“Hands on your breast can keep your heart beating.” — Jenny Holzer
In my years as a feminist supporting woman with their health and emotional wellbeing, I understand the vital importance of helping women understand their unique biology and how to care for their bodies as much as their minds and spirit.
Today, a woman’s ability to choose for herself is being reversed by rampant patriarchy trying to limit her reproductive freedom. In honoring every phase of our lives, including breast care, women are being called to connect with their feminine wisdom and power as much as to show solidarity for all women.
Reclaiming our bodies as sacred and cultivating self-care practices consistent with thoughtful approaches has the power to transform relationships with our families and other women as much as ourselves. Knowledge gives a woman the incentive and encouragement to take charge of her breast health as she ages.
In my previous blog: Alchemical Breast Care, I wrote about why massaging your breasts is an act of self-love to monitor any changes in the breast tissue as a preventive practice for breast cancer. I’ve written extensively about the healing antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pomegranate seed oil as the basis for my formula on the Sundari Breast Oil page.
In this blog, I’ll explore the preventive aspects of the essential oil Frankincense carterri contained in Sundari Breast Massage Oil and its potential as a cancer preventative.
Breast Cancer Awareness
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer.
Each year in the United States, about 264,000 breast cancer cases are diagnosed in women and about 2,400 in men. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, and women of color have a higher rate of death from breast cancer than White women.
Breast cancer is a disease in which cells in the breast grow out of control. There are different kinds of breast cancer. The type of breast cancer depends on which cells in the breast turn into cancer.
Breast cancer can begin in different parts of the breast. A breast comprises three main parts: lobules, ducts, and connective tissue. The lobules are the glands that produce milk. The ducts are tubes that carry milk to the nipple. The connective tissue (consisting of fibrous and fatty tissue) surrounds and holds everything together. Most breast cancers begin in the ducts or lobules.
Many factors throughout a lifetime can influence your breast cancer risk. You can’t change some factors, such as getting older or your family history, but you can help lower your risk of breast cancer by taking care of your health and massaging your breasts regularly.
Staying healthy throughout your life will lower your risk of developing cancer and improve your chances of surviving cancer if it occurs.
The Nourishing Quality of Frankincense Oil
Boswellia carterii, commonly known as Frankincense or olibanum, is derived from an oleoresin that is secreted by the Frankincense tree of the Boswellia family.
Frankincense played a significant role in the religious and domestic lives of ancient Egypt, Persia, Hebrew, Greek, and Roman civilizations. It has been considered an essential ingredient in cosmetics, as an aromatic incense, and in religious rituals of these ancient civilizations.
For centuries, resins have been used for their health benefits, sought-after aroma, and medicine. Resins were precious gifts throughout ancient times and used to make incense and oil infusions. Commonly called “The King of Oils,” I’ve added the essential oil to the Sundari Breast Oil formula.
Our organic Frankincense essential oil is distilled from the wildcrafted resinous dried sap of the Boswellia carterii trees growing wild in the rugged rural landscape of Somaliland. The dried tears are collected, and the resin is then distilled, producing the precious oil.
According to the environment minister, Somaliland’s resin trade employs more women than any other formal industry.
One of my favorite essential oils, Frankincense, has a special place in my heart. I love the oil for its incredible versatility and gorgeously deep resinous notes. Emotionally, I find the aroma of Frankincense essential oil to be spiritually grounding, calming, and relaxing without being sedating.
Besides its delightfully rich and slightly floral aroma, Frankincense has medicinal properties that are effective against various infections and inflammation. The most well-known claim attached to this ancient tree is its cancer-protective benefits and anti-arthritic properties.
Cancer Protective
Emerging breast cancer research has reported that Frankincense essential oil may halt cancer cell growth and cause cancer cells to shut down. Some studies have shown that it suppresses the proliferation of cancer cells. The findings of one 2015 study suggest that breast cancer cells may stop growing and die off when exposed to frankincense oil.
The chemistry of Frankincense is very complex. It has more than 20 monoterpenes and 28 sesquiterpenes, including the naturally occurring constituents alpha-pinene, limonene, sabinene, and beta-caryophyllene.
Terpenes are aromatic compounds found in various plants, responsible for each plant’s unique fragrance. Terpenes are known to be bioactive, which means they affect the body.
