283. Aromatherapy Unleashed: Exploring the Healing Potential & Chemical Complexity of Essential Oils - Amy Anthony

Kara Goodwin: [00:00:00] Hello, and welcome to the meditation conversation, the podcast to support your spiritual revolution. I'm your host, Cara Goodwin. And today I am so excited to be joined by Amy Anthony. Amy is a certified clinical aromatherapist and aromatic gardener who left her career in marketing research to pursue what's closest to her heart.

Which is working with plants as a certified aroma therapist, aroma therapy, educator, herbalist, gardener, certified master composter and artisanal distiller. Amy is one of New York City's top aromatherapy practitioners. She's also the host of the essential aromatica podcast. She's [00:01:00] one of America's most influential aromatherapists currently the New York state representative for the Alliance of international aromatherapists and has her private practice called NYC aromatica, which includes one on one customized aromatherapy sessions, online class offerings, corporate consulting, and article writing.

I was so happy to dive into this topic of plants, aromatics and essential oils. This is a topic that I always find really fascinating, and I'm not sure how I'm 280 odd episodes in to this podcast. And this is the first time I'm talking about this. What. But I really feel that plans have so much for us on many levels from their sheer beauty, to our ability to connect with them. Energetically. 

 to the oxygen that they generate and their air purification properties. To how they can connect us to the natural world, even when we feel quite removed from it. . 

And Amy gets into [00:02:00] how that has worked in her life. In the many years, she's lived in New York city. There's a ton of practical info in this episode. So let's dive in. But first, a quick shout out to star family wisdom, online mystery school. I'm really excited and honored to be partnering with star family wisdom. 

Check out episode 2 58 with star family wisdoms, founder, Jenna Laden. Where she talks about her remarkable journey and answering the call to use her gifts, to help others awaken. I am personally really getting a lot out of the series on sacred geometry right now. I spent the weekend recently immersed in that material, making many sacred geometry drawings. And it's fascinating to experience the effects in your consciousness. From engaging with the geometries. There are loads of different topics of interest for you to dive into with star family wisdom. 

And if you're looking for resources to become an enlightened conscious, elevated human who bridges [00:03:00] the cosmos and earth. You want to check out the amazing resources from star family wisdom. They even have new merchandise, which is really, really great stuff. Use the links for my show notes. So they know that you heard about them here 

and you can get 30% off the goddess ISIS initiation in Syrian star energy activation seven week course. By using the code meditation. I've been taking this course and it's chock full of really great activating content. So now enjoy this episode

Kara Goodwin: So Amy. Welcome. I'm so happy to have you here today.

Amy Anthony: Hi Kara, I'm really excited to spend time with you. Thanks for having me.

Kara Goodwin: So I, I want to start by learning about your transition from marketing research into aromatherapy.

Amy Anthony: Yeah, it's a fun story that I think when I share it, it really resonates with people because we all go through, different paths in life. I think we're always taught when we're growing [00:04:00] up, you go to school, you get the job and then you have that job forever. Like our grandparents might've had, but the crux of it is, I grew up outside gardening, camping with my parents, my mom, we were outside and it was just a part of life.

Kara Goodwin: Where are you from?

Amy Anthony: So, I was born in Detroit, Michigan, but when I was three years old, we moved to the Hudson Valley of New York.

Kara Goodwin: Okay.

Amy Anthony: And then, this is part of the story too, when I was around 15 we moved to western New York. Imagine, 15 years old, I'm like miserable, like life sucks, why are we moving? And nature and gardening was really foundational and important to me.

Finding a sense of belonging. And when I was like 15, new town, I planned an herb garden. I was furthering my interest in plants. I remember starting a journal of learning Latin names. And that just stayed with me, but. I was [00:05:00] miserable and I needed to get back to the east coast in my teenage mind. So I moved to New York City to finish college.

In moving to New York City, I want the culture. I go to art museums all the time to this day. I need that part of me, but I need plants. So I was ungrounded and I knew it. I lived four stories off the ground. Currently I live two stories off the ground. So that's disorienting. It's frustrating. It makes you feel like you're, you don't have a home in a way because you're ungrounded.

I always tried to keep plants in my life in New York. And I went to college, got the job. I was working a full time research job when I was in college. I was making the three figure salary. And then the whole time I was like, this is really awesome, but I feel empty. And Along the line I got married and I, my, my spouse is incredible and I'm like, I have to quit.

