My Beautiful Adventures: A Day On The Farm

A Day On The Farm

When I am not roaming around the world, I am busy practicing Chinese Medicine at my

Wellness Center . In order to remain a Licensed Acupuncturist, one must take 40 continuing education units (CEU’s) every 2 years. Last Saturday was my first ever CEU course and the subject matter was “Essential Oils and Chinese Medicine.” I have always been interested in the medicinal properties of essential oils, however I have never found the opportunity to study them in depth. Lately my interest has been piqued again, as the massage therapist I have hired to work for me is an expert in them and she is always singing their praises.

The course was held on a farm called Swan Creek and it was located an hour and a half outside of Charlotte. I had no idea what to expect since it was in such a rural part of the state. I attended the course with my business partner, Adrienne. It was a really lovely drive to the farm (we had lots to gossip about) and when we arrived we were surprised at just how pretty the place actually was!

The barn that the course was held in.

The owner of Swan Creek and teacher of the course, Catherine, greeted us immediately and gave us a little talking tour of the place. She explained to us that she wanted to have a farm in which she could grow her own Chinese and Western herbs. She too is a Lisenced Acupuncturist, although she is currently on a sabbatical from practicing and now only grows and sells her decoctions.

The 1st thing that I saw inside the barn was this sign. How very synchronistic with the butterfly!
It was definitely a butterfly afternoon.

Catherine's decoctions are a blend of herbs AND essential oils. She strongly believes in the power of the dual combination, thus she creates creams, oils, and balms containing both. It was really amazing to see this unique kind of medicine firsthand.

Inside the barn where all of the magic happens.

Bottles waiting to be filled with decoctions.

Class began after her introduction and soon we were smelling like every essential oil under the sun. Here is some interesting information we learned about the emotional properties of some of my favorite oils:

Lavender: brings out expression, helps people release certain pent up emotions, and calms the mind

Rosemary: stimulates the senses and helps one remember their spiritual path

Lemon grass: clarifies and disperses confusion, helps one feel emotionally lighter, and opens the heart to accept relationships

Bitter orange: uplifts,brings out unexpressed anger, and calms nervous anxiety

Rose: opens the heart and brings about self love

Cedar wood: empowers and strengthens, very spiritually uplifting, and increases willpower and wisdom

Geranium: opens the heart and increases spontaneity, imagination, and pleasure

Hmmm, I think I recognize this scent?

After a couple of hours of lecture, Adrienne and I decided to decompress with a picnic at the nearby wine vineyard, Raffeldini. The surrounding scenery was gorgeous and we had a delicious lunch of goodies that were purchased at Dean & Duluca the day before.

The Raffeldini winetasting house.

The Raffeldini vineyards.

A birdsnest near where we picniced.

Unfortunately, we only had an hour break, otherwise we would have sampled some wines. Nonetheless, we were excited to learn some more about the oils and eagerly returned to the farm. Once Catherine finished her lecture for the day, she then showed us how to make some things, which included lemon grass-ginger lip salve, lavender body oil, and a natural bug repellant. Adrienne felt really inspired to start making her own decoctions as well now (are I not the luckiest lady to be living with her?).

All in all it was a wonderful experience and a great way to start off my life of CEU's. In June we will be returning to Swan Creek for yet another course on "Western Herbs and Chinese Medicine." I cannot wait! And if anyone has any questions regarding essential oils I would love to share the wealth of information that I learned.