Aromatherapy
Discovering Essential Oils
Aromatherapy is the use of Essential
oils, which are the distilled essence of aromatic plants and flowers
in a condensed form. Aromatherapy is the ancient art and science of using
the healing power of aromatic essential oils, distilled from organic plant
sources. Due to the vast number of natural phytochemicals produced by the
plants, essential oils have many different effects on the body, mind and
spirit. Stress relief and pain relief are the most common
applications. Essential oils and their predecessors have been valued for
their fragrance and their restorative effects on the body, mind, and
spirit for thousands of years. The first coining of aromatherapy as a word
was by a French man..
Aromatherapy helps the body heal itself. In
Aromatherapy the body absorbs the physical and emotional properties of
aromatic plant extracts known as essential oils. These substances
can be administered by a number of different means, in a candle
diffuser, as part of massage, by direct
external application, in baths or showers, as room fragrances, in food and
in rare circumstances as internal medication.
Breaking News from CNN
Wednesday, August 20, 2003 Posted: 12:35 PM EDT (1635 GMT) |
| CHICAGO, Illinois (Reuters) -- Light and aromatherapy
can ease the sleeplessness and agitation common among patients with
Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, British researchers
reported. In a four-week study of how aromatherapy can affect
elderly dementia patients, roughly one-third suffered fewer bouts of
agitation when they were rubbed with a lemon balm compared to one in
10 who showed improvement when rubbed with an odorless sunflower oil.
"Patients exposed to lemon balm also showed significant
improvements in the quality of life, including a decrease in social
withdrawal and an increase in constructive activities," study leader
Clive Ballard of the University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne told
the conference.
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How to Use Aromatherapy
You can use aromatherapy as a serious healing tool or a
pleasant past time. However, essential oils can be dangerous if misused or
little more than an expensive room fragrance, Knowledge of
essential oil properties is the key.
Their are many sources, this site can be the beginning, along with many
other valuable sites on the web. This site has a links page with a
lot of good resources. But well referenced aromatherapy books that
have stood the test of time are often well worth the effort and expense.
Decoders have their
place in aromatherapy as a quick and easy reference, good for an
introduction to the day to day use of essential oils a quick reminder of
their uses. After you have selected an oil and a use for it, how do you
use it. It can be as simple as a few drops in a basin of hot steamy water
breathing it in with a towel over your head capturing the steam.
Quite effective by the way; or an essential oil or blend,
properly diluted, dabbed on pulse points can make a pleasant
essential oil perfume with aromatherapy,
therapeutic benefits. Not something you will find at your typical cosmetic
counter. To the other end of the spectrum of aromatherapy
applications, professional grade Nebulizers,
or decorative candle diffusers. |
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