Our family has been using essential oils now for a few months with great results. I’ve loved that I can quickly take care of many common ailments for my kids, and I’ve been able to help friends as well! Between the homeopathy class I took in the past, and my Family Physician Kit I now have at home, I feel ready for the common issues that face our family. Now with Ramadan underway, the oils are even more handy! Here are some that are wonderful for these long fasting days.
Headaches
Past Tense is a proprietary oil blend by DoTerra to aid with headaches and muscle tension. I have a number of friends that swear by it for migraines. If you roll it on at the first sign, many times the headache won’t take hold. I hear so many people complain of headaches by the end of the long fasting days from the lack of water, and oftentimes the lack of caffeine. Instead of laying around the last couple hours of the day, kick that headache to the curb with Past Tense, in sha Allah. Just a note, if you are pregnant, Past Tense is not recommended because of the wintergreen oil it contains. If you are pregnant and suffering from headaches, you can also try lavender and peppermint layered over each other.
Moodiness
Fasting can make us crabby! I wish it didn’t, but my patience is always shorter when I’m fasting. DoTerra has a line of mood management blends – my favorite use of my oils! Balance and Serenity are oil blends that bring calm to chaos, and I love to have a roller bottle of some diluted Balance in my purse at all times. When one of the kids is having a melt down, putting some Balance on my pulse points (wrists, neck) helps me take a much needed deep breath and move forward. I’ve found Serenity works best for Aamina when she’s having a hard day, too. Sometimes I’ll put two drops in her bath to help her get ready for bed.
Feeling down? Citris Bliss smells yummy and even curbed my coffee cravings for a while (until I went back to my old habits of coffee instead of oils. Habits die hard. Ha!). Elevation works similar magic. It’s just about your personal preference. Putting any of these in a diffuser (check the device instructions to check it is safe to put citrus in diffuser, as not all diffusers can handle citrus oils.) can bring benefits to the whole family, too!
Lack of focus
I’ve tried a mental clarity blend by another organic essential oil company, and I have to say the InTune blend from DoTerra definitely feels more effective, plus it has a more mild smell. Can you tell I really enjoy their blends? Ha! Honestly though, I use InTune each time I sit down to write, and I get much more done than if I skip the oil, with less tangents and self-caused distractions. Rosemary is also good for memory recall, so if you have to study for a test during these long fasting days, diffuse some Rosemary, or put it on your pulse points while you’re studying, and again when you are testing!
Hunger pains
Hunger is part of Ramadan, and the years I haven’t been able to fast, I notice a large negative difference in my spiritual growth versus the years I have been able to fast. The hunger and thirst remind us that our bodies are weak, and to feed our bodies, whether with food or other fickle desires, can distract us from our greater purpose. Still, Muslims in our area are fasting from 3:30am to 9:00pm. It’s a long day. Same with trying to lessen the negative effect of a headache, if you can lessen the hunger pains just a bit, in sha Allah you can focus on reading Qur’an, studying, praying, etc. Slim and Sassy is a diet blend aimed at curbing hunger throughout the day. Grapefruit oil has very similar benefits of curbing your appetite, as well as being a great addition to unscented facial lotion!
Jazak Allah Khair for your advice, my wife and I came across your website after using the past tense roller and wondering if it was usable during Ramadan! We will keep your list in mind in the coming month. We also enjoyed reading your coming to Islam story.
Wishing you and your family Ramadan Kareem.
Kevin & Maha
I was do happy to have discovered essential oils, especially slim and sassy, because after menopause, I was not able to fast. I was exhausted! But, I was told by an Imam that it is not permissible to use oils to curb hunger while fasting. Have you heard anything like this?
I haven’t heard that at all. As long as it doesn’t provide nutrition or pass through your esophagus, I haven’t heard there is any issue. It would be another thing if you ingested it, but as a general rule of thumb, ingesting oils is not healthy.
Durning the day of Ramadan can we use them on the body like roll ons for pain. I have only been diffusing because i can’t find only thing.
Check with your trusted imam, but from the classes I’ve taken, essential oils do not break the fast because they do not enter the body. It’s similar to scented lotion. Allahu alim.