Studio 5 Features Young Living Lavender Farm

We were thrilled to be invited to appear on Studio 5, a KSL television program that focuses on improving the lives of others. We were treated so kindly by everyone on their crew--thank you for making us feel so welcome! We had a great time visiting their set and sharing with viewers the wonderful benefits of lavender. The show's hosts, Brooke and Darin, are fun and energetic, and share lots of great tips on each of their shows, which air Monday-Friday at 11:0o a.m. on channel 5.



As Brooke Walker, the show's host, mentioned, there are more and more "lavender" products appearing on store shelves. But an important point that consumers need to be aware of is that although the label says "lavender", most of those products contain very little lavender and are oftentimes full of harmful chemicals. There is a big difference between perfume-grade lavender and Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender. Perfume-grade lavender can be diluted, adulterated, and synthetically made in a chemical laboratory. Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender is all natural--it is the purest and most potent form of lavender essential oil available. To learn about the care and testing involved in our distillation and production process, please visit our website and click on the tab titled "Seed to Seal".

And as always, we invite you to visit us at the farm to see firsthand how the process works. When you see the rich soil, touch the plants, and smell the fragrance, you'll better understand how Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender essential oil is the best choice for receiving all the benefits of lavender!

Here are the fun beauty tips we shared on the show using Young Living's lavender essential oil:

1. Get your beauty sleep with the help of lavender linen spray. Pour a few drops of Young Living lavender essential oil (4-8 drops per 4 oz. container) into a spray bottle and fill with distilled water. Mist your pillows and bed linens before going to sleep.
2. Skin soothing at-home spa treatment--lavender bath fizzers. Mix 2 TBSP. baking soda, 2 tsp. citric acid, and 8-10 drops Young Living lavender essential oil in a small bowl. Spray 1-2 sprays of water into mixture. Stir and repeat sprays of water until mixture sticks together when compacted. Press small amounts into candy molds or into small balls. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, turn molds over and release fizzers onto wax paper. Let dry until hardened all the way through. Drop into warm water and enjoy a soothing soak in the tub!
3. Pretty pedicure time with our exfoliating lavender foot scrub. Stir together 1/4 c. Dead sea salt or epsom salt, 1/4 c. Young Living V-6 Oil or unscented massage oil, and 3-6 drops Young Living lavender essential oil. Mix well; pour into container. Place a small amount in hand and scrub over feet that have soaked in warm water. Rinse off and apply lavender lotion. (Painting toenails a pretty pink is optional, but highly recommended!)

Spectacular Easter Event at the Lavender Farm

It is amazing how time flies! This time last Friday, Suzette and I were racing around getting all the last wrinkles ironed out so we could have a smooth Easter event at the farm. We love planning these events where people from the community get to take time to reconnect with nature. Being outside with animals and plants gets people excited to bring living things, and products from those living things like essential oils, into their daily lives. And this event turned out great! We had a ton of fun and only compliments from all the people attending.

One of the activities that people liked the best was our on-going Easter egg hunt. At traditional egg hunts everyone gathers around and all at once they race off to get their eggs, sometimes trampling the little ones in all the mayhem. And if you're late, you're out of luck! But the Young Living Lavender Farm's egg hunt was different. We had all the hunters, parents in tow, take a wagon ride around the farm and down to the egg field. Once they got there, their own special egg hunt started. Each child got to find five eggs and then walk back to the other activities. It was a huge success!

Children at the Young Living Lavender Farm take off to find their easter eggs.

We had other spring-themed activities, including: pumpkin-seed planting, egg decorating, cookie decorating, and a petting zoo with baby animals. The baby goats were my favorite--even though one tried to eat my coat.

A student volunteer holding a kid.

We also had the well-loved activities you will find on the farm at every event: rock climbing, pony rides, and paddle boats. People also enjoyed the personal balloon creations made for them from The Balloon Guy and prizes from our fabulous new fishing wall.

Two children climbing the ever-popular rock wall.

One of the best things about the Fall and Easter events is the opportunity Young Living Lavender Farms has to work with students from Brigham Young University. Suzette teaches an event management class where students learn to plan, organize, and host special events. It is a great partnership; the students get hands-on experience and the farm gets wonderful volunteers. In fact, we couldn't have put on such a successful event without them. Young Living is privileged to mentor students and help them gain real-world experience that will help them in their future careers.

