Back-to-School Germs? | Simple Natural Immune Support
Hey, Sparkling One! Does back-to-school season sometimes feel like back-to-germ season too? Suddenly everyone is back in classrooms, offices, sports practices, carpools, and shared spaces, and you may be wondering how to support your family's wellness without adding another complicated routine to your already busy day.
If that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Today, we're talking about simple, natural ways to support everyday wellness and healthy immune function using easy routines you can actually fit into real life, because the best wellness routine is the one you'll actually use.
Welcome to the Sparkling Life Coach podcast.
Hey, Sparkling One. I'm Dee Diaz, an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and here we talk about holistic health, nutrition, essential oils, and simple natural wellness support to help you feel better and increase the sparkle in your life.
That becomes especially important when everybody gets back into school, work, sports, activities, and busier schedules. We need everyday immune and wellness support, not fear, not trying to live inside a bubble, and definitely not chasing every wellness trend that pops up on social media. We're talking about simple habits you can build into your normal day.
And the truth is, wellness starts with the routine. One thing I always remind people is that essential oils are supporting players. They aren't the entire wellness plan.
Your body still needs sleep; it needs nutritious food, it needs hydration, it needs movement, stress management; and yes, good old-fashioned hand washing. I know, I know, it's not terribly glamorous. But sometimes wellness is less spa day and more, "Please wash your hands before touching the refrigerator." And I think that's where people sometimes make natural wellness harder than it needs to be. They ask, "What oils should I use? When should I use them? Where should I put them? Instead, I want you to think about your day in three simple wellness zones. Morning, on-the-go, and after school or work. If we can support those three parts of the day, suddenly this becomes much easier.
So let's start with Wellness Zone One, starting the morning with purpose.
And one of the simplest things you can do doesn't require adding another task at all. You can use aroma to change the environment while you're already getting ready. One combination I really like for this is Wild Orange essential oil with my Pilot diffuser. Wild Orange essential oil has a bright, uplifting citrus aroma.
So, picture this. It's 6:45 in the morning. Someone can't find a shoe. Someone else suddenly remembers they need a poster board for a project. Lunches still aren't packed, and you haven't even had the first sip of your coffee. Sound familiar? Instead of waiting until everybody is frazzled, put a few drops of Wild Orange into your diffuser while you're getting ready.
You could have the Pilot diffuser running in the bathroom while everyone brushes their teeth and gets dressed. You could diffuse Wild Orange while you're packing lunches. And because the Pilot diffuser is portable, you can even bring it into the car during school drop-off or your morning commute.
So, you see, you're not adding another major thing to your schedule. You're simply changing the environment around the routine you already have, and this is something I talk about often in holistic wellness. Sometimes you don't need another habit. What we need to do is make the habits we already have feel better.
Okay, let's move on to Wellness Zone Number Two: create an On Guard routine. So, this essential oil is probably one of the most recognized blends in the dōTERRA family: dōTERRA’s On Guard Protective Blend. It combines essential oils including Wild Orange, Clove, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary. And the reason why I love On Guard is its versatility.
Rather than having one product that just sits in the cabinet waiting for one particular situation, you can incorporate this blend into several parts of your routine. For example, you can diffuse On Guard together with Wild Orange for an energizing, uplifting aroma in the morning. ... You can add On Guard to do-it-yourself, homemade household surface cleaners. And when used according to label directions, On Guard can also be taken internally for healthy immune support. Now, I wanna emphasize something here. More is not better with dōTERRA’s essential oils. They're very concentrated, so always follow the directions on the bottle and use the products only in the ways they're designed to be used. And especially when we're talking about children, pregnancy, medications, or medical conditions, I encourage you to talk with your healthcare provider and follow age-appropriate directions.
Because natural doesn't mean careless, and natural wellness still needs common sense.
Now, let's talk about the kiddos and how we can make wellness easy for kids, because you can create the most beautiful wellness routine in the world, but if it requires a child to hunt through a cabinet, measure something, and remember 12 instructions, yeah, that's probably not happening. This is why I like ready-to-use roller bottles.
And why I love dōTERRA’s Kids Oil Collection. It was designed around kid-friendly routines, and it comes with blends that can stay organized together in their carrying case. That means a favorite blend can become part of a predictable routine. Maybe there's one used while getting ready for school. Another is associated with homework time, another with bedtime.
So, think of it like creating wellness anchors. A wellness anchor is simply connecting something healthy to something your child already does. For example, when they're brushing their teeth, they can use a wellness roller. When they start their homework, they can use the focus routine. When they're putting on their pajamas, they can begin the bedtime routine.
Those existing activities become the reminder, and by the way, that can also work for adults too. Because apparently, adults also forget things.
Now, another easy option is the On Guard Touch blend, because Touch products are already diluted in a roller bottle, so they're convenient for topical use.
OnGuard Touch can be applied to areas such as the chest or feet. You can massage it into the hands or roll it on the wrist or pulse points when you want that energizing OnGuard aroma.
And remember, the easier you make your wellness tools to reach and use, the more likely they become part of everyday life.
Now let's move on to Wellness Zone Number Three, your on-the-go wellness kit. Because when we leave the house, that's where things get interesting. School buses, shopping carts, door handles, after-school activities, airports, workplaces, restaurants.
