oil

Let’s start with one of the easiest ways to apply your oils: immediately following a shower or bath. (Stick with me here—especially if the first thought that popped into your mind was that oil and water don’t mix.)

Think about your shower or bath time: you step away from the day, the phone, the noise, submerge yourself and … for a few minutes, you're in-between, the day either ahead of you or behind you. Whether or not you've ever named it, this is a ritual space. Your morning shower is a natural way to set the stage for the day. Your evening bath, a way to close it.

Either way, you're entering into ceremonial space by simply turning on the tap. From there, it’s just one small step to add a BodyMantra oil afterward—to activate the oils’ benefits, amplify your intentions, and lock in some moisture. The moisture is a tangible benefit, and I'll explain how it works in a minute, but first: the medicine and the ritual.

All BodyMantra oils feature a blend of essential oils set in a base of what is called a carrier oil, such as jojoba or coconut. I’ve done this not only to create blends that can safely be used every day (because of the dilution), but also because the carrier oils help to slow the natural evaporative qualities of the essential oils and improve your exposure to and absorption of the essential oil medicine. Then—

when you step out of a warm shower or bath, all of your tissues, from muscles and organs to ligaments and tendons, are in a highly receptive state. Increased blood flow and softening of the outermost skin layer provide a perfect environment for the oils to be drawn more deeply into the system—the warm water prepping your body to take in the plant medicine. Then—

the time it takes to apply a few pumps of oil to the entire body is all you need to connect to the prayers and affirmations you associate with your blend. In doing this, you send powerful, focused signals to your brain (via scent and thought) and the universe. Essentially, this becomes a ceremony for either starting or ending your day, reinforcing the messaging you’re working with. 

Now, let’s talk about the water part.

As you likely know from experience, water begins to evaporate as soon as you turn off the water, which is why skin can feel tight a few minutes after you towel off. Moisturizing afterward increases hydration and reduces water loss.

That said, oil doesn’t add water. Instead, it works like a lid on a warm pot, slowing what's already there from escaping. So after a shower or bath, you’re getting the benefit of the oils being more deeply absorbed (into warmth-expanded blood/tissues) and water being locked in because of this occlusive “lid on the pot” action.

That’s why I suggest skipping the towel, or patting lightly, and leaving the skin damp. This allows your oil blend to glide across your skin and, with the help of the carrier oil, hold that excess moisture in without any feelings of greasiness. I give it five minutes or so while I dry my hair and by the time I get dressed, the oil has fully absorbed.

I've been applying oils to my body for decades now and it has completely changed my relationship to this medium. Not only has it kept my Colorado-dry skin supple, it has become one of the most accessible ways to bring ritual into my every day. 

Give yourself a full week to try this on a daily basis—I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Rituals Any Time of Day

Baths and showers certainly don’t have to be the only setting for oil application and ritual. Afterall, we can create rituals any number of ways throughout the day and that necessarily means using these oils while wearing clothes. The simple solution: apply to skin that is exposed. Hands, wrists, throat, feet, base of the skull (brainstem area), behind the ears, third eye center, and (test first please!), the face.

Let’s look at some specific examples.

You’ve got a busy day and feel a bit frazzled, off-center. All it takes is two minutes. One pump in the palm of your hand. Hands rubbed together. Scent taken in. Mantra or affirmation spoken or held in your mind’s eye as you regulate your breathing and ground, bring your entire system back to what feels aligned and important. 

Or maybe you’ve got a day off, have no interest in getting out of your leggings and comfy sweater, though would like to settle in with some of the personal reflection that gets left behind on the days when you’re busier. This is when I like to rub some oil between my palms, take in the scent, and then apply the leftover oil to my wrists or my throat or my feet. And because these are the days then I’m wearing my kick-about clothes, I’ll often apply the oil to my belly or heart center in nice, generous circles until it absorbs.

I also use my oils prior to starting a meditation, yoga practice or any other activity that sits at the crossroads of body, mind and spirit. The oil serving as a devotional anchor. 

The Power of Repetition

As you’ve been reading, you’ll notice that I speak about using the oils in some way every single day. That’s when the magic of BodyMantra oils really gets going. 

When you use your oil blends every day, you’re systematically building scaffolding for your body, brain, spirit, and the universe. Creating a foundation of repeated intention and scent that gets stronger and more potent with time, just as you might strengthen a meditation practice or exercise routine with consistent commitment. 

What I've witnessed over thirty years of working with clients and BodyMantra oils: when the same blend is paired with the same intention often enough, over weeks and months, it becomes a doorway. Eventually, just one minute with a blend can move us through that doorway, into a focused state simply because our entire system is so familiar with every aspect of the oil—how it feels and smells, what it carries energetically, and the intentions we associate with it.

This is why I encourage people to choose a blend and stay with it. Befriend that formula, get to know it, use it as a tool to promote lasting transformation.