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Aromatherapy

"If the day and night are such that you greet them with joy and life emits a fragrance like flowers and sweet scented herbs - that is your success. All nature is your congratulations."
Henry David Thoreaux

Truly, life can be succesfully celebrated through our olfactory sense with the magic of aromatherapy. The practice of Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from plants, trees, and herbs, for therapeutic purposes. Currently, there are approximately 40 different essential oils that can be used singly while there are also those that can be used in combination. The AromaWeb offers over 250 pages of these aromatherapy and essential oil articles for your perusal. Generally, the oils they are helpful for treating stress and other stress-related ailments as well as for invigorating the body and promoting well-being.

To do aromatherapy, the can be used in a variety of ways. They can be used by direct application to the skin. This can be done effectively through a massage with aromatherapy oils which will be readily absorbed into the skin. An aromatherapy massage oil contains a few drops of an essential oil to a small amount of an unscented carrier oil (such as a vegetable oil). Another way is by inhaling the scents since breathing intense aromas of oils is often for easing congestion due to colds, flu, chronic sinusitis or bronchitis. You can either fill a basin with steaming water with a few drops of oil or by sprinkling a few drops on a handkerchief. For a less intense effect you can use a special electrical device called a diffuser to disperse microparticles of an oil throughout a room. You can also absorb the scent by adding eight to 15 drops of an essential oil to your bath after the water has finished running. To seep it into your skin, it's best not to use soap because it may interfere with the absorption of the oil. You can easily do aromatherapy at home by buying the individual oils or have your treatment take place in a practitioner's office. However, since reactions to smells can be idiosyncratic, it's important to let your aromatherapist know if you can't stand the smell of certain things.
The term aromatherapy was coined by Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, a French chemist, who  first used the curative capabilities of essential oils when he used them to treat wounds during World War I. He experimented with the various oils, and classified them according to their "healing" properties: antitoxic, antiseptic, tonifying, stimulating, calming, and etc until in 1937, when he published Aromatherapie. This book remains to be a classic on the subject. Marguerite Maury used this book in the 1950s. Today, Maury is credited with developing aromatherapy as she was the first to tailor specific oils to individual's health needs.

However, the use of essential oils from plants dates back many centuries, and is part of the history of herbal medicine. Arabic countries are the first in discovering the process of distillation of oils about a thousand years back, after it then spread to India and the west.

The politics of aromatherapy is founded on researches that show that smell as the most acute of our senses and has power on our bodies and minds. The essential oils activate our olfactory nerve cells in, which send impulses to the limbic system that is associated with emotions and memory. In fact, proponents of aromatherapy say that the aromatic oils work both emotionally and physically. Emotionally, they make you feel better by evoking a pleasant memory while physically, they relieve certain conditions by stimulating the immune, circulatory, or nervous systems. However, although Aromatherapy can be a very useful treatment, it is seldom the primary mode used for therapy. While it is generally safe, still it is important to remember that it is a complementary therapy and not really a complete substitute for conventional medical care.

Furthermore, Aromatherapists stress that it is only the pure and unadulterated essential oils that have true medicinal properties so perfumes, shampoos, and bath oils that are scented are not really therapeutic. The most frequently prescribe oils are often for a variety of complaints including sinusitis, colds and flu, digestive problems, insomnia, migraine, and muscle aches and pains. Among the more common includes Eucalyptus and wintergreen for relieving congestion and Jasmine oil for easing depression. Also, Lavender oil is good for reducing anxiety and improving your sleep regimen while lemon, orange, and other citrus oils are good for improving mood and increasing mental alertness. Also, peppermint oil is ideal for relieving nausea and aiding digestion and Rosemary oil for pain relief and muscle relaxation.

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