A Love of Languages and Lavender

As an undergraduate student at the University of Texas at Austin, I fell in love with the history of the modern English language. The migration of tribes and conquering of peoples led to the borrowing and changing of words. The English language is filled with borrowed words from other languages.

I am still fascinated by our ever evolving language and the origin of words. For example, did you know that lavender comes from the Latin word "lavare", meaning "to wash"? This is because lavender was used as a ritual bathing herb in ancient Rome. Lavender was recognized for its healing qualities and for washing. It was added to baths to scent the water and was thought to restore the skin. Baths were very important for the Romans--they stayed at the bath houses for several hours and went there daily.

A bottle of Young Living's therapeutic-grade lavender essential oil.

In our super-stressed "jump-in and out-of-the-shower society", a warm soak in the bath tub with the added benefits of lavender essential oil (both relaxing and conditioning to the skin) is the perfect way to unwind and renew! Lavender's rich fragrance is soothing and balancing to the mind. So go ahead and take a few minutes to unwind and restore your body and mind with a warm lavender bath tonight!

Generosity Matters

I'm hoping some of our readers are BIG fans of American Idol because I just had to say how exciting this week's show was! My top four favorites are still in the running for this year's winner. I'm cheering for the guy from Utah--what an amazing voice and adorable personality!

I was impressed by more than just great performances on American Idol though. It was touching to see the impact people can have on others' lives when they contribute, donate, and offer humanitarian aid to those less fortunate. Generosity matters! American Idol's efforts to help the poorest people of the world are inspiring (Idol Gives Back), and we applaud all who are working to make the world a better place.

Freedom of Health Foundation
I am so fortunate to work for a company whose founder and president leads the way in giving back to the community, locally and globally. Young Living is very involved in humanitarian efforts through the Freedom of Health Foundation. Through this foundation, Young Living, its employees, and distributors can donate funds, supplies, and time to aid their local communities and also the global community. One of the projects Young Living has initiated is the building of a new school for the children of Chongon, a village in Ecuador near the Young Living Farm. Gary Young's compassion for these children is apparent in all that he does to bring a better quality of life for them. He has initiated the building project, as well as many other service projects, because of his deep desire to give back to others.

On my recent trip to Ecuador, I was able to visit the existing school in Chongon and see the site of the new school. Gary Young has been providing aid to the people in Ecuador for the past couple of years since he's lived there, and he would often come back and share with us his love for these people and his desire to improve their living conditions and educational opportunities.

Below is a photo of the existing school's block building, which has very few desks, tattered books, a separate outhouse without running water, and is lacking a cafeteria where the students can eat lunch. It's in stark contrast to the schools we have in the United States, where our children are provided with clean, air conditioned buildings, desks, lockers, new textbooks, computers, etc.

Young Living has purchased the land and donated thousands of dollars for the building of a new school, with new supplies and equipment as well. We encourage you to join us in donating to this worthy cause, and help us make a positive difference in the lives of these children.

(To donate to the Freedom of Health Foundation, please send checks payable to the foundation to the Young Living corporate office.)

Life, Leadership, and Lavender

Leadership Lessons
My oldest son just returned from a leadership conference for youth city council leaders, and he had a blast! He loved everything about it, from the motivational speakers to the fun activities. As he recounted what he learned, I could see that one of the most important lessons that he learned about being a good leader is having a positive attitude. Last night at his lacrosse game, I was again reminded of how important it is to have a positive attitude, both in games and in life. My son's coach cheered on the team and told her players that she expected only positive comments out of all team members. With that being said, the team rallied together, cheered each other on, and played a great game.

A member of the lacrosse team playing with enthusiasm.

I am fortunate to have a great mentor who has also recently reminded me about how important leadership skills are throughout life, whether in a work, academic, or family setting. Needless to say, having a positive attitude makes all the difference! It's a lesson I needed to be reminded of.

Many of you are leaders in the field, at home, and within your communities. Please share your favorite inspirational quotes with us!

Easter Festival
As an Adjunct Instructor at BYU, I have the opportunity to work with students in the Recreation Management Youth Leadership Department. These students are learning and developing skills that will empower them to be a positive influence in the lives of youth and adults in whatever career they choose to pursue. They are currently preparing for the event that they have planned and organized, the Easter Festival at the Young Living Lavender Farm, which takes place this Saturday, March 22. These students are so talented and creative! We hope you'll join us for this fun event and that after your visit to the farm you will be inspired to spend more time outdoors-- gardening, playing, or just enjoying nature.

