The Fragrant Pharmacy by Valerie Ann Worwood is my essential oil bible.  I've given her blends for hay fever to clients, which have had amazing results including a train driver who used to suffer terribly when at work.  He was so amazed how effective it was that these oils are now an essential part of his wellness kit!  All it takes is just 4 oils plus some carrier oil.

Here are the blends (taken directly from the book):

put 1 drop each of chamomile and lemon essential oils on to a tissue and inhale.   

Add the following combinations to baths:
chamomile 2 drops, lemon 2 drops, lavender 1 drop

Massage the neck, chest and back with:
chamomile 2 drops) diluted in 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
geranium   1 drop  )
lemon        1 drop  )

A word about essential oils, quality varies so choose a top-quality brand.  My particular favourite is Neal's Yard but Absolute Aromas are also very good too.

Over the next few posts, I'll be offering some different and effective ways of helping relieve the symptoms of hay fever and today we're focussing on:

Here is a simple, gentle but powerful routine that not only provides you with on-the-spot relief, but with regular daily use, you may well find that your condition  improves.  It takes just 4 minutes and only involves 7 points.  

We'll start with the point locations (in the absence of a decent model, I've taken a selfie and marked the points):  

Large Intestine 20: place your fingers at the base of your nostrils, slide your fingers laterally just a tiny bit (c. ½cm max). An indicator that you've found the points is that they might feel a little bit sore or like a dull ache.

Bi Tong:  At the top of your nostril grooves, again slide your fingers out laterally just a very short way, level with the LI20 point.

Stomach 2:  You might need to look in the mirror for this one.  Looking straight ahead, in line with the centre of your eye, the points are on the border of your eye socket (where the bony bit meets the flesh).

Yin Tang: On the same level and slap bang between your eyebrows.

I would recommend you find a comfortable place to sit.  You might like to sit at a table where you can rest your elbows.  

You will be massaging/stimulating each pair of points together (exception being Yin Tang as a sole point) and I recommend the following order:  LI20, BT, St2, YT.

For each point:

Start by taking an in-breath with your fingers gently resting on the points.  On the out-breath gently massage the points with tiny circles. Relax the fingers as you breathe in but maintain contact with your skin and then massage again on the out-breath. Continue to massage the points for c. 30 seconds up to a minute then move to the next point.

And that's it!  Would love to hear how you've got on, and here's hoping you can enjoy this season outside and not have to shut yourself away with boxes of tissues.

We'll look at the power of essential oils in my next post. 

Have you got to Tuesday and are already wondering how you're going to keep all your balls in the air to achieve everything you've set out to do this week?  Then here's a tip.  Drop one.

In your energy field, you have a very powerful 'ball' or centre called your Tan Tien. Located c. 1.5" below your navel, It's the centre where all martial arts practitioners draw their power from when they initiate a move.  Now even if you're not necessarily going to try and chop your way through a pile of bricks, consciously connecting with this centre can help you in many ways:

• It aligns you with the earth's magnetic field thereby grounding you
  
• your energy field is strengthened and it helps raise your vitality
  
• It helps calm you mind
• your concentration, focus and attention is improved
  
• You will make better decisions and your motivation is stronger
  

Sounds good? And how do you connect with this centre?  Easy.  

Place your hands on your lower abdomen, just below your navel.  Visualise or imagine a golden ball c. 1.5" diameter in the centre of your body where your hands are placed.  Take a few  deep breaths in and out and feel yourself engaging with this ball.  Then, on an out-breath, feel this ball drop down into the earth.  As you breath in, feel the earth's energy drawing up into your body.  On each out-breath, continue to drop the ball deeper and deeper into the earth until you feel it has reached the earth's core.  On each in-breath, continue to feel the earth's energy coming up into your body and resonating with your Tan Tien.  When this feels full and stabilised, breathe the energy up into your heart, then into the whole of your body.  Enjoy.

Sensations you may experience include your legs or other body parts tingling and you may get pretty warm too!  You may also find your body relaxing more, your mind calms down and hey presto, varnishing the tortoise doesn't feel like a burning priority.

With regular practise of this stabilising exercise, you will soon find that you are able to engage with your Tan Tien in a nano-second whenever you need to.  Just before giving important presentation, perhaps, helping you through a crisis or having just watched the cat vomit all over your new carpet.

A valuable exercise to have in your energy tool kit, you can learn more about this and other ways to clear your energy field and ground yourself on my one-day workshop, taking place on Wednesday 18th September as part of a self-development series. There's just one space left on the 18th so follow this link if you wish to book:  http://www.intuitivetouch.co.uk/workshops.html