The word aromatherapy means treatment using scents. It refers to the use of essential oils in Holistic healing to improve health and emotional well being, and in restoring balance to the body.
AROMATHERAPY
The word aromatherapy means treatment using scents. It refers to the use of essential oils in Holistic healing to improve health and emotional well being, and in restoring balance to the body. Essential oils are aromatic essences extracted from plants, flowers, trees, fruit, bark, grasses and seeds.
There are more than 150 types of oils that can be extracted. These oils have distinctive therapeutic, psycho-logical and physiological properties that improve health and prevent illness. All essential oils have unique healing and valuable antiseptic properties. Some oils are antiviral, antiinflammatory, pain relieving, antidepressant, stimulating, relaxing, expectorating, support digestion and have diuretic properties too.
Essential oils get absorbed into our
body and exert an influence on it. The residue gets dispersed from the body
naturally. They can also affect our mind and emotions. They enter the body in
three ways: by inhalation, absorption and consumption.
Chemically, essential oils are a
mixture of organic com-pounds like ketones, terpenes, esters, alcohol, aldehyde
and hundreds of other molecules which are extremely difficult to classify, as
they are small and complex. The essential oils molecules are small. They
penetrate human skin easily and enter the bloodstream directly and finally get
flushed out through our elementary system.
A concentrate of essential oils is not greasy; it is more
like water in texture and evaporates quickly. Some of them are light liquid
insoluble in water and evaporate instantly when exposed to air. It would take
100 kg of lavender to get 3 kg of lavender oil; one would need 8 million
jasmine flowers to yield barely 1 kg of jasmine oil.
Some of the common essential oils used in aromatherapy for their versatile application are:
1. Clary Sage (Salvia scared)
2. Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus)
3. Geranium (Pelargonium graveolens)
4. Lavender (Lavendula limon officinalis)
5. Lemon (Citrus limon)
6. Peppermint (Mentha piperita)
7. Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis)
Origin of Aromatherapy
The title Aromatherapy was coined by Gattefosse, a French
chemist in the year 1928. He identified the use of aromatic oils accidentally,
when he burned his hand while working in his lab, and immediately he pooled his
hand inside a bottle containing lavender oil. The burn healed quickly due to
lavender oil and left little scarring. The use of aroma oil is known to be as
old as 6,000 years back, when the God of Medicine and Healing, recommended
fragrant oils for bathing and massaging. In 4,500 B.C., Egyptians used myrrh
and cedar wood oils for embalming their dead and the modern researchers after
6,500 years proved the fact that the cedar wood contains natural fixative and
strong antibacterial and antiseptic properties that preserved their mummies.
The Greek father of medicine, Hippocrates, recom-mended
regular aromatherapy baths and scented massages. Romans utilized essential oils
for pleasure and to cure pain and also for massages. During the great plague in
London in 1665, people burnt bundles of lavender, cedar wood and cypress in the
streets and carried poises of the same plants as their only defence to combat
infectious diseases.
Aromatherapy has received a wider acceptance in the early
twentieth century. Dr Jean Volnet, French army surgeon extensively used
essential oils in World War II to treat the injured warriors. It was Madame
Morquerite Murry (1964), who gave the holistic approach to aroma oils by
experimenting with them for individual problems.
Today, researches have proved the multiple uses of aroma
oils. Medical research in the recent years has uncovered the fact that the
odours we smell have a significant impact on the way we feel. Smells act
directly on the brain like a drug. For instance, smelling lavender increases
alpha wave frequency in the back of the head, and this state is associ-ated
with relaxation.
Mode of Action of Aroma Oils
Dr Alan Huch, a neurologist, psychiatrist and also the
director of Smell and Taste Research Centre in Chicago says, ‘Smell acts
directly on the brain, like a drug’. Our nose has the capacity to distinguish
1,00,000 different smells, many of which affect us without our knowledge
regarding the same.
The aroma enters our nose and connects with cilia, the fine
hair inside the nose lining. The receptors in the cilia are linked to the
olfactory lobe which is at the end of the smell tract. The end of the tract is
in turn connected to the brain itself. Smells are converted by cilia into
electrical impulses that are transmitted to the brain through olfactory system.
