Ep 83 The Power of Scent: Nervous System Support for Women in Business with Olya Ilicheva

In this calming and insightful episode, Lisa-Marie Elkhadraoui is joined by Olya to explore the powerful connection between scent, the nervous system, and how we show up in our businesses as women.

Together, they unpack how essential oils are not simply about fragrance, but about bio communication with the body. Olya shares how scent can bypass the brain’s control centre in just 22 seconds, directly influencing the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotion, stress, and memory.

This conversation moves beyond surface-level wellness and into practical, grounded ways that female entrepreneurs and interior designers can use scent to regulate their nervous system, improve focus, and support creativity. Olya also introduces the concept of personalised oil protocols, using tools such as ZYTO scans to identify deeper stressors and tailor support in a more intentional way.

They also explore how scent can be integrated into business environments, from daily routines to client experiences and retreats, creating spaces that feel both supportive and energetically aligned.

This episode is a gentle reminder that how you feel within your business matters just as much as what you do, and that small, intentional practices can have a powerful impact on your energy, clarity, and performance.

Please Note: Only CPTG doTERRA oils labelled “I – Internal” or “Oil Supplement” are suitable for internal use. Internal use should be guided by your wellness advocate or a qualified aromatherapist and is recommended only for adults and children aged 12 and above.  

If you want to connect with Olya and dive into her world then:

Find her on Instagram HERE 

Book a free wellness discovery chat HERE 

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Other episodes are on our YouTube channel HERE

Ready to be supported inside your business and move forward with clarity, structure, and confidence?

If you’re at a point where you know things need to shift and you’re ready for guidance that actually holds you through that process there are several ways we can work together.

From high-proximity 1:1 mentorship to group spaces designed to build momentum and accountability, each experience is created to support you at different stages of your journey.

To explore what support would look like for you, reach out directly at designbossdiary@gmail.com and start the conversation. 2026 has a limited amount of spaces already. 

And as always, if you have loved this episode, we would love for you to leave a review, and if you screenshot this podcast and share it on your socials, tagging @Design_Boss_Diary in, then we have a special gift waiting just for you. 

See you in the next episode, from your Interior Design business strategist and soulful leadership business mentor x

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to episode 83 for another Powerful Packed podcast. And this week I have got a gorgeous guest with me. Now, Olya is the founder of Essential Edge, and she works with ambitious women to optimize their energy, regulate their nervous system, and perform at their best without relying on quick fixes or burnout-driven habits. Now, at Essential Edge, her work centers on foundational health, gut, nervous system recovery, and daily energy, translating this into structured protocols that are practical, non-overwhelming, and designed to last. And her approach combines data-led insight with natural low-tox solutions designed to support the body at a biochemical level. Now, using biocommunication technology such as zytoscans, Ollya is able to identify where the body is under stress and how to support it in a way that works in real life. And today we are going to be diving in and talking about how scent can support your nervous system as a female entrepreneur and businesswoman. Olya, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:22

Hi, thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_00 1:24

You are welcome. So we talk very much about scent. Now, this is something maybe for an interior designer listening or an interior design business owner thinking, what has scent got to do with my interior design business? Let's dive into that. What is the relationship between scent and nervous system?

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Well, I think, first of all, as interior designers and interior design business owners, we we are constantly switching gears. We are, one second, we are creating a mood board, the next one we're making decisions about procurement, the third, we're trying to calm down a client, and this constant switching between gears has a direct impact, quite a negative impact, on our nervous system. And a lot of the time when we as business owners think about our performance, we dive straight into masculine mode, to-do lists, strategy, actions, when in reality we need to think about the place where we're operating from, which is our nervous system. Now, this is where the magic happens. But the scent or smell is one of the only senses that can bypass the thalamus, which is a brain control center, and go straight into the limbic brain, limbic system that regulates emotion, manages stress response and memory, and in only 22 seconds that essential oil can reach your brain. So just think about the speed of that. So you can uh basically bypass your control brain and create a reaction without thinking about it and get yourself where you need to be. And essential oils are kind of magical in a way that they are not only nice scents, um, that smell nice, but they have really important components that um that impact your nervous system in a really positive way, and they can get you in those 22 seconds from feeling overwhelmed into feeling grounded, from feeling reactive into feeling more clear, from feeling flat into feeling creative, and it's all thanks to components in those essential oils, for example, limanine in citrus oils or linolul in more kind of grounding oils that work directly, influence parasympathetic nervous system directly. Sorry if that was a long minded response to very simple. No, it's I just get very excited about it.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