And he's very supportive. He's like, sure, go do your thing. I thought I [00:06:00] would be a professional organizer. And I was like, I don't actually want to do that. And then along this line. 2012, I took my first workshop of aromatherapy. Before that, the oils started to find me, I'm like, who are these? What are these?

I must know more. So, long and short, they helped me connect to nature without me knowing it at the time, these oils. And then around 2015, I was obsessed, I was self studying, I was obsessed with becoming certified. Three blocks down from me opened the New York Institute of Aromatherapy. And I know that the universe is like, wake up, Amy.

So I became certified, didn't know what I was going to do with that. I earned my second certification, and then I was asked to start teaching workshops. I became certified to start teaching the aromatic studies method. And I suddenly had a business. So, like, what? But it [00:07:00] really was the connection to nature.

I know I need the plants. That's it.

Kara Goodwin: That's so interesting because as I have, you know, prepared for this and the New York city connection. With the plants, I was, they didn't seem to really go together in my mind, you know, where it's like city living and of course, like of all the cities, like one of the biggest cities in the whole world.

And then you're like doing plants in New York city. And so it's funny that, that, that it has been. Such a backdrop of like, okay, I can, I need the culture. I need what the city has to offer me and I need nature. And of course, yeah. What a perfect blend, if you will,

Amy Anthony: I love

Kara Goodwin: of the two.

Amy Anthony: Yeah. And I always, I found opportunities to become a member of a community garden, which I stepped away from in 2020. I helped [00:08:00] manage a rooftop farm for the Bowery Mission, which is one of the oldest men's shelters in the United States. And it's just a way of finding things. Finding the plants, yeah, but you're right.

It's like the juxtaposition of what New York and plants and part of the real takeaway for to share with your guests and anyone I speak with is essential oils are incredibly powerful, concentrated substances that can connect us with nature when we cannot be out there in it.

Kara Goodwin: Yeah, that's beautiful. I also love the, like, we have a big parallel in our stories because I come from a corporate background. I did corporate. IT for like 15 years and. Stepped away due to life circumstances, not stepping away to start doing meditation right away, but it was one of those that like, it just came front and center, like absolutely necessary in my personal life.

[00:09:00] And then from that, just kind of developed more and more into sharing it with people. but very similar of You know, I completely sympathize with being part of the machine, you know, the corporate machine and that serving its purpose while it's happening, but also knowing, like, there's something, you know, there that for me personally, it wasn't the right model long term, you know.

Amy Anthony: Yeah. And I, the more we share our stories and talk, we let others know that it's possible because we need that banking system and things. That's part of society. Yeah, we need both. And I love, I just had my yoga practice earlier and I love speaking with my yoga teacher. I've known him for over 10 years.

We always talk about the and.

Kara Goodwin: yeah, right.

Amy Anthony: I

Kara Goodwin: Yeah. Well, you've talked about the importance of connecting with nature and how you use essential oils. To help do that. I'm curious about the aromatic [00:10:00] gardening and the benefits of an aromatic garden versus the oils, because you talked about how it's, the oils are so concentrated and I'm imagining that they're both beneficial, but are there like pluses and minuses for pressing the plant into an oil versus experiencing it in its natural state?

Amy Anthony: like to share because people know lavender. Depending on the season, rainfall, et cetera, location, it takes about 350 pounds of flowering lavender tops Lavandula angustifolia, not lavendin, to get about a pound of essential oil.

Kara Goodwin: Wow, three hundred and fifty pounds to get one pound. Wow.

Amy Anthony: we are working with distilled. We take the plant material and it's put in a traditional still. More modern ways they put it in the still, but steam is injected because it's more efficient to get essential oils that way. [00:11:00] But you take an incredible amount of plant material. to get what the plant produces in tiny amounts.

So if you look at a lavender plant and that's 100% you're looking at, 0. 5% of that or 1% is the essential oil. So the plant is only producing a tiny amount. So when we work with the oils, we work drop by drop. Knowing that that is enough, that's also being respectable to nature. Essential oils and sustainability, you kind of have to wonder what's going on there.

