The Essential Oils Capsule: Cardamom

 

One of my “50 Before 50” list items is to create (and use!) my essential oils capsule. I’m sorry…what? Essential oils capsule? What is that?

                Allow me to explain.

                It’s been a decade since Ryan and I first learned about and began using essential oils in our home. Though they were far from new when we discovered them, that felt like the time in life when e.v.e.r.y.one started using and selling them. Honestly I don’t feel like I hear about them now with nearly the intensity I did then, but they’re still around – in the world and in our home.

                I confess when I first learned about them, I felt this unspoken pressure to own a bottle of every possible oil. The full collection. It’s neither possible (at least on a budget) nor really all that practical. Nevertheless, I started buying them and tried to learn more about what each one was for, but the bigger my collection grew, the harder it was to keep it all straight.

                Along the way, largely because of cost, we moved from using Young Living oils to Selah essential oils. I’ve really loved this company – both for their affordability and their commitment to the Lord – and I also loved their idea of an oils capsule.

                The oils capsule is a collection of what they feel are the most commonly used and needed oils. If you can only afford a handful, choose these, and you’ll probably have something that fits just about any need you have. Certainly you can buy and use other scents if you like them, but these are the main ones you’d need for daily living.

                I was so happy to see that on their list, I owned most already, but I certainly didn’t know what they were all for or how to use them. So I’m trying to learn.

                And today, I want to show you the first of those oils in my capsule and what I’m learning.

                The first oil, alphabetically speaking, is cardamom. I recognized it as spice in a spice rack, but it isn’t one I often use in cooking, and I wasn’t confident I’d recognize its scent. It’s sort of a fallish scent, and if you look up diffuser blends containing cardamom, you’ll find it paired with things like cinnamon, clove, and ginger. (More on that later.)

*That is vanilla essential oil on the label. It looks questionable. Rest assured the vanilla just leaked onto it.*

                From my research, it seems this oil is commonly called upon for lower GI woes, pain, and respiratory struggles. (That gives some good clues as to why it landed in the capsule!) It also seems to help with focus, calmness, and mood, so it’s a great one for the diffuser! (This post is well-written and shares more about what I just said.)

                I’ve decided to highlight cardamom in our diffuser this week just so we can become more accustomed to its scent. (Yes, I’ve owned it for a while, but I haven’t used it a ton.) Here are some of the blends I’m trying!

Confidence
3 Drops Cardamom
2 Drops Lime
2 Drops Bergamot

Wake Up
1 Drop Cardamom
3 Drops Peppermint
2 Drops Orange

New Beginning
3 Drops Bergamot
2 Drops Cardamom
2 Drops Clove

Fall Mornings
3 Drops Orange
2 Drops Cinnamon
1 Drop Cardamom

Chai Latte
2 Drops Ginger
3 Drops Cardamom
2 Drops Cinnamon
1 Drop Clove

Calm
2 Drops Cardamom
3 Drops Frankincense
2 Drops Lavender
1 Drop Cinnamon

Sniffles
3 Drops Peppermint
2 Drops Cardamom
2 Drops Lemon

                So that’s what I’m learning about essential oils this week – specifically, cardamom! (Note: In the world of oils, this one is pretty affordable. From Selah oils, the 5 mL bottle is $19.00 and the 15 mL bottle is $32.00.