What is Aromatherapy?

Do you know what aromatherapy is and how it can be used? Do you know the benefits aromatherapy has on specific health related issues? It's a practice that's main purpose is to cure the mental, physical, and spiritual aspect of an individual. It's a practice that's been around for thousands of years.

Dating back as early as 700 B.C documents have been found with at least three-hundred and fifty medical plants and remedies listed as healing tools. The Chinese are the first known to practice aromatherapy, according to written text, but archeologist in Dordogne, France located paintings on Lascaux Caves with plants pictured as natural healing agents. No one knows when exactly the hieroglyphics were created but it's estimated the Chinese had the first written forms of aromatherapy and its value.

The caves date back to around 18,000 B.C., but earlier findings were established from The Pen Tsoa or Great Herbal. Written by Shen Nung, a great emperor, he listed poppy and cannabis as a few of his three hundred and fifty healing plants. Most of his remedies and listings are still used in modern practice of aromatherapy.

Aromatherapy and essential oils are a relatively new practice in the United States that's been practiced around the world for decades. Its practices are useful and have particular effects on the body that should be recognized and practiced for many.

There are three basic forms of aromatherapy- Body, water, and room methods.
Body Methods

Tissues, handkerchiefs, vapor inhalation, massage oils, or perfumes can be classified as a form of aromatherapy through the body method.

Perfumes generally can be made from mixing two or more essential oils with a common base. Cold or flu viruses can be addressed by dabbing particular oil on your sanitary napkin and inhaling the properties that help relieve symptoms. Common practices of this are facial tissues with lavender or citrus scent. Some good vapor examples would be Vicks Vapor Rub, a common ingredient used is Eucalyptus. An essential oil can also be applied to a non-scented lotion or rubbing oil.

Water Methods

This is one of the most common and easier ways to benefit from aromatherapy. Baths, jacuzzi's/sauna's, sitz baths, hand baths, showers, or foot baths, are excellent sources for allowing drops of essential oils to loosen, relax, cleanse, and cool muscle and/or joint pain. Douching with an essential oil should be thoroughly researched and no oil should be used internally, or as a drink.

Room Methods

Great examples of room methods are candles, diffusers, light bulbs, room sprays, humidifiers, radiators, water bowls, or a wood fire. The most common type of essential oil candles are store bought, but buying your own essential oil and adding it to a non scented candle can release a huge amount of helpful properties and a lovely scent. To get more advanced, making your own mixture of oil candles can replace expensive candles and allow a longer life span of your precious oil.

Dropping a dab of essential oil to a cool light bulb can release oil properties into the room once the bulb becomes warm.

A water bottle, essential oil, and water are all you need to create a wondrous array of elements to fill the room.

ESSENTIAL OILS

With over a thousand essential oils it's impossible to describe every single one and its particular value for the human body. Below I've listed five of the most commonly used essential oils along with the health issues they're good for.

Lemon Oil

Its everlasting smell and flexibility makes this the mostly commonly used essential oil. Its uses are good for eye infections (painful burning but infection will clear), antiseptic, disinfectant, premenstrual tension, oily skin, and dandruff. If you're an individual suffering from psoriasis lemon oil can help relieve symptoms. Lemon oil can be applied to those who suffer from vein problems (varicose veins, or broken capillaries) or use it to help relieve the effects of stretching pregnancy skin.

Orange Oil

Helps rejuvenate the skin and provides a great mouthwash for those suffering from halitosis thrush. Its properties also help relieve eczema, dermatitis, and awful wrinkles from the sun. If fatigue, stress, or premenstrual tension is an issue a pure orange essential oil can help.

Peppermint Oil

This particular oil is a favorite for many, it can be used as a stimulate sharpening the mind and body the same as coffee would but without the harsh caffeine. Peppermint oil can be massaged onto an area for inflammation or irritation for cooling relief.

Caution's strongly advised when using peppermint oil; it intensifies brain waves and should never be used during pregnancy.

(Also it's a good repellant, most pest hate the smell of peppermint)

Lemongrass Oil

Suffering from athlete's foot, apply lemongrass for relief of itching and burning associated with athlete's foot.

Along with helping with skin irritations lemongrass can be sprayed through-out a room to protect against airborne infections and unwanted insects, making it a great combination with the essential oil peppermint. Digestion problems can result from high levels of stress; lemongrass can help slow down the digestive process for a normal functioning digestive system.

Remember lemongrass has a powerful scent and can easily cause nausea, its best to mix it with another essential oil, peppermint or lavender are great partners with lemongrass.

Lavender

This Essential oil has become or is the most widely used oil because of its ability to be applied on just about any part of the body without a base oil. In other words it can be applied completely pure without a lotion or massage oil for dilution.

Lavender is mostly associated with burns and its healing properties for the skin, but if you're suffering from cystitis, vaginitis, or leucorrhoea lavender can help. Known to help urinary problems, abscesses, boils, cold/flu, arthritis, swelling, cellulite, bruises, frostbite, fatigue, cuts and wounds, oily skin, and/or dermatitis its simple to see why this oil's popular.

It's also reputed that the essential oils extracted from Lavender can help cure headaches.

Essential oils have been used for countless generations on healing naturally and having providing countless results on healthy skin and health. Aloe Vera's an excellent example of a plant with properties to help the skin.

Aromatherapists can be found at health and wellness spas throughout the country. Acupuncturists, Reiki instructors, Yoga instructors, and Meditators are good resources to find out more about aromatherapy and its connections with health. Essential oils can be found at your local health food stores or at through online retailers. Before purchasing an essential oil be sure that its 100% pure, do research and see how much each oil costs per oz.

Practicing aromatherapy takes time, patience, and the proper amount of research, results will not have immediate effects. Some health related issues take time to develop; it also takes time to heal. An allergy test should always be performed to make sure no allergies are present. This can be done by applying a small amount of essential oil to a tiny area a skin. Wait at least one day before determining results. These are only suggestions and should not be confused with the advice of a professional doctor.