So when we're in the garden, I was just at an event yesterday, interacting with some really cool people. And I, a kid was there and I was chatting with him and he smelled basil. He's like, what? He's oh, we have basil in my garden in Staten Island. He lives, so they have gardens there. So I was like, you know what you can do.

You could just go outside and. Take a basil leaf and touch it and then smell your fingers. So that is aromatherapy too, to go back to answering your question. Go and cook [00:12:00] with the plant. Go outside. If you're curious about basil, invite it to grow with you. How does it, what soil does it like? What kind of sun does it like?

Try to get to know the plant. And part of the aromatic gardening is, I've gardened my whole life. But being a teacher of aromatherapy, if I didn't know what black pepper looks like as a plant, how could I teach about the oil? So it's that. Trying to understand and know to the best of your ability, to be really curious, but yeah, if we can work with the whole plant, that's even better.

Kara Goodwin: Okay, well because one of the fascinating things in my opinion with aromatherapy is the way that every plant has a quality that we as humans or even as you know, animal if we want to work with animals with aromatherapy, but we can Kind of take the approach of, okay, I know that I need calming and [00:13:00] there are certain plants or I'm not sleeping well.

And there were, there are certain plants mentioning lavender, for example, where these, plants offer the assistance, you know, for that type of thing. So I suppose if you have an aromatic garden. And of course, you know, we've got the seasons, you're in New York, I'm in Indiana, we've got seasons to contend with, so it's like this time of year there's abundance with the types of plants that are around, but that's also limited, it's got a window, but, So when you talk about touching a basil plant, do you still get those same kind of properties that you might be looking for from the basil essential oil if you're interacting with the live plant?

Or do, is it better to have that concentrated?

Amy Anthony: I love that question. it, it's nuanced, so it's part of it is the connection and I loved through my, exploration and continued learning of the concept of attunement, [00:14:00] which, you know, it's like in meditation when you are sitting with a plant. Let's say I'm, recently I harvested German chamomile from my garden and I distilled it to obtain the hydrosol.

So that's the water component we get with distillation. When you really pay attention and clear your mind and just notice what's happening in the energy when you're picking the plant or with it or interacting with it, you'll get the messages. Not as abruptly like that with the essential oil. Essential oils impact you on the physiological level within one to three minutes.

Being with the plant takes a little more time if you're drinking the tea, but I remember this year I just still during chamomile every year But this year especially I was really attuned with it and just being really quiet and picking it probably took me two hours of just Pulling each little flower off the plant Energy was so even This is the chamomile.

It doesn't make you go to sleep. This is a Roman, a German chamomile. And then I distilled for three hours. [00:15:00] My dog, who doesn't like to spend a lot of time with me, like constantly, I have a Shiba Inu or we're her caretaker. that's

Kara Goodwin: has us.

Amy Anthony: Yeah. She was asleep in the still room with me for three hours.

That's the calming effect. So this, I hope I'm being clear. Like the essential oilers are like in concentrated form are like, Instant messages. So, being with the plants like a handwritten letter and just kind of paying attention and reading that letter and spending time with it. I'd never used that analogy before, so thank you.

Kara Goodwin: I love that. That's awesome. It's like a handwritten letter. That's beautiful. Well, there's something that we started talking about a little bit before we started recording, and I'm curious about the quality of essential oils and how that makes a difference, because you can go to, you know, a big box store here in America and there are essential oils available there and [00:16:00] they're not expensive.

they might. Come from China. I don't know. but I was mentioning to you that I'm a beekeeper and I know that in the beekeeping world, there is honey that there's like synthetic honey. And you may not know what you're getting when you're on it, when you're looking at it on a grocery shelf, but you may see honey.

That's 2 next to a jar of honey. That's local. That's 10. And so. Your economical mind may be like, well, it's honey and it's honey. So why buy, why pay five times more for the local honey now, but there's synthetic honey and it's not easy to know the difference. But, China, for example, is one place that is.

Doing this synthetic production. Now, when we talk about synthetic, like the chemical makeup is going to be different. And so the molecular structure is going to be different. And, I wonder about this in terms of essential oils too, because the, you can [00:17:00] pay a lot for essential oils, or you can go to a big box store and pay a little bit.

So what do you think about all of that? What can you tell us?

