The Benefits of Aromatherapy
By Maren Good
The heart of aromatherapy is discovering the art of incorporating essential oils into one’s daily life. Including these gifts of nature in one’s world is the key to learning the healing qualities of aromatherapy
Essential oils are fragrant, highly concentrated, volatile extracts from plants. They are extracted from various plant parts; including leaves, spices, fruits, woods, roots, seeds and flowers. Each oil contains individual benefits to which the body and mind respond. Since early times the use of essential oils, incense and perfumes have been believed to heal the body, alter moods, stir memories, and generally improve the quality of life. Essential oils are the concentrated essences of plants, often referred to as the soul of the plant. Biological research has found that essential oils are part of the plant’s immune system, with the plant producing increased essential oils under stress. Because of their metabolic processes, they work in harmony with the human body and deliver a sense of balance and well being. Essential oils because of their natural complexity are complete in themselves.
Almost everyone can benefit by using essential oils. Because essential oils are nature based they are unlike the synthetic odors that surround us daily. The true smell of such aromas as pine trees, oranges or the delicate scent of night blooming jasmine informs our senses with authentic information. There is an essential oil for everybody, each evoking different memories which can affect us on the physical, emotional, psychological or spiritual level. The oil affecting these states may change daily because of the dynamic nature of our lives, and the plant kingdom, through essential oils, can respond to that dynamic state.
Whenever you breathe the fragrance of an essential oil, the fine oil particles are carried by the air and penetrate deep within the lungs. It is here that they enter the blood stream. This is why breathing essential oils continuously over several hours is the equivalent of taking an internal dose. According to chemist Kurt Schnaubelt, essential oils enter the bloodstream quickly, changing the electrical conductivity (and it is presumed, the pH) instantly at the spot where it enters the first capillary. This causes an electrical charge to immediately travel through the body, hence aromatherapy’s often remarkably fast results.
Another highly penetrable area is the bottom of the feet. If you stand on a clove of garlic, very shortly, your breath will smell of garlic. This is also true of essential oils. The advantage of applying essential oils to the soles of the feet is the fact that the skin is much thicker and concentrations can be stronger as the skin here will not react to some of the more anti-infectious oils that might normally produce skin irritations.
Combining essential oils with a vegetable carrier oil is an effective way to use essential oils (almost all oils need to be diluted). Many of these concentrated essences have a fine molecular structure that can easily penetrate the outer layers of the skin, pores and the olfactory system, carrying vital information to the blood, organs, tissues, memory and emotional centers of the body.
Essential oils are a gift of nature and have myriad ways to share their wealth and healing capacities with us.
References:
www.labofflowers.com
Schnaubelt, Kurt, “Advanced Aromatherpy”, Healing Arts Press, May 1998
Maren Good is the owner of Good Scents, Inc., a company specializing in aromatherapy products, and is a Certified Practitioner in Acutonics® Sound Healing and Senior Faculty member with the Kairos Institute of Sound Healing. Maren creates the Good Scents Essential Care Kit® to provide easy-to-use and effective customized aromatherapy products. Be sure to check out her products. Aromatherapy is the perfect gift for anyone on your list!
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