Calm, Resilience, and Balance: How the Relax Blend Works with Your Body

Together, these ingredients help your body shift from a tense, alert state to a more relaxed and balanced one. Grapefruit oil adds a gentle uplifting effect, so you feel calm but not drowsy. The nourishing carrier oils ensure the blend is safe and gentle for your skin. In short, this Relaxation Formula works because it targets the body’s natural stress pathways with ingredients proven by science to promote relaxation and emotional well-being, offering a natural and effective way to feel calm and balanced.

When you breathe in the Relaxation Formula, the essential oils travel to the part of your brain that controls emotions and stress, helping you feel more relaxed, less anxious, and emotionally balanced. When applied to the skin through massage, the natural plant ingredients are absorbed into your body, supporting relaxation and overall well-being (see Appendix A).

But the benefits go even deeper. These essential oils help regulate your body’s main stress hormone system, the HPA axis, which manages cortisol, the hormone that increases when you’re stressed. By helping to keep cortisol levels in check, the Relaxation Formula supports your mood, energy, and resilience against daily stress (see Appendix B).

More scientific evidence comes from advanced brain imaging techniques like fMRI scans and other studies that have shown essential oils activate the brain’s relaxation pathways. Our blend, which includes geranium, patchouli, cedarwood, grapefruit, palmarosa, and ylang ylang, is based on these studies and can help you relax and manage stress (see Appendix C).

Our Relaxation Formula is an aromatic solution, proven by science, to help your mind and body find calm, clarity, and balance, naturally.

The Science: Relaxation Blend for Stress Reduction

Our relaxation blend, includes organic essential oils, each chosen for their scientifically supported calming and mood-balancing effects. The blend acts through both inhalation and skin absorption, allowing its active compounds to reach the brain’s limbic system and influence the autonomic nervous system. This dual action helps lower stress hormones like cortisol, reduce heart rate and blood pressure, and promote a shift from a stressed, alert state to a calm, resilient one.

The organic essential oils are selected for their evidence-based actions on stress-related physiological systems, including the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. The formula includes:

Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Pelargonium Graveolens (Geranium), Pogostemon Cablin (Patchouli), Cedrus Atlantica (Cedarwood Atlas), Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit), Cymbopogon Martini (Palmarosa), Cananga Odorata (Ylang Ylang), and Rosa Damascena (Rose Extract).

Dual Treatment: Inhalation and Absorption

As described in Appendix A, this blend works via two primary routes: olfactory and dermal. When inhaled, volatile compounds from essential oils reach the olfactory bulb and are rapidly transmitted to the limbic system, the brain’s emotional processing centre, modulating neurotransmitters like GABA, dopamine, and serotonin [1][2]. These neurochemical effects quickly reduce anxiety, emotional tension, and physiological stress markers such as heart rate and blood pressure [3][7].

Appendix C supports this mechanism through fMRI studies showing that inhaling essential oils can activate key brain regions involved in emotional and autonomic regulation, including the olfactory cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus [1][5]. EEG studies further demonstrate increased alpha and theta brain wave activity—patterns linked to relaxation and emotional calm, following inhalation of oils like lavender and bergamot [3][4][9].

Topically, fat-soluble molecules like linalool, citronellol, patchoulol, and cedrol penetrate the skin and enter systemic circulation [5], influencing the same neural and endocrine pathways through peripheral receptor activation [4][6][10].

Impact on the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

The ANS is the part of the nervous system that controls automatic body functions like heart rate, breathing, and digestion. The Relax formula supports parasympathetic dominance, facilitating a shift from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest” states. Active constituents such as geraniol, citronellol, and cedrol help reduce physiological arousal by lowering heart rate and blood pressure [6][7][8].

  • Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens): Contains geraniol and citronellol, linked to anxiolytic and mild sedative effects that reduce autonomic hyperarousal [6].
  • Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin): Patchoulol supports emotional grounding and parasympathetic tone [8].
  • Cedarwood Atlas (Cedrus atlantica): Rich in cedrol, which promotes parasympathetic activity and reduces sympathetic responses [8].

These effects are confirmed in studies showing fragrance inhalation modulates sympathetic activity and autonomic neurotransmission [7][10].

Regulation of the HPA Axis and Cortisol Levels

The control system involving the brain and adrenal glands that manages stress and hormone balance. The HPA axis regulates hormonal responses to stress through cortisol. Chronic activation can lead to burnout, insomnia, and emotional volatility. Organic essential oils in the Relax blend counteract this through direct effects on cortisol regulation (See Appendix B)

  • Geranium: Balances cortisol and glucocorticoid output [6].
  • Ylang Ylang (Cananga odorata): High in linalool and β-caryophyllene, both shown to reduce cortisol and foster emotional equilibrium [6][12].
  • Palmarosa (Cymbopogon martini): Rich in geraniol; modulates serotonergic and GABAergic signalling for hormonal balance [4][6].
  • Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi): Limonene supports a calm-alert state by regulating cortisol without sedation [10].

These actions are supported by neuroimaging and clinical evidence showing that essential oils can directly modulate limbic and hypothalamic function involved in HPA axis activity [1][2][5]. (See Appendix C)

Balanced psychological and physical effects

Due to the inclusion of grapefruit oil, which contains gently stimulating limonene [10], the blend is especially suitable for daytime use, where calming effects are needed without impairing alertness or focus.

Effective therapeutic application

Each essential oil contributes unique active molecules: linalool, citronellol, patchoulol, geraniol, limonene, benzyl acetate known to lower stress arousal and enhance mood through scientifically validated mechanisms [3][6][7]. Carrier oils such as jojoba and apricot kernel allow for safe dermal absorption, nourishing the skin while ensuring absorption of the active essential oil ingredients [5].

Conclusion

The Relax Aroma Blend is a an aromatherapy formulation based on scientific evidence of efficacy. Its effects supported by clinical aromatherapy practice, functional brain imaging (Appendix C), and validated clinical effects on cortisol and autonomic stress markers (Appendices A and B). Its action on the ANS and HPA axis provides a holistic, natural method for reducing stress, building emotional resilience, and promoting relaxation without sedation helping the mind and body achieve calm, clarity, and resilience in response to stress [1][2][3][4][6][10][11][12].

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Relax Blend Formula: Scientific Foundation

References
Essential Oils & the HPA Axis: Stress Support
Aromatherapy & Brain Benefits Backed by Science
How Essential Oils Work: Pathways & Benefits
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