Combine Essential Oils and Acupuncture: A Win-Win!

By Caryn Gehlmann

We’re so fortunate to work in partnership with a variety of wellness practitioners who use e3’s essential oils and blends. Essential oils and acupuncture are a great combination because acupuncture clients are looking for natural ways to care for their health and wellness. This month I had the pleasure of interviewing two licensed acupuncturists, Jennifer Parks, L.Ac. and Danube Jacobs, L.Ac., who both have an extensive background in acupuncture and essential oils. They share some of their favorite aromatherapy tips with us below.

Tell us about your background and your practice.

Jennifer: I am the owner/CEO of Jade Star Acupuncture & Wellness in Tucson Arizona. I am also a licensed acupuncturist. Jade Star opened in 2011 and has been rapidly growing ever since. Jade Star currently has 6 acupuncturists and 4 medical massage therapists. We plan to open a second location in 2020 and then 8 more clinics over the next decade. We believe patient care is our priority and are grateful to practice such a beautiful medicine. Teaching our patients how to do self-care is one of our most important aspects of care. Having a tool like essential oils is very powerful!

When and how were you initially introduced to essential oils?

Jennifer: A colleague introduced me to e3 several years ago. I had been using essential oils for many years prior and was happy to find e3 has such high quality for a reasonable price.

Which essential oils (or blends) have you found most helpful in your practice?

Jennifer: We sell e3 essential oils and blends to our clients and some of the most popular choices recently have been: Cold & Sinus, Muscle Soothe, Stress Relief, Tea Tree, Migraine Blend, and Lemon.

Danube: Here are some of my most frequent essential oils recommendations I give my acupuncture clients:

• I often recommend Breathe Easy and Cold + Sinus in a diffuser when a patient is either on the verge or in the thick of a cold. I think this is great for kids and pregnant women who do not want to take herbs. Also, for colds, Frankincense rolled on the bottom of the feet.
• I recommend Lavender and Sleeptime Blend for insomnia in a diffuser or in a spray bottle to spray on pillow and/or jammies or roll on the bottom of their feet.
• If I feel a patient needs some grounding, I suggest Sandalwood, Patchouli, or Meditate Blend.
• If a patient is suffering from depression or fatigue, I recommend any of the single citrus oils, like Grapefruit, Orange or recently Lime Expressed! I just used the latest on a patient during treatment for their phlegm, chest congestion, and sadness, and bought some for myself because I love it too!
• Patients have bought Endocrine Blend and Adrenal Support to put in diffusers and roll-ons who have issues with adrenals and endocrine to support other treatment they are doing.
• One blend that patients love is Skincare Blend. Even if they don’t use it for skincare, most people get it just because they love the smell.

As licensed acupuncturists, what do you recommend to your clients about using essential oils in their daily lives?

Jennifer: The olfactory system is one of the newer sciences, but it has been proven how much scents affect our emotions. For instance, Orange scent is filtered into many casinos, because it makes you want to spend money. Essential oils can be another tool that you have in your tool-bag to help yourself when needed. A little Mood Rescue on tough days, or some Stress Blend during the holidays or big events, and maybe the Migraine Blend roll-on for your purse in case a migraine comes on, and you can instantly help yourself. Empowering patients to fill their own tool-bags is true healing.

Danube: Mostly I recommend essential oils for purchase for patients to use at home, but I also use the testers in sessions to enhance the treatments and for them to get to sample them before buying. I have one patient who always requests an eye pillow with an essential oil of the day (which I usually drop on a tissue and place on top of the pillow) during her sessions. I also find the e3 reference book to be informative and very user-friendly.

Any suggestions for wellness practitioners in the use of essential oils in their practice?

Jennifer: We often put an essential oil on sale during the appropriate month, like during cold season we offer the Cold & Sinus for $5 off. They are also a great item to offer patients when they aren’t ready for or can’t be prescribed herbal formulas internally.

What safety recommendations do you give clients regarding essential oils?

Jennifer: At Jade Star Acupuncture & Wellness we never advocate our patients to ingest essential oils. Our bodies are chemical labs and adding essentials can cause damage. Please, it is not safe to give a child 3 lemon drops in their water, that is the equivalent of 50 lemons – you would never eat 50 lemons! Just use a real lemon! There is a giant difference between using essentials for the olfactory system or ingestion. Stay safe, smell or wear your essential oils!

Thanks, Jennifer and Danube for great advice on essential oils and acupuncture! Did you get a new essential oil tip you can use? You may want to discuss how to integrate aromatherapy with your acupuncturist doing your next visit! Or if you are an acupuncturist, or another kind of wellness practitioner, we’re happy to assist you in providing essential oils and safe recommendations for their use to your clients. Please contact us with any questions.