That sounds amazing, and you know, as a business owner, I know when I first got exposed to the world of oils, um, you know, I really never thought about oils in that way before. Now, we had the visionary event in January earlier on in the year, and you had come to the event to do zytoscanning and to support women in their internal makeup to give them direction in what they need to do to support their visions and their strategies. But not only that, dive into some of the structure of the day in how you set up the oils because you were able to sculpt the oils based around the workshops and what the women needed to smell and feel like at certain points of the day.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Yes. Actually, one of the reasons I brought essential oils to Birmingham was because it was a um two and a half hour road trip for me, and I knew that I would set off that Friday, 5 a.m. And by 9 or 9:30, I'd be there and I'd have to go straight in to workshops. So, no matter how I felt at that moment, tired, frustrated. I would I wanted to make the most of the two days that I was there for, and some women were only there for one day. So imagine making that trip and your nervous system not being in the right place to really absorb the information or to be in the right state of mind for strategy, for innovation, or for grounding. So at that point, I already knew about the power of essential oils. So I looked at the um structure for the two days and I picked three oils that would help me personally, and I was really happy to receive very positive response from the women at the event to help guide everybody through those sessions so that you could switch the mood or the state of your nanose system quickly and get through that very intense schedule for two days and get the most of it. So the the three pathways that I created were grounding, abundance, or um kind of imagination, and the third one was focus. Um, and that third one was was a blend of oils called adaptive, that was very much a stress stress management type of blend um when you really need to pick yourself up in the afternoons. That was Friday afternoon, very much so, um, to to make sure that you're not falling asleep. It's like your afternoon cake.

SPEAKER_00 6:39

It's that afternoon lull, isn't it? That you kind of you go into. So uh certainly touching upon that point, when we go into these afternoon lulls as creatives and business owners, what would you say is a really good oil to support you in your journey with kind of you know picking yourself back up again and getting getting through the rest of the day in a real kind of positive focus manner?

SPEAKER_01 7:06

So the two blends that I have on my desk right now, product placement right here. So it depends on the task that I need to do. So the the state that you need to get yourself into is kind of coping, but also uh but not in a relaxing way where you are ready to go to bed. So you need to be focused, and for some tasks, you you need that creativity, you need to be energized. So the two blends that I turn to are so adaptive, which is more about um relaxing but in a more focused way. So getting you that focus back to get through your to-do list, whatever you need to do that afternoon. Yeah, um, and the second one is more citrus-based. So that that I changed. So today I have my debate, but it there is much more citrusy oils in there when you need to actually create something, when you need an idea, and you're a little bit stuck, you're a little bit tired. Um, so it's not just the kind of work, work, work mode, but you actually need to to do something that has not been done before. So those are my two go-to blends to just inject into my nervous system as a biohacking tool.

SPEAKER_00 8:19

I love that. And and simply, so if someone was to use these oils, what how how do they use them? Is it simple as like rubbing on hands and breathing in like we did at the visionary?

SPEAKER_01 8:30

So there is a few ways of using these, using oils. Um, I usually put them in my diffuser for a couple of hours, um, so that I it's it's just there, and like I said, in 22 seconds it's in my brain. Or um at the event um or in a public space where you can't have your diffuser, uh, palm inhalation, what you were talking about, is a great way of doing it. Um, and it works on actually uh in two ways you inhale um and you also apply it to your skin. And while skin um absorption works a little bit slower than inhaling, it takes about two minutes to get into your nervous system compared to not 22 seconds. Some of the blends are so, for example, adaptive is actually a roller, so it's much easier to carry with me. So I just apply it on my wrist and inhale, and this means that if I touch something, it's not gonna leave a mark, so it's really convenient. Some oils, not these two, um, not these blends, um, you can also uh take internally, put it in a glass of water. Um, but usually um the inhalation is the fastest way when we talk about this neuromodulation or biohacking. I love this.

SPEAKER_00 9:41

So let's talk a little bit more about how the oils are linked to the zytoscans because when we have got our retreat reset, realign and rise coming up in May in Ibiza, which you will be very much part of. Um you're gonna be bringing your zytoscan for women to scan them at the beginning of the retreat and the end of the treat, and you're gonna be very much combining that with oils during the retreat. So, what does this particular scan do, and how can it support you as a business owner, but also in relation to oils itself?

