The Love Of Aromatherapy

Here I sit looking out of my office window at what nature provides as my viewing backdrop.  Australian native trees,  valleys full of them.  Here in the Blue Mountains nature brings to us some of the most amazing sites, sounds and smells.  Even though at this time of year (winter) it is really what you can call extremely fresh and invigorating with temperatures dropping by the day it doesn’t stop nature from providing these wonderful things for us. You just have to walk past a native tree and brush your hand along a leaf to smell the oil.  As you continue to walk amongst the native flora you start to see essential oils in their natural form everywhere, and it looks and smells so good!

Whist back in my cosy office with the heater on, I light a candle for my oil burner to fill the air with a beautiful fresh aroma and think about the fact that this aroma once came from the very nature that surrounds us all.  Aromatherapy is everywhere and every day there are more and more books, talks, articles and findings all beaming with new information filling our bookstores, and media outlets, including the very lucrative market Beauty and Spa. New and improved products and treatment ideas are finding their way into our shopping centres as well as day spas & beauty therapy places with aromatherapy becoming a very popular way of helping your skin remain healthy. Aromatherapy even has made its way into the corporate world where its been found to be very useful in boosting office productivity.

Aromatherapy, an ancient art of aroma and therapy was discovered centuries ago when there was a need for healing and keeping the body well. In a very primitive form, the essential oil’s ability to heal from smell and/or application spread quickly across the globe making them priceless commodities in the market place.  Every Aromatherapy (essential) oil, which has appeared on our shelves over the previous decades has one if not many amazing properties to heal, clean, clear, deodorise, uplift, feel good, relieve and calm and most smell so good in so many different ways.  Even today we have food grade quality essential oils which are used in many recipes. Whether the essential oil comes from using the fresh ingredient like fresh herbs (basil), garlic and ginger or a food quality distilled essential oil like rosewater, some of the properties are still present and beneficial for your wellbeing.

Today essential oils exist in many different quality / grades and are found in many, many different things and places.  Perfumes were one of the first to use essential oils especially back in the Ancient Egyptian days; essential oils were used in the high places by servants who anointed the skins of Pharaohs, Queens and other royalty.  Essential oils were also used in their hair/wigs as royalty felt that this gave them a sense of power and wealth.  Essential oils were also used in the food that was prepared for feasts and festivals.  As the healing properties in the oils were well known to the Egyptians the oils were used for all sorts of things from every day living right down to embalming of the dead.  Pharaohs and Queens were found to have been buried with their favourite essential oils for their use in the afterlife.

Essential oils have found their place in today’s society in the holistic or alternative therapies world. In addition they are slowly penetrating many western medical practices where doctors and patients are enjoying their many benefits. Finally they are getting what we Aromatherapist have known for years.  Essential oils work on many levels.  They also compliment other forms of treatments like western medicine and other holistic practices including natural therapies.

Aromatherapy massages are a great way of helping with the treatment of many aches, pains and ailments whether they are skin related or come from stress even internal problems. All can be helped by using essential oils in a massage. Aromatherapy massages help with the delivery of the required essential oils and its benefits through warming the oil and relaxing the body this helps the tiny oil to penetrate the skin and enter the blood stream and then from there the beneficial properties begin to work.  And this can be from a few drops of essential oil. Pretty powerful stuff!!  Just think how good you will feel from a few aromatherapy massages. Regular massages can really help to shift or heal some ailments and stresses not to mention how much more relaxed you will be.

Do not mess with the essential oil, it can work wonders!!

Through massage the essential oil can also help with many systems in your body.  Essential oils can help with the lymphatic system by assisting the removal of waste and toxins and help flush them out your body.  They can help with your immune system by help fighting any virus or bacteria that may have entered your body as well as help build your immune system up.

Vaporisers / oil burners are popping up in every home around town and are found to be helping out in all sorts of situations.  With the amazing ability of a fresh and inviting essential oil aroma to float  in the air, they hold their place at parties.  This is another method of using essential oils and having their amazing healing benefits delivered to you whilst you relax in your home surroundings.  By breathing in the wonderful aroma suddenly your mood begins to change and as you become relaxed you can start to feel like the hard day at work is diminishing and you are feeling yourself again. Ready to have a beautiful evening with the family!

Also during these cold months is when the essential oil really can come into play with any oil burner or vaporiser. Many essential oils hold great properties to ward off, help keep at bay or even help to heal from the famous illnesses “Colds & Flu’s”. This is where the essential oil helps another one of our systems, the respiratory system.  Most essential oils are very powerful and extremely helpful in this regard.  They have been found very helpful with your sinus and in keeping your airways clear right down to the bronchial tract.  Not bad from an essential oil delivering a wonderful aroma with a powerful punch!

Another way aromatherapy can be enjoyed in your home is using them in the bath.  Here what better way to rid today’s tension and stresses than to slip into a bath with your favourite essential oil or a blend of them within the warm water.  Remember to mix essential oils with a small amount of milk (a teaspoon worth is plenty) to help disperse the oil in the water.  Lie in the bath with your favourite essential oil/s, soft music and/or candles and what more could you want. Oh! Ok maybe a glass of champagne, now that’s the way to relax. Hmmmm……  What better way to continue your enjoyment of using essential oils than to follow up from your amazingly stress releasing bath with an aromatic moisturiser. Your skin can be nourished and moisturised by using a blend of oils with a carrier oil. To enhance the effect why not envelope yourself in your most comfortable bathrobe sit back and relax enjoying the wonderful aroma floating around you.  Stress, what stress??  Aromatherapy has worked again!

You know, it’s not hard to appreciate the wonderful use of nature in the humble essential oil. One small drop, a small effort and you are on your way to enjoying the benefits that Aromatherapy has to offer.  And as time goes by you will be astounded how many times you will use and love aromatherapy more.  Then you will begin to wonder how you got through life with out these amazing little drops of nature.  I seem to find at least one use of an essential oil every day and by the days out it is often amazing to realise just how many times an essential oil is used.  Whether we use its natural state or from a bottle of goodness, essential oils have entered into many people’s lives all over the world. It’s as simple as that!

One of the great things about Aromatherapy is that different varieties of essential oils can be enjoyed by all.  Whether you are a male or female, a pregnant mother, a baby or elderly, well or even sick the benefits of any essential oil are outstanding for everybody alike.

Now, as with most things, and as much as we love essential oils with some essential oils you do need to take care. Always check the bottle or packaging for any contra-indications and/or do a patch test prior to use, especially if you are an allergy sufferer.  Any Aromatherapist or health food shop can help to ensure that you make the right choice of essential oil for your requirement.

Enjoy the natural helping and healing abilities in which Aromatherapy has to offer and you’ll find your life changes in many ways. Have fun, relax and indulge yourself in the wonderful world of essential oils.

Do I love of Aromatherapy?  Yes, indeed!

Written by Sharon Mitchell