All the impulses reach the limbic system. Limbic system is that part of the
brain, which is associated with our moods, emotions, memory and learning. All
the smell that reaches the limbic system has a direct chemical effect on our
moods.
The molecular sizes of the essential oils are very tiny and
they can easily penetrate through the skin and get into the blood stream. It
takes anything between a few seconds to two hours for the essential oils to
enter the skin, and within four hours, the toxins get out of the body through
urine, perspiration and excreta.
Aroma oils work like magic for stress-related prob-lems,
psychosomatic disorders, skin infections, hair loss, inflammations and pains
arising from muscular or skeletal disorders.
Essential oils are safe to use. The only caution being they
should never be used directly because some oils may irritate sensitive skin or
cause photosensitivity. They should be blended in adequate proportion with the
carrier oils. A patch test is necessary to rule out any reactions.
Application Methods: Essential oils can be utilized in a myriad of ways, such as topically,
ingesting or internal and the most common inhalations.
Topical Applications: When using natural products, only your body knows how it is going to
respond; therefore, watch for any signs of skin irritation or side effects.
Essential oils are soluble with the lipids found in the skin and can penetrate
the skin surface and be absorbed into the lymph and circulatory systems. They
may be worn as perfumes, ointments, cologne, and can be applied undiluted or
diluted using a carrier oil or other base. As a rule, due to the con-centrated
and potency of pure essential oils, dilution in a carrier is highly recommended
for beginners or for those people with sensitive, fair skin, or applications of
the face, neck and other sensitive areas and also if you are trying a new oil
or blend of oils. Please be careful with children or infants as the dilution’s
necessary are very minute. When in doubt, always consult.
Baths: Seven to eight drops of essential
oil in 30 ml of carrier oil or honey.
Add this to running water and mix well before getting in. Be sure to check the
safety info for the essential oils that you choose.
Foot baths: Up to six drops in a bowl or
footbath of warm water. Soak for
approx. 10 minutes. This is great for varicose veins, swollen ankle or tired
aching legs.
Compresses: Hot or cold. Five to eight drops of
essential oil in a basin filled with
either hot or cold water. Agitate the water and place a cotton cloth on top of
the water to collect the floating oil. Gently squeeze excess water out and
apply directly and immediately to affected area. Wrap another towel over the
compress and leave until it reaches body temperature. This can be repeated over
and over for relief of pain, headache or to reduce inflammation.
Massage: Add 15–22 drops of essential oil to
a 30 ml of carrier oil for a full
body massage. Always massage in an upward motion and towards the heart for best
effect.
Inhalation Applications: This is one of the simplest and effective methods of dispersing
essential oils into the air. Inhalations are a method of introducing essential
oils to the lungs via the nose and throat. This can have great benefit for
respiratory problems, sinus congestion, flu, coughs, colds, catarrh and sore
throats. Use this method once or twice a day.
Facial Steams: Two to three drops of oil into a
bowel of boiled water. Drape a towel
over your head and lean over the bowl to inhale the steam deeply while keeping
eyes shut. Inhale slowly at first, then breathe deeper and deeper. Breathe
through your mouth for throat problems, and inhale through your nose for sinus
congestion.
Atomizers: Add 12–20 drops of essential oils to
distilled water in a spray bottle.
Shake well before using and mist on face or into the air.
Vaporizers: 10–12 drops in the top of the
vaporizer for a normal size room.
Nebulizers: This electrical unit is designed to
disperse the essential oils in a
micro-fine mist. This means that the molecules of oil will hang in the air for
much longer due to the minuscule weight of the particles. Research has shown
that diffusing in this way may help to reduce bacteria, fungus, mold and
unpleasant odours. It not only makes the air fresh, but it also helps you to
relax, relieves tension and creates an atmosphere of harmony and peace-ful
tranquillity.
Direct Inhalation: Put 3 drops of essential oil into
the palm of your hand and rub hands
together briefly, and then quickly inhale deeply for greater inhalation.
Relieves sinus congestion and is quite invigorating.
Essential oils have being used by the people for thou-sand
years; it has great potential to use in modern days. Appropriate method of
cultivation and distillation certainly yield good quality essential oil. The
more an essential oil is interfered physically or chemically, the less clinical
value it will have. This can be overcome by means of suitable evaluation
technique.
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