SPEAKER_01 10:17

So there are two answers to this or two parts to this question. So, Zytoscan um is a tool that can see, as you've said at the beginning, where you might be understressed, but it looks beyond the nervous system. So it looks at your gut health, your cardiovascular, your lifestyle, all of those areas that again we as business owners tend to forget about because we're in the work mode, we're in that masculine let's just get things down mode, as opposed to taking care of ourselves. So that that this tool really helped me understand what might be my long-term blocker, why I lack energy energy, not through like day-to-day I inhale an oil, great, that sticks me for a couple of hours, I got through the day, but longer term, how do I create a more sustainable change? How do I improve my performance and my health on a day-to-day basis? What are those areas? And you know, sometimes it is as straightforward and kind of health-focused as gut health, or sometimes it is your nervous system, you're under stress, and it looks why you might be under stress. And the solutions, because I I very much believe in foundational medicine, um, therefore, solutions and I pick the oil protocols based on those stressors. I like to say there's an oil for that. And it will be a natural solution. A lot of the time, we as women, um, our stressors are endocrine um disruptors. So all the perfumes or household fragrances, air freshness that we use that actually have hidden very negative impact on our health and our performance. It makes us more tired, more irritable, and actually a bit more overwhelmed day to day. So, again, depending on the area that where you are affected, because we're all affected differently, that helps me put together a protocol that is tailored to that individual person. And then the second part of the answer is um I'd be so bent, I obviously I can't do the scans for all the women ahead of the event, and I can't create an individual protocol for every day for every woman. So I very much looked at what you wanted to get out of the event, stage that the journey that you wanted each woman to follow, and there were some similarities with the visionary in January, but there was a lot more deeper transformation work and connecting with your divine feminine. So I've created a slightly different aromatic journey for with that in mind, but there would be options, so again, there will be more options for every day compared to visionary, so that we can tailor the experience for each woman where we can.

SPEAKER_00 13:03

I love that because we've got three really lovely clear pathways across the visionary retreat: reset, realign, and rise. So each day, have you got particular blends that are going to be associated with what you want the woman to get out of? What's set for her?

SPEAKER_01 13:24

Absolutely. I was very excited to put it together because there is much more freedom to explore. We have the you know Monday and Friday, those bookend days, so we don't need to go straight in. Um, so for the first day or Tuesday, we really needed to get people out of that low-level stress state or high level, depending on their trip, but the baggage is lost, hopefully, nothing. Everything goes well. No baggage lost, no baggage lost. So um I've decided to keep balance, which we which was really popular at the Visionary. Um, and it is a blend of spruce, highwood, frankincense, blue tansy, and blue chamomile. So you're getting that grounding um and supporting your relaxation, slowing things down, slowing kind of the pace, the reactivity, and aligns beautifully with the agenda that you put together, so the guided sunrise meditation intention setting ceremony, but it's not like a lavender oil that will put you to sleep. It's still very much a morning type of oil. And then the second day, when we move into more reflective state, and we'll probably talk a lot about this divine feminine and stepping away from the masculine reactive mode. I picked two oils that were as feminine as it gets geranium and rose. Um, so geranium is known for its um balancing effect, especially around emotional regulation. And rose is known to lower that defensive systems, those defensive systems. Um, and you know, you're stepping away from that pro problem-solving mode and really accessing what's underneath and you know the deep thinking, so there might be some revelation um and that day, yes, and you know, might learn something about ourselves or rediscover something about ourselves that we didn't expect. Um and then I love that. Um you say that now, and then you know I will.

SPEAKER_00 15:28

I I love the I love the smell of rose. I'm still on the fence with geranium, but I'm sure it's such a beautiful scent. I I think it's something that I've got to learn to love, but I can't wait to see how it's going to be used in the way for the retreat as well. So, yeah, it's um they they all sound incredible. And then obviously, we've got day three of the retreat, which is rise, which is all about kind of rising back up into your power as a businesswoman and reconnecting with why you're doing what you're doing.

SPEAKER_01 16:02

Yes, and it's all about that powerful activation. So I'm keeping the wild orange oil from the visionary event because it is still one of those um pure oils that is associated with abundance, with creativity, and it works really well. But to add that extra boost of power, I'm bringing in this mega blend. Like I said, it's one of those that's on my desk, especially on a Monday when I'm working on the business. Um so the I've actually I had to write down because it has so much in it, so I had to write down what's in it so that I don't miss a single element. So it has wild orange, there you go, clementin, lemon, peppermint, spearmint, rosemary, coriander, basil, cardamom, tonka bean, melissa, melissa, and vanilla absolute. That is your power in a five millilitre bottle. Oh gosh. So you get that directed energy boost, and you know, after a day of grounding and then a day of opening, you really go into that activate mode.

SPEAKER_00 17:06

This all sounds absolutely incredible, and I cannot wait because we are less than four weeks away now until the retreat happens with all these gorgeous oils. So if a woman was to think about, do you know what? I've never looked at scent, I've never looked at scent attached with my business, what would be a really good entry level into her just being exposed to scent or starting her journey to support the regulation of her nervous system as she works at her desk for argument's sake?