Amy Anthony: Yes, it's a really a hot topic that many people when they learn about the oils are like, what about the brand and the quality? So it's basically the same thing as beekeeping. So, essential oils have been, highly explored by humans since at least the 1800s when chemistry was really coming into its own and people really looking to understand the makeup of things.

So one thing that was coming to mind, I just jotted notes as you were talking. The flavor fragrance, the flavor and fragrance industry is huge. That peppermint in your toothpaste? It started out as peppermint oil. These days it's probably synthetically made menthol. Cause you can make this stuff in a lab, like menthol you'll find, or you'll see linalool is a component that's high in things like coriander, lavender.

And it, it occurs [00:18:00] in like almost every aromatic. We can create that in a lab. And it's hard, like you'll say, it smells right, but the secret like to what you're getting at be like there's artisanal and well-loved plants that are genuine, authentic botanicals, not synthetics in a lab, and that's about aroma aromatherapy.

As a side note, we work with genuine, authentic botanicals obtained through distillation. No synthetics are used and. The poetry is in that, and the care of the plant, and the way the harvesters are treated, and that whole supply chain. And one thing that's magical about this, and you're talking about the art of beekeeping, right, the art of aromatherapy, is when you look at a chemical makeup of, I have cypress here, if I was to analyze this cypress essential oil, I will see in a chemical printout, At different times of the analysis, you'll get peaks.[00:19:00] 

So I might get 60% of, I'm gonna make this up, D limonene, which is like in almost every essential oil. Okay. Okay, and then I get another peak of 20%. But on the low end, at 0. 05, there's a trace chemical. 0. 01, there's another trace chemical. That's the magic. That's the magic you won't find, in, the bad essential oils that when you smell, you're like, it smells flat.

It smells dead. So it's that, the, this I'm quoting here, a aromatherapist, John Steele, like that's the, and his teacher, that's the soul of the plant. That's that magic is in the trace chemicals that come in as these little blips.

Kara Goodwin: And those might vary from one batch of cypress to another batch of cypress, perhaps?

Amy Anthony: Yeah. Good point. Because the plant is alive. It is always producing. chemistry. It's all the time in response to its [00:20:00] environment. Oh, it didn't rain today, got too much rain, got bit by an insect. you know, so there's always this magical interaction of the plant with its universe and that will come through in the oil.

Kara Goodwin: Yeah, that's so fascinating. I mean, it's kind of like, um, You know, the network of trees that we're learning more and more about and how they are talking to each other through the roots and how like you can do. So they've done experiments where they do something to a tree on one end of a forest and then they check a tree on the other end of the forest who has not been, you know, nothing's been done to it.

And it's. It is displaying the same signals of response that the other plant that had the action done to it. So when you talk about like, maybe it was bitten by an insect or whatever, like all of these different, we're capturing these different, elements of nature that are [00:21:00] happening to that individual plant.

And then we have the energetic component of it as well. That is. I'm guessing a lot more difficult to measure, but you know, if we think about things as consciousness and living sentient life as containing consciousness and the interaction of that, like you, you talk about that you're not only receiving the oil and the scent, you know, that's it's really going beyond the.

The senses, the physical senses, but you're getting the, you know, you're supporting the harvesters and the supply chain and so forth and that whole natural process, and then there's also that underlying energetic component. Whereas if something has just come from a lab and it's we're just going to make it smell like this, or we're going to make it taste like this.

Amy Anthony: But then what is the difference in the energy? If it's just been the [00:22:00] synthesized man made, Reproduced thing versus something that's really come and grown from the soil. And because when you talk about that trace chemical, was it that you said the Trace chemicals.

Kara Goodwin: trace chemicals that to me also, I wonder about the soil, you know, like what has come from the soil.

Soil from where it's been birthed. And you mentioned like rainfall and sunlight levels and so forth that are just these like unique components that go into the Stew , you know?

Amy Anthony: Yeah. Yeah, I was right. As you were saying this, I was right. I wrote down lived experience and it is the lived experience of the plant through chemistry. Because what we're working with is chemistry and these are working with us on a chemical level. So it's, it's really important and it's so sensual in that sense and it's so deep in us because the chemical senses, [00:23:00] it's our neurotransmitters.

