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September is felt as the month of transition and ‘newness’. The energy of summer starts to shift gears as days become shorter, and nature prepares for harvest. This is a season where life reminds us of our ability to adapt - that nature doesn’t stand still, but change is ongoing. Leaves will soon begin to change, seeds have become fruit, and everything continues its cycle of growth, release and renewal.
In truth, we cannot ever be stagnant - yet we humans often experience times in our lives where we feel stuck. Whether in our careers, our relationships, our health or our personal growth, we may sometimes know we want something to change, yet don’t know where to begin. Sometimes we become overwhelmed by choice, other times we are exhausted, maybe we are paralysed by fear of the wrong decision, or we may simply be disconnected from an inner spark.
Whatever it is that has us feeling stuck, I’ll never forget the words of a famous holistic healer who once said, “health is the ability to adapt to change.” Which means, it has never been more important to be able to ‘unstick’ ourselves and expand, honestly, into the transitions we find ourselves in. If we don’t move with life, we begin to experience stagnation - and our energy gets stuck.
The good news is essential oils - nature’s medicine - can really help us to begin to trigger our ability to respond to change and expand into the changes we are being called to. They can’t make decisions for us, but they can support the mental-emotional and spiritual qualities that help us move forwards. They invite us to pause, breathe, reconnect and create momentum.
What creates stagnation?
When we feel stuck, often the first instinct is to try and push ourselves harder. We can assume that we need a better plan, more motivation or to just discipline ourselves. However, stagnation is rarely caused by laziness. I’ve seen the most motivated people end up feeling stuck.
Instead, stagnation can arise from overwhelm, following periods of stress, when our nervous systems have been running on overload. It can follow grief or loss, burnout or emotional exhaustion. Sometimes it is caused by perfectionism or waiting to get things ‘right’ before acting.
Underneath all of that, though, is the usual culprit: often, when feeling stagnant, we have forgotten to trust life, and lost connection with things that make us feel alive. Essentially, we have allowed our days to become filled with responsibility, routine and obligation - leaving little room for creativity, curiosity, play and rest.
Expansion begins with aliveness
Instead of asking ourselves, “what’s wrong with me”, I’d like to invite you to ask a kinder question: “where am I no longer feeling alive?” Usually, we are not lacking answers - we just want to re-find some joy.
Over the years, I have learned the big lesson that joy isn’t always the ‘reward’ we can allow ourselves once we have completed our responsibilities. Instead, joy is actually the very thing that helps us to begin.
How many times have you told yourself you will feel better once you’ve made a decision, finished the project, changed jobs or reached your goal? We think that we need to ‘do’ first and then rest. Yet if we approach it the other way round, often our sense of stagnancy has gone.
This is how our life-force energy returns. By engaging with the things that make us feel alive. A walk in nature. Listening to music. Gardening. Painting. Dancing in the kitchen. Cooking something nourishing. Laughing with a friend. Anything that expands our souls with joy helps us remember that life is still moving.
Expansion isn’t about ‘doing more’, it’s about reminding ourselves that we are alive. Instead of thinking through our stuckness, from a more embodied place, this is often where the aligned decision will reveal itself.
Why aromatherapy can support expansion
Our sense of smell has a unique connection to the parts of the brain that are involved in emotion, memory and behaviour - which is why certain aromas can transport us to another place or evoke a particular feeling.
This means that essential oils can become powerful allies in ‘unsticking’ our lives. Helping us create intentional pauses to reconnect, rather than rushing from one thing to the next, or overthinking, scent can help us begin to feel less stagnant. Especially when combined with rituals – especially ones that can help us seek clarity, courage, joy and grounding.
Essential oils for expansion
Clarity Oils
We often spend our whole lives seeking clarity, believing we need certainty before taking action, yet usually clarity comes through movement. However, essential oils like Lemon, Rosemary and Frankincense can really support us with getting clarity over our next direction.
I invite you to diffuse the following clarity blend - perhaps whilst having a little dance, to create movement and re-ignite a sense of aliveness - to help you feel a more expansive energy.
Mix 3 drops Lemon, 2 drops Rosemary, and 1 drop Frankincense into water in an electrical diffuser or candle burner and allow your body to move in any way it likes.
Ask yourself: what is in my heart, that I’d like to choose?
Notice what shows up, as you engage with this practice, paying particular attention to your body’s sensations. They are your compass.
Courage Oils
Expansion demands of us that we must step beyond what’s known - and that takes immense courage. Often, we can get stuck here in the space between having clarity and taking action - in the fear. It’s helpful to know that when we begin something new, courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s choosing to move anyway.
Oils like uplifting Bergamot, stimulating and motivating Ginger and confidence-boosting Black Pepper can help create some movement through fear.
Blend 3 drops Bergamot, 2 drops Ginger and 1 drop Black Pepper into 15ml Grapeseed oil and use it as a massage blend. Rub it into your body - wherever you feel called - applying in the direction towards the heart and take strength from the warmth.
Ask yourself: if I trusted myself more, what would I do next?
As a bonus invitation, take one action you’ve been putting off.
Joy Oils
The way out of stagnation is often not being more productive, it’s connecting back to joy, life-force and aliveness.
Oils like uplifting Grapefruit, playful Sweet Orange and zingy Peppermint cultivate a fun, renewed energy.
Choose one of your favourite activities - perhaps reading in the sunshine, enjoying music whilst cooking dinner, or sitting in a cafe - and take a sniffy stick with these oils in, with you, to cultivate a sense of joy.
Pop 1 drop each of Grapefruit, Sweet Orange and Peppermint onto a cotton pad, roll it up into an aromatherapy inhaler and sniff it as you enjoy your favourite thing to do.
Ask yourself: what helps me feel most alive?
If you carry this inhaler with you, you can also bring it out whenever you are feeling uninspired to remember and reclaim a little of that joyful moment.
Grounding Oils
Finally, not all stagnation comes from resistance, but some comes from simply being exhausted. When life has become overwhelming, we may need some slowing down and grounding first.
Oils like relaxing Lavender, comforting Sweet Marjoram, and reassuring Cedarwood can help us tune back into a sense of security.
Mix 1 drop Lavender, 1 drop Sweet Marjoram, 1 drop Cedarwood and 10ml Grapeseed oil in a Rollette bottle. In moments of feeling exhausted, burned out or overwhelmed, ground yourself by applying this blend to your pulse points - wrists and temples - or even your chest, and take three slow breaths.
Reflect on: what can I let go of to create more space?
These essential oils can support our wellbeing, especially when combined with small daily actions. If you are feeling stuck, remember; you don’t have to change your life in one big go. Instead, make one tiny change to your regular routine. Maybe that’s spending ten minutes outside in the morning, moving your body, decluttering, or picking up a hobby - or seeing a friend. Small movements often lead to bigger ones.
This is a season of expansion. Nature reminds us that growth isn’t bad, that we don’t need to force change and that the best way of unsticking ourselves is to reconnect to our vitality. Rather than asking ‘how do I fix myself this September?’, ask yourself, “what will help me feel more alive?”
That’s growth, right there. Happy, expansive blending.
Nicole Barton
Consultant Aromatherapist
Read other articles by Nicole Barton