SPEAKER_01 17:39

Well, what um what really what was really mind-opening for me um was an um aroma diagnostics um that I ran on myself. And what it means is I collected all my oils, and I don't have all of them. I have a nice collection, but it's not all of them. And in one day, in one session, I just smelled all of them and I ranked them to see what were my top oils and bottom oils. And there's a whole theory about resource oils, um, the ones that you like the most, and your shadow oils, basically the ones that you hate. There is a smell that you hate, and the explanation behind it is your resource oils are the ones that you are naturally inclined to, or are where you're strong. So, for example, if you love citrusy oils, it will most likely mean that you are creative, you might be an entrepreneur, so you know that comes naturally to you. So when you're feeling a bit down, you will turn to those oils for support, and that is your kind of immediate fix. So that is the kind of the most direct route. Find the smell that you like and keep turning to it. Either ask me or Google what that oil means, what our oil says about you. And then the second one is actually, you know, when you say you you don't like geranium as much, um, that might be one of your shadow oils. So that is actually a more deeper work of understanding what you could work on, what might be your inner blocker. And again, I can give my example, mine is lesser, and it basically means that I find it really difficult to switch off citrusy oil, which is great for being a business learner, but then the flip side of it, I really need to work a little bit on switching off.

SPEAKER_00 19:19

A little bit on like reset and realign, just kind of give yourself that little bit of time of yes, absolutely. I think it's you know, I remember my first introduction to oils was very much finding something that I really, really liked and having it as a diffuser on my desk just to kind of get me used to you know the scents and really look at how I want to be using them before I kind of then started with like palm inhalation and and using them a lot more kind of frequently around the home as well, which I loved. So I think that could also be a really good entry into oils. Obviously, if you're wanting to experience oils and you're a businesswoman, you're a business owner, and you think you know what? I really like the sound of this, and I really want to set myself up properly and go down the exploration route of oils. Then obviously, at the end of this podcast, you're going to find all of Olia's details in the show notes where you can access her and you can get in touch, and very much she can guide you to that. But it's also just having a lovely diffuser and having a couple of oils in there and let it kind of you know soak the room up, which is really, really nice, which I love. So let's talk about then the support of oils and scents getting into our nervous system within 22 seconds, teamed with mindset work. And actually, is it enough just to be doing scent, or should we be doing the two blended together? Like when we talk about how powerful scent is, getting getting in and overriding and being able to get into our system, is that enough or should we be doing more?

SPEAKER_01 21:09

Think of it this way if you knew that the right that there's something good behind a door in a room and you didn't quite know how to get there, the essential oil, inhaling essential oil, will help you open that door. But you still need to walk through it, you still need to explore it, you still need to do the work. So essential oils are amazing to quickly put you in the right state of mind, to put your nervous system in the right state of mind, but it's not going to do the work for you. Um it will, let's say, adaptive or balance, will put you in the right state of mind and you know, in a more focused, more grounded way before a difficult client call. But it's not going to tell you what to say in that call, you know, it will help you in the morning to feel more energized. But where you direct that energy, that is very much mindset work. So I absolutely combine the two and um I know you do as well. So it is really helpful to um to get there quicker and yeah, it might speed a process up, but on its own, it's not going to change who you are.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it's I think I really respect that answer because I think it's it's lovely when you can blend the two together because both are incredibly powerful in their own right. But I think certainly since I have started using oils in my journey as a business owner, blended with subconscious and mindset work, I have found that it has really supported me, set me up for calls, set me up for meetings, set me up for different situations, so much so that now we're obviously using oils a lot more in the home. My boys are using them, they have their own kits. Obviously, thank you to Olya and Essential Edge. You know, they have their kits and they have all of their own blends, and they absolutely love them as well. And it really helps with anxiety and it really helps with overwhelm. And I think, especially as interior designers, we can find ourselves in these cylindrical spirals of procrastination, imposter syndrome, getting in our own way, and oils surely can support all of that, can't they?

SPEAKER_01 23:34

Absolutely, they can support your nervous system. Again, it will not it's like they don't replace hormones or they don't create something that is not there, but they nudge the nervous system in the right direction. And if you want to be in a place where you're more productive, or if you want to be in a place where you're uh more focused, but also what's good about oils, and we're talking about high-quality oils here, is that they're adaptogenic. So you might be using one blender, one oil, because in the moment you you want something, but it actually so adaptogenic basically means that it adapts to your body and your nervous system. It might actually identify where you might need a little bit more support as well, um, from both a therapeutic perspective. So when you mention around the home, um, you know, we've put together a protocol that is more health related, not just um mindset related. So each oil, when when I work with clients and you know, recommend an oil for a certain purpose, I share a whole guide that shows what nine other things that oil can do. Um and we've kind of we always start with a wellness consultation based on what do you want to achieve, where do you want to get to, um, and then figure out what is the right way of doing it. And not just on you know, selection of oils, but also how to use them, how frequently to use them, whether it's inhaling, whether it's um, you know, having a bath at the end of the day, so um trying to put a structure around it based on your needs and therapeutic properties of oils.

