Essential Oils/Young Living - Reformed Pill Popper?

          Like many women I know in their mid twenties, I have started to pay more attention to my health and lifestyle choices in recent years. Gone are the days I can indulge in greasy foods, sweets, and adult beverages as frequently as I would like to without seeing some type of effect on my body. Sometimes I see the results in the form of unsightly bloating, skin imperfections, a sour mood, or low energy...to name a few. A few years ago, I started making healthier choices. I made the usual swaps in terms of wheat vs. white, "always choose water" - no excuses, Coconut oil instead of the alternatives, and tried to stay pretty active.
        The problem for me has always been consistency. With aging comes maturity, but what people forget to tell you is that with age also comes a slower metabolism and seemingly less time to do anything about it! The one thing I have remained consistent about over the last several years is paying attention to what vitamins and supplements I put into my body. In addition to taking a women's multi-vitamin daily, I also take a probiotic consistently and have "green smoothies" and hot tea quite frequently. However, what I also take daily, is a boatload of likely unnecessary Motrin, Benadryl, and other various over the counter meds.
        When I moved to Jacksonville, I met a girl named Megan (who also happened to end up being my best friend). She was the total opposite of my 5'9, brunette haired, pill-popping frame. Megan is a tiny ball of energy who chooses water over Diet Coke and essential oils over prescription or over the counter medications whenever possible. Megan taught me about oils and some of their uses and it has been amazing to watch her use them on her baby. I also have a friend named Audra who sweetly talked to me about them and then sent me a few specially selected oils for a particularly stressful time this year. I credit Audra for helping me find a stop to my insomnia, and for sparking my initial interest in the oils.
        Fast forward to this week when my mother-in-law made an unexpected but welcomed visit to see us, and to tell us about her journey and success with Young Living Essential Oils in recent months. I won't bore you with details of names and stories of family members and friends you won't ever meet, but I will say that when someone shares success stories with you involving people you know well, you listen. And when that same person is someone you trust both professionally (she's a nurse) and personally (I'm married to her son ;) and tells you to take a capsule of lavender, lemon, and peppermint for your bad allergies - you do it! Just in the few days my mother-in-law was here visiting, Tyler and I used oils for our allergies and for his snoring and for the first time in the twelve years we have been together, I have to poke him to make sure he's alive as he is sleeping soundly and quietly through the night.
        Do I believe that oils cure everything? Not really. Do I believe that people should stop taking all of their prescribed medications cold turkey and switch over immediately? Definitely not. Do I believe some people will think I'm crazy for "buying into" essential oils and their effectiveness? Most definitely. But, am I also a reformed pill popper? You betcha. Because learning about what I CAN put into my body and how good it is for me makes me think about what I am CURRENTLY putting into my body and why. Mindfulness is a beautiful, healthy thing.