Our endocrine system, our sense of smell is chemistry based, so it's this really environmental thing that's happening. So when we smell an oil, it's, I say this, it's a bit overstated, but it's becoming us. It's influencing us, because it's chemistry that's working. When I inhale this, a lot's happening, but I'm also inhaling the molecules that are going into my bloodstream, and they're attaching to receptors throughout my body.

Kara Goodwin: Yeah.

Amy Anthony: it's really, it's so deep, it's really frustrating too because so many folks, and this is where we are in this level of, what is aromatherapy in the United States. There's this level of, aromatherapy is just about smell. It's like, no, because it's a chemo sense, we don't think about it. It's not like sight or sound, you know, it's this lived thing that's sneaky.

Kara Goodwin: I love that. Yeah. Yeah. It's really not as [00:24:00] obvious as, and it's so connected to taste, you know, different people might. Smell different things or taste a different way. whereas, you know, kind of sight and sound, we trust that we're seeing the same thing. Although I do wonder, I've often wondered since I was little, do we see the same colors?

The same way, like, does blue look to you the way blue looks to me or is it completely different? But we've just lived our whole lives going, that's blue. And then we, you know, it's like, that's my frame of reference. I can't say for sure what it looks like to you.

Amy Anthony: no, yeah, you're right, yeah, it's, you're, you saying that just makes me think it's always good to be curious and try to be open to other people's, experiences and opinions versus like, I'm right, you know,

Kara Goodwin: Yeah. Well, like the cilantro, the famous cilantro, like for some people it tastes like soap. And for me, I love cilantro so much. I'm like, how could it taste like soap? It tastes nothing like soap, you know, but it's like [00:25:00] for some people that they cannot understand how people would want to eat that.

But it's no, it doesn't taste anything like that. Yeah.

Amy Anthony: it's on that physiological level, those, the receptor sites are different. So, you know, with COVID, unfortunately, we got to really highlight how the sense of smell is really important, not just for enjoying life, but how it's an indicator of things because it is. chemistry based. So when people lost their sense of smell, it became this like awakening, if you will.

And then noticing how people have different receptors, thanks to, it might be genetics or whatever, that allow you to smell cilantro differently and taste it differently.

Kara Goodwin: know, that's a great. That's a great thought provoking question in terms of if you do lose your sense of smell, if you still benefit from aromatherapy, like even though you can't smell it, you're still, I guess, receiving those, you know, the neurotransmitter [00:26:00] actions still taking place, I suppose.

Amy Anthony: yeah, it is, to the best of my knowledge, it is true and, you could lose your sense of smell. So that's the reception in a specific part of your olfactory bulbs, olfactor, olfactions system, I'll call it. But you have receptor sites throughout your body, on your skin, on organs. And you, I can't guarantee it, but lavender, if it's agreeable to your physiology, lavender might induce a state of calm through, let's say you massage the oil, or you do some breathing where you really mindfully breathe in the vapor.

Kara Goodwin: Mm. Yeah.

Amy Anthony: it's, it is. It's possible and aromatherapy has really physical benefits. I focus professionally on emotional behavior, stuff like that, but I could still make you a pain salve, or something for arthritis. Yesterday I just pinched myself and got a blood blister. I put helichrysum and lavender on it and a [00:27:00] bandaid to help.

So there's actual real physical things to help with wound healing, antimicrobial properties. You know, I could, you can make your own mouthwash, et cetera. So again, it's the world of and essential oils. A lot of people call them the, like immunity of the plant, cause they are incredibly antimicrobial. And they promote, like tissue regeneration.

Kara Goodwin: Oh wow.

Amy Anthony: Yeah. There's a real, yeah, there's the, it's a fascinating world and you can go into, there's now more study of quote, aromatic medicine about like internal use properly with

Kara Goodwin: Mm, mm-hmm.

Amy Anthony: then there's the more emotional. way. And essential oils are these mind body connectors in just the way I'm describing.

You could smell an oil, work with them through meditation, work with them to smell and get into your body and notice where the oil's taking you because oils, plants have signatures and affinities for different parts of us. And then [00:28:00] honestly, I'm right. I'm so excited. I'm sharing so much. I'm like, I won't stop talking, but then there's this really physical part.

Like I said, aches, pains, cramps, hormone balancing even.

Kara Goodwin: Hmm.

Amy Anthony: Rage, like it just, it goes on.

