Ninety is a magic number. In minutes, it’s the length of a Jivamukti Yoga class, a deep tissue massage, or an energy healing session—making my previously manic mental state manageable. But if 90 minutes is utterly transformative, it’s equally unrealistic on a daily basis. And while a few minutes of meditation works as well, sometimes you’re stuck at your desk, the line in Trader Joe’s, or between strangers on the L train.

'The first thing to do when you feel overwhelmed by energy or chaos or don’t feel balanced, grounded, and flowing, is to come back to the self,” New York-based healer Priscilla Bright says. “Sit, do some deep relaxation breaths. Practice self-acceptance and self-honoring, they’re important energy frequencies,”

While you inhale, add these aromatic options. Tata Harper Aromatic Irritability Treatment is the most expensive—her products are manufactured in a Vermont laboratory often using ingredients from her Vermont farm. The blend of Roman chamomile, bergamot, and patchouli oil smells great but is very strong. Alleviating your irritability but potentially aggravating your neighbors’.

Origins Peace of Mind could be the adult equivalent of Beezin’. Applied to the neck, temples, and earlobes, the peppermint tingles. Don’t worry though, it’s just the high of “pressure, tensions, and tightness' melting away.

Then there’s C.O. Bigelow’s lavender oil. It’s multipurpose: relieves aches and burns! A natural insect repellant! Soothes anger! But mainly, it smells like France. And who wouldn’t be relaxed lying in a lavender field in France?

—Alexis Cheung

Photos by Tom Newton.