SPEAKER_00 25:14

I love this. Do you know? I could sit and talk about oils all day long now that I've kind of been exposed to this lovely world of oils, and very much, you know, we we come in from a day's work, we'll put the diffuser on, we'll rub oils in. Obviously, I don't have a big collection, but we are collecting, and I certainly find um as a multi-business owner, when you've got to wear lots of different hats, and as well as a mum, you know, when you've got to change from that business owner to mum mode, you know, having those oils to kind of just be in my toolbox as a backup to support me, I find that they really, really help so much, and they just that they they get in to the system and do what they do. So obviously, turning the conversation a little bit more technical, talk me through when the oil hits our kind of nervous system where wherever it goes in the brain, what is the chemical reactions that it goes through in order to support ourselves in an external type of way?

SPEAKER_01 26:16

Well, it's actually twofold uh for even when you inhale, it's both um kind of mental or emotional and physical. So when it comes to mental reaction, is when you bypass your control, um control part of the brain, and it goes into the limbic system, and again the components of oils then work with um, so for example, linolol in lavender works with a parasympathetic nervous system and nudges it to then create hormones to calm you down, or limanine in citrus oils again, it doesn't create hormones itself, but it then uh nudges the system, nervous system to uh produce more dopamine in you know in the layman terms. So that's kind of the first way, and then the second one is more of a reinforcement because you inhale the molecule molecules of oils go into your lungs where they get absorbed and they go into your bloodstream. So that also extends the effect of the oils. It doesn't just wear off just because you know you've um you've inhaled it and then you washed your hands, it did get into your system again. It took a little bit longer, but it also stays in um a bit longer because of this. The structure of oils and the molecules, it can actually get to where it needs to get. It doesn't stay like a cream, you know, the the toxic creams that we like. It doesn't stay on top of the surface, it does get much deeper, and I think I I heard a stat somewhere that an oil can get up to 15 centimetres deep, so all the level layers, yeah. So it then continues to work and and find what it can um fix.

SPEAKER_00 27:59

I love that. Oh my gosh, do you know I could sit and talk about oils all day, but I know anyone that is coming to the retreat in Ibiza, reset, realign, and rise is going to be in for a beautiful surprise. Not only are there gonna be blends, but there's gonna be daily blends, there's gonna be an opportunity, um, you know, to have your scan. Um, and we've got three day passes still available. So if you're feeling like, do you know what? I really need to disconnect to reconnect, I need to come along. No, I I just need to be exposed to all of this wonderful um retreat setup that's gonna happen, especially we've got essential edge coming and the oils that Olya's gonna provide, and all of the work that she's gonna do with the women um across the couple of days on the setup from the mornings to the evenings, as well as you know, very much be there to advise you as well on what you need where in the body, then please do get in touch. And Olya, it's been so lovely to have you on today's podcast. What would be your one parting piece of advice for our listeners if they were thinking about their journey into oils?

SPEAKER_01 29:17

I think it's I mean, depending on where you start. Um, if you've always thought that essential oils are aromatherapy that may be used at a massage somewhere, then you know you're coming from a different place where you've not heard about essential oils at all. So I just say keep an open mind. Try. Uh, there are events that are happening um where you can just you know get familiarized with oils. If you are in Surrey, we're planning a few taster events as well in the next few months. And if not, then um I'm sure we can figure something out. Um, but it's more about yeah, keeping an open mind and understanding what it is that you want help with, and we'll find a solution. That there is an oil for that. I think it might be in my new tagline.

SPEAKER_00 30:00

There is an oil for everything. Oh, I love that. Olya, thank you so much. And all of Olya's details are gonna be in the show notes provided below. Olya, thank you so much for coming in today on the podcast and sharing all of your lovely knowledge.

SPEAKER_01 30:15

Thank you for inviting me, and I'm looking forward to IVTA.

SPEAKER_00 30:19

I know, roll on May. And I will be back next week with another beautiful podcast. So thank you for tuning in for today. And if you've liked today's show, then please share and tag us, and there'll be a little gift waiting for you on the other end. Take care.