Kara Goodwin: it's so fascinating. Well, going back to the quality thing, do you have resources for people where if they're like, yeah, okay, I wanna be sure that if I'm gonna bother with essential oils and I'm gonna. you know, dive into this world and use them. I want them to be the real deal. how can people be sure that they're getting something real?

Amy Anthony: Yeah. So as a practice, I don't, advocate certain brands or anything like that. I often, I do challenge people to be curious, go to Walmart and buy a bottle of peppermint, and then if you're really curious and you want to really get into this. You could start nosing around on the internet and see what aromatherapists are [00:29:00] talking about and any brands they're talking about or names I don't like the word brand any names and Buy another peppermint oil like from one of those brands and I'll just give a shout out to like Prana, Rome is a lovely one, that is in France and the USA.

And there's other, there's folks that go to doTERRA and places like Young Living. Smell the oil. Just make the investment and buy what I will call a soulless oil from Walmart. Flavor fragrance industry, think industry, and then something that might be able to be traced to its origin. You want to go to places that will share batch numbers with you, tell you where the oil's from, what geography is it from, and then smell them, because that's the real test, is to sit there and take that chemical information in and see what happens. And that's the real true way, because if you're drawn to aromatherapy, I have learned Once you [00:30:00] put your foot in, you don't turn back. It's like meditation. I've heard the phrase like once you start, you can't stop. Like you already accepted the path, right? And you try to fight it. So your curiosity will lead you to places. because I could talk brands and it doesn't matter. but I did share one, and also I have to give a shout out because I'm a firm believer in ethics and standards. So I am a member of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy. That's what they help set educational standards.

I'm also a member of the Alliance of International Aromatherapists, current New York state rep. They also set educational standards. They have websites. Go and look at the websites to get more information. I have a website. I have stuff on my website. So there's places for information for you to make decisions.

Kara Goodwin: I love that. Well, what about the education piece? So how can people [00:31:00] learn about all of the different, opportunities that are available to them through essential oils and aromatherapy?

Amy Anthony: Yeah, it's a big world. so. There's many schools out there. There are a lot of authorities out there. Again, you'll see, if you start to follow this stuff, the internet's good for that reason and social media. like on my podcast, I have Hannah Tisserand on as a guest. Guess what? She is part of the Tisserand Institute.

Robert Tisserand is one of the leaders of aromatherapy for years. Since the seventies, I have Gabriel Mojay on as a guest on my website, foundational person wrote a seminal book in the 1990s. Another one of my guests is Amy Galper, my teacher. She has a school, online school. I personally offer one on one educational sessions, like I tailor it to you doing virtual, and in person if you're in New York City.

I have to give a shout out to my other teacher, Jade Schutz. One of the people [00:32:00] that helped start aromatherapy in this country as we know it. so, look at those names and you'll, it's a good foundation. Yeah. And you find the style you like of the teacher. so, but yeah, I just gave some really good names like, Tisserand Institute is known worldwide.

Kara Goodwin: Gabriel Mojet, known worldwide. So I guess Jade

Amy Anthony: I'd say Jade is a well known name, worldwide.

Kara Goodwin: So I suppose those would be more if like people want to explore becoming a practitioner, but if it was more like a quick hit of just, Hey, I've got a couple of things that in my own life and the life of my family that I want to target, you know, essential oils, maybe it's.

A better approach to have kind of a consultation where you can get that sort of direct, oh, here, just for you. If you're not one, if you're not necessarily wanting to learn everything about, aroma therapy in a broader sense.[00:33:00] 

Amy Anthony: yeah, of course I'm an advocate for that because that's what I do. So if you find that you don't want to have 300 essential oils, like I do, and you don't want to learn how to blend and you would turn to someone like me, have a session, It could be educational. It could be making you something. It could be hybrid.

But yeah, not everyone wants to be an aromatherapist.

Kara Goodwin: Yeah. But there are some good ones around who can help to bridge that gap. Like when we don't know what we don't know, but we don't need to know everything. Mm

Amy Anthony: exactly. So that's, I, it's, I'm glad you brought this up because I see myself as that stepping stone of, you don't want certification, but guess what? I have a website. Lots of resources on there. Check it out. You want to learn how to make a salve? I have a class for that, you know. You want a one on one for an hour?

I'm happy to help tailor, and guide you.

Kara Goodwin: Really valuable. Yeah.

