Essential Oils for Yoga

Add a few drops of oil to your diffuser, rub a little behind your ears before you start, or spritz your yoga space with a diluted oil spray. However you do it, once you start enjoying essential oils for yoga, we have a feeling you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.

Our top essential oils for yoga

First thing’s first. It’s important to choose essential oils for yoga that are going to enhance your session. We all have our favourites, but this is the time to think about what you want to gain from your yoga practice. Knowing what you want to achieve will help you to pick essential oils with the right properties.

For a pre-bedtime yoga session to help get you ready for sleep, go for the soothing fragrance of lavender essential oil. For centuries, lavender oil has been used to help relieve stress, anxiety, and sleepless nights. Burn this sweet floral scent in a diffuser and let it soothe your mind, helping you to focus on the present and remain mindful.

Sometimes, yoga is about starting the day with positive energy. For that morning session before a busy day, the invigorating scent of lemongrass is perfect. Steam distilled from the leaves of the tropical lemongrass plant, lemongrass essential oil has a powerful, sunny scent that energises the mood. Citrus oils such as sweet orange have a similar effect, but we love the zesty scent of lemongrass first thing in the morning.

Patchouli essential oil helps to silence the mind for meditation. The perfect stressbuster for a meditative yoga session, its warm, earthy fragrance seems to warm the mind, body and spirit. Many aromatherapists diffuse patchouli to lift the energy in a space, so you can use it to cleanse your yoga room before you get started too. If you’re seeking enlightenment, the fragrance of patchouli is said to help awaken the base chakra, preparing the mind for a meditative state.

If you’re after a calming essential oil for a yoga practice that isn’t too sweet and flowery, harness the heady scent of cypress essential oil. With a masculine quality, this fresh, spicy scent will make you feel a world away from the everyday.

Best essential oil blends for yoga

Yoga is all about doing things your way, so it makes sense to create your own essential oil blends for yoga practice. This is the fun part, as you get to select the scents that you love the most and blend them with oils that will leave you feeling zen. To get you started, we have a few suggestions using oils that work well together to capture that yogi frame of mind.

It’s an idea to start with a simple recipe, blending two oils. Bergamot and lemongrass are a winning combination with a sparkling effect on the mood. Lemongrass may not technically be from citrus, but it’s just as zesty as those that are. Blend lemongrass and bergamot to create a comforting scent with a warming influence on a space. Together, these punchy oils gently boost the mood, perfect for your yoga session.

The fruity fragrance of bergamot also blends well with chamomile and clary sage. When blended, these healing scents work to calm the mind and body during your session. Clary sage is a balancing essential oil, so it will help to ground your thoughts while the sleepy scent of lavender soothes the mind ready for sleep. If you’re struggling to sleep, try a little yoga with this blend before bedtime.

Nothing says “rise and shine” quite like the scents of peppermint and eucalyptus essential oils. Just the blend for anyone who struggles to start the day with a spring in their step, this boisterous combo works even better with a little touch of lavender to add a peaceful quality. Step onto the mat, inhale and let these aromatherapy faves work their magic.

Take a look at our blending guide to find out more.

Essential oil yoga mat spray recipe

There’s a lot to be said for a DIY essential oil yoga mat spray. For one thing, spraying your mat before and after each use can help to keep it clean from bacteria. At the same time, if you choose the oils for your mat spray carefully, you can kick start every session with your favourite fragrances.

It’s more important than ever that our yoga mats are thoroughly disinfected, so ensure your homemade essential oil yoga mat spray contains at least one oil with disinfectant and antibacterial properties. Tea tree and eucalyptus essential oils are both obvious choices with the power to cleanse surfaces.

Now, take a moment to choose an oil that makes you feel great. Lavender, eucalyptus and lemon work well together to create a cleansing mat spray that packs a punch. This zesty aroma will linger long after you use it, so you’ll be greeted with a refreshing waft of your spray when you next unroll your mat.

If you opt for the cleansing powers of tea tree oil, the good news is it blends effortlessly with many other oils. Choose from grapefruit, nutmeg, pine, bergamot and even rosemary to complete your spray.

Once you’ve picked your essential oils, combine them with a cup of distilled water and white vinegar and you’re ready to start spraying!