Aromatherapy: Essential oils support physical and emotional well-being

S.O.T.T: Your sense of smell is your most primal sense and exerts surprising influence over your thoughts, emotions, moods, memories, and behaviors. Scents are experienced long before words. This is why it's nearly impossible to describe them with language. Olfaction is different from your other senses, processed through different pathways in your brain. For other sensations such as sounds and visual images, sensory input is delivered straight to your thalamus, which you can think of as "the big switchboard" in your head. From there, data goes out to your primary sensory cortices.

But smells are different. Before reaching your thalamus, they first wind their way through other regions of your brain, including areas controlling memory and emotion. So with scents, you have all this extra processing even before you have conscious awareness of the scent. For this reason, scents can have a powerful influence over how you think, feel, and behave. Aromatherapy allows you to harness the olfactory power of plants for healing, or simply to enhance your state of well-being...read more>>>...

Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Does it really work?

Spiral Nature: Walk into almost any store and you can find aromatherapy candles, scented spa treatments, fragrant potpourri, and scented oils touted to do everything from soften skin to improve your mood. The long tradition of using plants and herbs as medicine and in ritual lends a sense of wonder and some credibility to these claims in pagan circles. But is this stuff on the level? Is there any science behind it? Bottom line, does it really work? The answer, as one might expect, is not so simple.

Essential oils are, essentially, liquids distilled or pressed from plants. Most plants’ aromas can be attributed to chemicals present in their essential oils, chemicals which we know to be functional in carrying oxygen, nutrients, and minerals, and in bringing health and wellness to the human body. Essential oils are an estimated 20-30 times stronger than herbs in taste, smell, and in their bioactive impact....read more>>>...

Practical Aromatherapy: Anti-Viral Properties Of Essential Oils

The body of evidence regarding the effectiveness of natural botanicals against a great variety of viruses is growing. Over twenty years ago, German scientists found extracts of more than 100 species of the Lamiaceae family to have antiviral effects. This discovery lead to and increase in the examination of essential oils in Europe for the treatment of viral infections.

Essential oils from many plant families have now been demonstrated to have antiviral properties. Interestingly, different plant families exhibit varying degrees of effectiveness depending on the virus strain. This is due to the particular molecular structures found in each type of oil, which penetrate physical entities to varying degrees (different tissues, cell walls, mucous membranes, etc). The effect on each virus strain depends also on the virus structure (enveloped, non-enveloped, molecular symmetry, etc.)

Certainly, one of the reasons for oils' effectiveness en vivo is their lipophillic character - essential oils are easily absorbed into mammalian tissues, where they may produce the greatest results. In fact, when studying the anti-viral effects of essential oils, researchers found that normal cells seemed to acquire a special resistance to viral penetration, though the mechanism for this effect is not yet known....read more>>>...

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A Word on "Aromatherapy"

Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of volatile essential oils from aromatic plants. It is aimed at rejuvenating the body, mind and spirit.

Essential oils can be used with massage (using aromatherapy massage technique - a combination of lymphatic drainage, reflexology techniques, Shiatsu and Swedish massage), in oil burners, baths, inhalation or by applying small amounts to skin or clothes.

According to aromatherapy theory, the essential oil molecules bring about changes in the brain. These brain changes in turn lead to rejuvenating emotional and physiological reactions.

Essential oils are obtained from a wide assortment of plants, which have been steam distilled or cold-pressed from flowers, fruit, bark and roots.

Aromatherapy is .....

... the skilled and controlled use of essential oils for physical and emotional health and well being." --Valerie Cooksley

"Aromatherapy conveys the concept of healing with aromatic substances." --Robert Tisserand

"Aromatherapy is a caring, hands-on therapy which seeks to induce relaxation, to increase energy, to reduce the effects of stress and to restore lost balance to mind, body and soul." --Robert Tisserand

"Aromatherapy can be defined as the controlled use of essential oils to maintain and promote physical, psychological, and spiritual wellbeing." -- Gabriel Mojay

Aromatherapy can be defined as the art and science of utilising naturally extracted aromatic essences from plants to balance, harmonise and promote the health of body, mind and spirit.

It is an art and science which seeks to explore the physiological, psychological and spiritual realm of the individual's response to aromatic extracts as well as to observe and enhance the individual's innate healing process.

As a holistic medicine, Aromatherapy is both a preventative approach as well as an active treatment during acute and chronic stages of illness or 'dis'-ease.

It is a natural, non-invasive treatment system designed to affect the whole person not just the symptom or disease and to assist the body's natural ability to balance, regulate, heal and maintain itself by the correct use of essential oils.

"Aromatherapy is essentially an interaction between the therapist, client and essential oils, working together to bring forth the healing energy which will help the client regain their sense of well being and vitality." -- Jade Shutes

The term "aromatherapie" was coined by Rene Maurice Gattefosse in 1928. He utilized the word to imply the therapeutic use of aromatic substances (essential oils). Since the beginning of Aromatherapy, the practice has encompassed human pathology and the treatment of different conditions (emotional and physical) with essential oils. As Aromatherapy developed into a practice it adopted an holistic approach which encompasses the body, the mind and the spirit (energy).

As an holistic therapy Aromatherapy is able to work on several levels of the individuals well being.

Aromatherapy Workout

Aromatherapy has a wide range of known healing uses. But did you know you can make it work for you in the gym or on the track? If you are among those of us who are running, cycling, dancing and panting your way to a better state of well being then you are aware that often we can push ourselves a little too far, resulting in strained muscles or fatigue. Many active people are aware of the ability of essential oils to ease the pain of muscle injury and speed up recovery, but they can also help to enhance you fitness regime by boosting your circulation and preparing your body for a healthy workout. Here's how;

Essential oils can improve your overall performance by increasing blood circulation. You depend on the circulation of blood to transfer energy in the form of oxygen from your lungs, to each individual cell in your body. The blood is also responsible for transporting nutrients from the digestive system to the other organs. Healthy muscles need a good supply of blood to keep them active when working out or playing sports. There are several aromatherapy oils, which can stimulate blood circulation and keep that energy flowing; these include: cypress, eucalyptus, geranium, ginger, juniper, rosemary and lemongrass. Though not as powerful, bergamot, cedar, chamomile and grapefruit oils can help to improve the integrity of your blood vessels.

A massage oil to boost circulation can be easily made by adding 20 drops of essential oil (either a single oil or combination), to 2 ounces of a carrier oils such as sunflower, grape seed or almond oil. A massage oil can take up to an hour to pass through the skin so should be applied with plenty of time to take effect before your workout begins. (More ...)