Winter has settled in for those of us in the southern hemisphere, especially here in New Zealand with the snow and frosts. The achey cold bones are sometimes so difficult to warm up. I thought it would be a good time to share with you an effective, and very easy to prepare aromatherapy bone warming remedy.
Aromatherapy Poultice
If you are a sufferer of cold feet and ankles, this favourite will not only help get the warmth to your bones. It will also assist your circulation.
You will need:
- A chopping board
- Two bowls
- A saucepan
- One cup of cold water
- A spatula or slotted spoon
- A piece of linen or muslin cloth
- A cup full of milled or crushed linseeds
- Ginger root
- Black Pepper (Piper Nigrum) essential oil
- Sweet Marjoram (Origanum majorana) essential oil
- Lavender (Lavendula Augustifolia) essential oil
Instructions
- Steep the ginger root in the cup of cold water in a saucepan and boil (or in a dish in a microwave if you prefer). You will be making a ginger tea really. Just allow the ginger root to soften.
- Strain the ginger root from the ginger tea.
- Place the crushed or milled linseeds in the bowl with the ginger tea and stir.
- In the spare bowl, mash up the ginger root.
- With the spatula or slotted spoon, lift the linseed meal out of the ginger tea and into the spare bowl with the linseed meal.
- Add 3 drops of Black Pepper essential oil, 4 drops Sweet Marjoram essential oil, and 4 drops Lavender essential oil.***
- Mix the essential oils through the linseed ginger mixture.
- Spread on to the muslin cloth or linen.
- You can either fold up the cloth or gather the corners and tie with a piece of string.
- Place the poultice on your cold body parts.***
***Cautions:
- Please always check the touch temperature of the poultice before you place it on your body, especially on young children or the elderly.
- If you are on anticoagulent drugs, please check with your Doctor before using the ginger tea base for the poultice – you may wish to just use plain boiling water.
- This poultice is not recommended if you are pregnant.
If you aren’t fond of the warming essential oils included in the recipe above, there are several others you can try:
- Cardamon essential oil (Elettaria cardamomum)
- Juniper Berry essential oil (Juniperus communis) – Note: Not to be used with those suffering kidney disease or during pregnancy.
- Lemongrass essential oil (Cymbopogon citratus) – Note: If you have sensitive skin, this essential oil may be irritating or sensitisation.
As well as being the author of Peacock Dreaming: The Wisdom Of Flowers and Lovitude: Trying To Calm The Monkey Mind, Anne McCormack is also a qualified Clinical Aromatherapist who lives in works in Nelson, New Zealand. Anne has practised and presented courses and workshops in Australia, and has been a guest speaker for organisations such as the NSW Encore Support Group for Breast Cancer.
Keen to learn more? Contact Anne today!