Lavender Farms and Lucky Winners!
As we continue caring for plants in the greenhouses at the lavender farm in Mona, we can't help but be a bit envious of our farm in Ecuador, where there is no need for greenhouses! Thank you to all of you who have submitted comments and questions regarding our farm in Ecuador. As for the RutaVaLa winners...congratulations to Jenessa and Ruth, our randomly chosen winners. Please email us your contact information so that we can send you your prize.

Can you identify this crop from the Ecuador Farm? Let us know which plant you think it is!

Time to Garden

It seems like spring really might be on its way. Does anyone else feel like this winter was extra harsh? I think we had quite a few more snow storms than normal here in Utah. Fortunately, all the snow is gone now! With the warmer weather here I have started getting excited to plant my garden.

A few weeks ago I took some gardening classes and thought I would share some of the information on the Lavender Farm's blog. My favorite class was called Gardening by the Month. The instructor gave us a handout that listed what you should be doing in your garden each month of the year. In March it says you should prune your trees and plant hardy plants such as non-transplantable flowers, bulbs, grass, onions, peas, vegetable greens and cole crops. (He explained that cole crops are things like cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower.)

So far I have only gotten around to pruning my trees, so I still have a lot of work ahead of me. Good luck on getting your gardens started!

Young Living Ecuador Farm Video

Here is a video of the Amazon Adventure that took place last week. It shows how beautiful it is down there and helps me see Gary Young's vision for all the Young Living Farms. Don't forget to comment on Suzette's post below to be entered to win a bottle of RutaVaLa essential oil!




P.S. The lavender plants in the greenhouses down in Mona are really growing. Spring is just about here!

Young Living Farm in Ecuador

Unforgettable Amazon Adventure

Are you an adventurous person? Have you recently tried a new sport, traveled to a new place, or learned a new skill? Discovering new activities, visiting foreign countries, and meeting new people make life exciting!

Gary Young, founder and president of Young Living, lives a life full of adventure and passion, traveling the world in search of new discoveries. And when he finds something new, he is always willing and eager to share his adventures and discoveries with others. He has discovered so many new things in Ecuador over the past couple of years while he and his family have been living there, that he planned an Amazon Adventure for distributors to see firsthand all the amazing things taking place there. A few of us from corporate staff accompanied the group last week, and it was absolutely unforgettable!

Training and Tours

Over 300 distributors participated in training sessions led by Gary Young while in Ecuador, and the group also toured the town of Baños, the city of Guayaquil, and the Young Living Ecuador Farm, Finca Botanica. The farm covers more than 2,000 acres of virgin land in an area that has an ideal climate for year-round growing. It is an absolutely breathtaking farm! I was in awe of its beauty--lush, green rolling hills, a gorgeous reservoir, and hundreds of acres recently planted with aromatic plants. The Young Living farms are located in ideal areas that provide clean air, rich soil, and ideal climates for growing superior plants and herbs. You can see how beautiful it is in the slide show below. (You may need Flash Player 9 to view it.)

A Solid Foundation from the Ground Up!

Gary Young expressed to the group that, "Young Living is a company that is built on a solid foundation from the ground up. What you have doesn't exist anywhere else!" With four farms in three countries, Young Living continues to devote its resources to developing and growing the purest, finest crops of aromatic plants for the distillation of essential oils. The Ecuador farm will soon grow the plants needed to produce an abundance of essential oils, both from the newly discovered aromatic plants in Ecuador to the plants and oils that are in scarce supply throughout the world.


Farm Contest
We are excited to hear what you have to say and what you want to learn about the farms. Leave a comment with a question you might want answered or an experience you had at one of our farms and you will be entered to win a bottle of RutaVaLa essential oil, which contains some of the first essential oil distilled from the farm in Ecuador! We will choose two winners randomly, so all you have to do is comment by March 14 to be entered into the contest. Winners will be announced in a future blog post, so check back soon to see if you won!


RutaVaLa's Story
RutaVaLa is a proprietary blend of Ruta graveolens (rue), lavender, and valerian. The Ruta graveolens herb is farmed, harvested, and distilled at Gary Young's farm in Ecuador. Use of the rue herb dates back many centuries and is referenced in the Bible as an herb to be tithed. When combined with lavender and valerian, this trio of essential oils is formulated to relax the body and mind, counter stressed nerves, and revitalize passion.