Life gets touchy, literally. So, one thing I recommend is creating a very small grab-and-go wellness kit, and I do mean small. We're not preparing for six months in the wilderness. Your kit might include something like On Guard Sanitizing Wipes.
They can be kept in a purse, a travel bag, a backpack, or the car, and they're especially convenient when soap and water aren't available. Another easy option is the On Guard Sanitizing Mist. This one I like to keep in my purse. I also have one in the car, although I live in Florida, so if it gets too hot, I wouldn't leave it in the car.
Or you can put it somewhere that's easy to grab before or after errands and activities. But I want you to keep this in mind.
When soap and water are available, uh, wash your hands. These portable products are especially useful during those moments when soap and water simply aren't accessible. For example, maybe you've just finished grocery shopping, and you're sitting in the car, and you realize you're about to eat the snack you bought.
That's when having something in the glove compartment suddenly becomes very convenient
Or if your child finishes soccer practice and immediately announces, "I'm starving." Of course they are. Well, having a simple hygiene option available before they reach into that snack bag can become part of your family routine.
And then there's the after-school reset. So now everybody comes home, backpacks land on the floor, shoes somehow end up in the middle of the room, and everybody heads toward the kitchen.
This is the perfect time for an after-school reset. It's not complicated, just predictable. I would make handwashing one of the first things that happens when everyone comes through the door, and the On Guard Hand Wash Kit can simply stay by the kitchen or bathroom sink.
And this is important. When something healthy is visible and convenient, people are much more likely to use it. So instead of hiding everything underneath the sink, make the healthy choice the easy choice. Walk in, put your things down, wash your hands, get your snack, and you're done.
You don't need a family meeting about it every afternoon. Eventually, it just becomes, "This is what we do when we come home." That's how routines stick. And the On Guard Hand Wash is designed to thoroughly cleanse the hands while helping maintain the skin's moisture barrier, which is nice when you're washing frequently
It's also good to have daily wellness support. So, for that, I like to use the On Guard+ Softgels for adults who want another convenient way to incorporate the protective blend into a daily wellness routine. These are vegetarian softgels containing the benefits of the On Guard protective blend in a pre-measured form, and the key word here is routine.
I would rather see somebody do one simple wellness habit consistently than purchase 10 products and forget about nine of them. So, ask yourself, where would this naturally fit? Maybe with breakfast, maybe with the supplements you already take. That's when I take it. Maybe alongside whatever healthy routine you already have established. Habit stacking works because instead of asking your brain to remember something completely new, you're attaching the new behavior to something that's already automatic.
So, if all of this sounds like a lot, I want you to forget most of what I just said for a moment. I'm gonna give you the three-point School Day Sparkle routine, and here's the whole episode in three steps. Step one is the morning routine.
Create an uplifting environment. Maybe that's wild orange essential oil in your Pilot diffuser while everybody gets ready. Step two is on the go. You're gonna keep one simple hygiene tool where you'll actually use it.
Maybe that's the On Guard sanitizing mist or the wipes in your purse, backpack, or the car. And step number three is when you're home. You wanna create an automatic wash your hands when you walk in the door routine using On Guard Foaming Hand Wash. That's it. Morning, on the go, and home. Once those three become automatic, then you can decide whether you wanna add something like the OnGuard Touch, the Kids Oil Collection, or OnGuard+ Softgels to your family's routine.
Build slowly because wellness shouldn't feel like another homework assignment
And Sparkling One, before you go, I wanna give you something a little different to do this week. I'm calling it your school day sparkle check. Look at those three parts of your day: morning, on the go, and after school or work. Then ask yourself, which one of those areas feels the most chaotic right now?
Not all three; just pick one. Then choose one wellness habit that could make that part of the day easier. And if you're thinking, "Dee, where do I find some of these products you mentioned?" I got you. I'm gonna leave the link in today's show notes to the products we talked about during this episode, including the On Guard essential oil, Wild Orange, the Pilot diffuser, On Guard Touch, and some of the other wellness tools I mentioned.
So, if something sounded like it might fit naturally into your family's routine and you'd like to learn more or give it a try, just check the link in the show notes. And remember, you don't need everything. Start with the product or routine that solves the biggest challenge you're dealing with right now.
Now, Sparkling One, I wanna hear from you. Use the Fan Mzail link in the show notes to record a quick voice message. Tell me your biggest takeaway from today's episode. Which part of your routine could use a little more support right now? Is it your hectic morning?
Staying prepared while you're on the go, or creating a healthier after-school and after-work routine. And which one of today's tips are you planning to try? Your voice message may even be featured in a future episode of the Sparkling Life Coach podcast. So don't be shy. I would truly love to hear from you.
And if today's episode encouraged you, please share it with a friend, parent, grandparent, teacher, or a busy friend who's also trying to keep themselves and their family healthy while getting back into a busy routine. Sharing the episode is one of the easiest ways to support this show and help more people increase the sparkle in their lives.
And if you haven't already, subscribe to the Sparkling Life Coach podcast on YouTube or wherever you enjoy listening to podcasts so you never miss an episode.
Until next time, sparkle on and don't forget to sprinkle a little sparkle everywhere you go. Ciao.
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