Amy Anthony: It's crazy. It's, this, it's a big world that's, I [00:34:00] think, untapped and just growing when you look at aromatherapy. So there's a lot of possibilities.

Kara Goodwin: Yeah. What about, like safety and practicality in terms of aromatherapy?

Amy Anthony: Really big question. and to summarize, I want to share how I've really honed in on my practice over the past two years, I'd say really going towards smell based aromatherapy only, meaning not topical, unless it's called for, and internal use is not regulated. it's frowned upon. You need to have training for that because this, Some chemical components could be really dangerous to the body if taken every day, you know, it's like, no, less is more when we go back to the start of our conversation, talking about that concentrated nature of oils, we only need one drop, like one drop of lavender on your pillow, or a cotton pad to help you go to sleep.[00:35:00] 

That's all you need. So olfaction smelling only Hey, Is very powerful. One of the safest ways to work with essential oils and get them in your life. If you want to diffuse essential oils, there's guidelines for that. You could go to these places. I mentioned the names earlier, including me. I have a class I used to teach in person, how to diffuse essential oils.

but olfaction only topical can be really beneficial. Maybe you want to make a self massage oil or a couple's massage oil. I make my own face oils all the time. You need to learn dilution. So, folks, please look up dilution rates there. You could find them online. You're taking, like, the plant makes 1% oil in its overall chemical makeup of its physical body.

1%, that's what you're using when you make a massage oil, 1 or 2%. So dilution's really important when you go topically because it could benefit us, but if you work with one oil too [00:36:00] much, you can develop a sensitivity. And maybe not be able to use that oil ever again because your body's just like, I can't take it anymore.

I don't know what to do with this. And also, yeah, you'll see it. I'm gonna get on a soapbox and I'm not saying this to be disrespectful, but there's some people that practice selling oils. And saying, keep taking this daily. Oh, you broke out in a rash, that's the toxins coming out of your body. No, that's your body saying stop putting this chemical information in me.

I don't know what to do with this anymore.

Kara Goodwin: Oh, wow. Interesting.

Amy Anthony: Yeah, there's some interesting stuff out there. But again, aromatherapy with essential oils, less is more. Much more.

Kara Goodwin: Okay.

Amy Anthony: yeah, neat application, for those folks that might not know what that is, I'm going to just demonstrate. I have lavender here in my hand.

For something really special, you could take a drop of essential oil on your palm called neat [00:37:00] application, rub your palms together, and let's say you're going to meditate after this. And you smell with your hands cupped over your nose. You breathe 30 minutes, a minute, and then you have the oils. That's A lot of plant material on my palms.

I don't want to do that every day. I want to do that with a exception, with ritual, with really big intention, knowing that was just a lot of plant material I just put on my hands.

Kara Goodwin: Oh, wow.

Amy Anthony: Ooh, that's lavender and woo.

Kara Goodwin: Oh, okay. That's great. That's great info. I guess I hadn't really considered kind of less is more. And, that's great. Great advice. So you've talked a little bit about some of the ways that people can educate themselves with you. How can people connect with you? And can you talk about your website, your podcast, and all the ways that people [00:38:00] can learn from you?

Amy Anthony: Of course, I'd love to. I just did want to backtrack to the less is more thing. One other takeaway is more, might be incredibly irritating and aggravating to your nervous system. You might start to feel a headache, nauseous. When I work with oils a lot, like yesterday, I did mini consultations for three hours.

I start to get really hungry, really thirsty. You need air circulation. this is so concentrated. I could be in my office here working and blending for a client. I have the door open and a fan on. I know I'll need to step away out of the room because I start to feel loopy.

Kara Goodwin: Oh.

Amy Anthony: So less is more, literally.

You could start to have, if people say lavender is great for people, really relaxing. If your neurochemistry is different, let's say you're someone, on the autistic spectrum, lavender might be actually really irritating for you. And too much lavender might be super irritating.

Kara Goodwin: Hmm.[00:39:00] 

Amy Anthony: So less

Kara Goodwin: Yeah. That's fascinating.

Amy Anthony: yeah.

but. I love what I do. I love sharing. So thanks for asking me to share. you could check out my website, nycaromatica. com. You'll see my menu of offerings. I have plant talk videos with me. We have a house out on Long Island. So I'm so grateful to live between, I call it the qualitative and quantitative worlds of the city and the

Kara Goodwin: I love that. Yeah.