Frankincense carterii also contains a fair amount of limonene terpene containing antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-fungal properties. By containing higher amounts of these compounds, Frankincense carterii essential oil has powerful properties that:
- support healthy cellular function
- increase blood flow and circulation
- reduce inflammation
- reduce skin discoloration and imperfections
- promote feelings of wellness and relaxation
- balance hormones
- improve memory
- reduce pain
- promote wound healing.
Sundari Skin Essential
As an ingredient in Sundari Breast Oil, organic Frankincense essential oil is excellent for strengthening skin, improving its tone elasticity, and tightening all skin types. It helps reduce the sign of aging, can reduce the appearance of scars and stretch marks, and can enhance your skin’s natural glow.
Research shows Frankincense essential oil benefits skin care in valuable ways. One of the key benefits that Frankincense offers is its ability to rejuvenate and reduce the appearance of skin imperfections such as discoloration.
Topically and cosmetically, its astringent and cytophylactic qualities increase the activity of white blood cells to defend the body against infection. It stimulates the growth of new cells, promoting faster healing, and can be beneficial for fading stretch marks, surgery scars, or marks associated with pregnancy (see my blog on prenatal breast care).
Frankincense Essential Oil is a potent natural anti-inflammatory that effectively soothes the skin and aids in repairs of the epidermis and soothes irritated or damaged skin.
In order to support healthy breast tissue and maintain skin elasticity, I formulated Sundari Breast Oil from a natural mix of bioactive organic botanical ingredients containing nourishing and detoxifying antioxidants like organic pomegranate oil, Frankincense essential oil, and other essential and herbal oils.
Daily Breast Massage
Daily breast massage is preventive. Breast massage encourages blood and chi (energy) to flow unencumbered throughout the body. Breast massage specifically targets circulation flow through the lymphatic system, the vast network of vessels surrounding the breasts, purifying the blood.
Breast cancer causes distinct changes in the breast tissue. By massaging your breasts regularly, early detection of cancer is possible. In addition to regular check-ups, breast self-massage helps you notice any changes in the tissue and identify lumps early, contributing significantly to breast health.
Please download my infographic showing how-to breast massage steps on the Sundari Breast Oil page.
Reducing Cancer Risk
Your life is precious. Your breasts are precious. Understanding your risk for breast cancer has many components, some beyond your control, but many within your power to maximize your health throughout your lifespan.
There’s no sure way to prevent cancer, but you can help reduce your risk by making healthy choices like eating right, staying active, and not smoking.
In addition to regular breast massage, aerobic movement encourages circulation to all body parts and moves the lymph to keep the breasts healthy. Exercise like running, cycling, or fast walking moves energy and promotes blood flow, which can minimize your risk for breast cancer.
These two factors are intertwined: movement moves lymph, and healthy lymph flow keeps all parts of your immune system functioning at its best. The same is true: energy moves the blood; blood stores the energy. If one gets stuck, the other does too, which can lead to disease.
Lifestyle choices that cut your risk of breast cancer by half include eating fresh foods with lots of colors. Eliminating highly processed convenience foods that contain hydrogenized fats and sugar from your diet will help you to maintain a healthy weight and keep the lymph system strong.
Remove wire bras from your wardrobe and any tight-fitting clothing restricting and squeezing you around the rib cage or groin. They will hamper the flow of lymph circulation, hindering the immune system and trapping energy in your breasts.
It goes without saying to reduce stress, limit alcohol consumption and abolish tobacco products as the risk of breast cancer increases significantly after menopause.
Find out what you know about your family health history and the hereditary factors that may affect your cancer risk, and get regular screenings.
Nourishing Happiness
Mindfulness and your willingness to cultivate healthy habits include nourishing your emotional happiness. It is the fruit of persistence and finding moments of pleasure.
Nourishing your breasts with Sundari Breast Oil opens the heart supporting long-term wellness. Delighting in the beautiful, nurturing aroma of Frankincense and other essential oils as you massage your breasts offers a sense of connectedness as self-love – a precious ritual at the end of the day.
Touching your breasts releases the bonding hormone oxytocin. Oxytocin counteracts free radical damage and dispels depression, anxiety, and stress. In other words, the few minutes it takes to massage your breasts are excellent for counteracting risk factors and balancing overall health and wellness!
Mindful actions and habits performed daily can lead to extraordinary health effects that deeply nourish us at the deepest levels of being. All we need to do is focus on our actions and trust our inherent feminine wisdom through the process of nurturing our breasts.
All my aromatic love,
Vidya