Amy Anthony: So I'll be out with a plant like next to lavender and talking about lavender, how to harvest it and the oil. And you'll see. It's you'll see the plant and we'll talk about stuff. I have articles about plants I have online classes that are frees and pay what you wish classes Instagram find me at NYC aromatica.

It's always plant based stuff plants and I, love sharing my podcasts, it's [00:40:00] quite niche, I think, but if you want to geek out and hear from experts like some I mentioned, Essential Aromatica, I, this year I'm doing something really special that I'm really, it's my baby, that I thought would be a book, and it's called Luna Aroma, and it is, a reflection on lunar themes that I pair with an essential oil and plant,

Kara Goodwin: Ooh.

Amy Anthony: to the lunar, seasonal lunar themes.

And then I take you on a guided aromatic encounter, as I call it, and I'm dropping that every new moon this year. And it really, I really thought it was going to be a book and part of this, I have to share this with you because I'm giving everyone permission. I wanted to live by the moon for a long time and I read books and I did this and I was like, Amy.

Stop reading other people's material and shut up and start looking out your window. You know, it's January, it's February, you're in Indiana, I'm in New York. Look [00:41:00] out your window and stop looking to other people for permission or information. Live the experience and see what's happening. And out of that came Luna Aroma. So it's like direct experience, right? With meditation, with learning the oils, with gardening, it's direct experience. So I'm a... I'm so just joyful to put that into the world as my baby.

Kara Goodwin: I love that. You know, there's so much to be said. And what I love is this blend that blend is coming up a lot, which I guess is not a surprise, but, this blend that you have of Oh, he I've I'm following in the foot paths. here are the people who have guided me and that I've Learned so much from, you know, I've had teachers, I've had great teachers.

There are people who have carved the way for me and I have this is what I'm learning that I just know because it's happened to me and, I think that's so important because we can, there's both happening to the extreme that are watchouts where it's [00:42:00] I'm not so impressed, you know, but when somebody just tells me about the 95 different certifications they have, or the teachers and this teacher and this master and this bull, you know, and it's but what.

Like, what have you experienced? stop quoting everybody to me, you know, like I don't need you to regurgitate what you've learned in the years that, you know, you've followed all these different people. Not that it's not valuable, but. Surely you've got stuff that you've learned, but then there are a lot of charlatans out there who are just kind of making things up and they've got this charm about them.

And then it's like, okay, but you don't have any sort of like, you don't have any certifications or any like credence for it. It's you're just saying whatever comes to the top of your head and. You know, you juxtapose that with channeling and so forth, where it's like, you can't discount any of it just off the cuff.

Like, Oh, you've got to have all these certifications [00:43:00] before I'm going to listen to you. Or it's only valid if it's organically coming from within or whatever, you know, it's it's all, it's both right. It's both, but both are important.

Amy Anthony: Yeah, I thanks for saying that because it's something I think of it is being curious, like before, don't be afraid to go and buy what I would say is a crappy essential oil with no soul, buy it, buy a trio of go find Three different lavenders or three different frankincense and sit there and give yourself permission to smell and spend time with them And listen to you and your body and your reactions and all you do is write it down You know, just take notes about what's happening and your impressions and that's learning

Kara Goodwin: Yeah.

Amy Anthony: Yeah, I love how you said that because there's certain people in my life.

It's like oh, yeah great you have Like three doctorates and this, like, okay, so where's your real experience [00:44:00] and vice versa.

Kara Goodwin: Yeah. Absolutely. And we can, I feel that humanity tends to, you know, we tip in the direction of Oh, you've got to have one or the other. We may, but to completely discount the other, the lived experience or to completely discount like, well, they are studied, you know, they've learned a lot from people who've come before them.

So it's great to have that balance. well, Amy, I have just had a blast. This has been so informative and,I, on so many levels, I'm, I really appreciate you sharing your expertise with the plants and, and all the knowledge, but also just your energy and your, devotion and your enthusiasm for the plants.

I really appreciate it.

Amy Anthony: Thank you, Cara. This has been a really wonderful conversation. I really had fun spending time with you. Thank you.

Kara Goodwin: Thanks so much. 

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