Aromatherapy-News - Aromatherapy for Health & Home

Aromatherapy is a holistic therapy of using fragrant essential oils for both body and mind. Essential Oils have been used throughout history in every culture for medicine, wellness and beauty. The essences of plants, distilled into fragrant essential oils contain the concentrated constituents of the plant - in fact, science tells us that a bottle of essential oil can contain anywhere from 300-1,000 individual components. Essential Oils were the strongest medicine until the advent of modern drugs. The positive results from using essential oils are not just from the fragrance but from the actual therapeutuc value of the essences from the plants, which has now been verified by scienctific analysis.

Aromatherapy is both a science and an art. Essential oils are effective and powerful, yet safe and gentle. Today, quality essential oils are widely available. It is easy and fun to learn about the wonderful benefits of aromatherapy and the many ways you can use essential oils for yourself. Discover the power of natural essential oils for your health, your family and your home.

Essential Oils
Today, there is a great interest in natural medicine, preventive medicine and alternative and complimentary medicine, and aromatherapy is one again being given a serious look and consideration by science. Scientists are researching and studing native plants as well as botanicals we have known for years for their medicinal benefits.

The science and art of Aromatherapy is based on essential oils that are distrilled and extracted from flowers, herbs and plants and are used in many ways. Aromatherapy is safe and natural and very beneficial for stress relief and relaxation. Some essential Oils, like Lavender are safe, gentle and effective for children.

Essential Oils were the strongest plant essences used world wide for medcinal purposes before the advent of modern drugs. We can draw on the many centuries of serious scientific research, study, writings and practical applications of the more than 4,000 essential oils used around the world.

Essential Oils are Highly Concentrated
Essential oils are much more concentrated than the herb, leaf or flower they were distilled from. Pure therapeutic grade essential oils are delicate living substances, yet have very powerful, positive effects on body and mind. Because it takes many pounds of plant material to make one drop of essential oil, they are very concentrated and far more potent than fresh or dried herbs.

When you are using essential oils remember that they are more powerful than dried herbs or teas, use only a few drops at a time. For example, using an essential oil like peppermint for digestion is much more powerful than drinking peppermint tea or using peppermint candies.

The Many Ways to Use Essential Oils
Aromatherapy has been popular in the massage, skin care, beauty and spa industries for years. Discover the power of aromatherapy to relieve stress in your life, to relaxand feel more in balance. There are so many ways to use

aromatherapy and essential oils for wellness, travel, your family and your home. Many oils can be used for overalll health and healing. Many essential oils can protect against germs during illness. Some can relieve the pain of sore muscles or arthritis. Some essential oils promote sleep, and some act as natural and gentle mental stimulants.

You can enjoy the beautiful aromas that help relieve stress and elevate the mind and emotions. When the aromas of certain flowers, oils and fragrances enter the body thorugh the skin or through the nose, the mind and nervous system can relax as the beneficial essences enter the bloodstream, brain and tissues of the body. A soothing bath, massage or foot rub with essential oils is heavenly.

Certain essential oils are beneficial to use during cold and flu season and in the sickroom. Specific essential oils help with respiratory conditions, indigestion and act as hand sanitizers so during vacations or trips it is helpful to travel with several small bottles of specific essential oils for a natural way to stay healthy.

It's easy to make and use aromatherapy products for fragrant baths, foot baths, bath salts, soaps, candles, and incense. Many essential oils have high anti-oxidant properties that help nourish the skin and internal organs and some are helpful for cell regeneration.

It's fun, easy and economical to make your own household and cleaning products that are safe and natural, especially important if you have babies, kids or pets on the floors. You can also make your own natural effective insect repellant, or natural flea collar. There are also safe and gentle ways to use aromatherapy for children.

Discover the many ways of using Essential Oils -- for first aid, for personal care, as perfume, in laundry and cleaning. You can get a wonderful professional aromatherapy hot stone massage or Reflexology treatments or even try a Raindrop Therapy to boost your immune system.

Used for Centuries
Aromatherapy and essential oils have a long history and have been used for centuries in every culture on the planet. Many essential oils were mentioned in the Bible, as well as other Sacred Texts. Even before the development of modern medicine, chemistry and pharmaceuticals, essential oils were regarded as the highest level of medicinals in cultures around the world. They studied and recorded hundreds of oils and their therapeutic uses for medicine, health, beauty and household use.

All Essential Oils Are Not The Same
Essential oils vary in purity and quality depending on many factors. This means that all bottles of Lavender Essential Oil are not the same. For information about the grades and qualities of essential oils see Tips for Buying Essential Oils.

The oils used in the food and perfume industry for flavor and

fragrance do not have any therapeutic benefits. Therapeutic grade Essential Oils, which are the highest quality available are being studied for their ability to kill viruses, bacteria and fungus especially those that have become drug-resistant. Essential oils are natural substances derived form plants and have slight variations in eatch batch. Therefore, bacteria, viruses and fungi cannot build up tolerance or resistance like they can with manufactuerd prescription drugs.

Medical Aromatherapy
Medical aromatherapy has a long history across the globe and is practiced and recognized as a valid medical therapy in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and other countries. Therapeutic essential oils are widely available, prescribed and used for medicinal purposes. Today, in France, essential oils are commonly prescribed by medical doctors and prescriptions can be filled in pharmacies.

The Science
Essential Oils have a long history of use and have been studied and used for thousands of years by nearly every culture.

Essential Oils are now becoming more popular in our modern world as people turn to more natural therapies for body and mind. In the United States aromatherapy is now gaining recognition with current scientific research of its historical uses for health. In Europe, Aromatherapy is recognized as a valid alternative medical therapy for both body and mind.

Today, modern science has verified the many benefits of essential oils through extensive analysis of chemical components. There is currently a great deal of research being conducted in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, India, Egypt, Asia and Africa on the positive benefits of essential oils and the impact on human physiology as well as disease and pathogens. Many essential oils also help elevate the mind and moods, assisting with stress, depression, anxiety, insomnia and the related ills of headaches, poor digestion and fatigue.

Clinical studies have also proven that many essential oils have antibacterial and antiviral properties. Research shows that each kind of essential oil contains hundreds of natural chemicals that all contribute to the oil’s therapeutic effects -- that is why it is important to only use therapeutic grade essential oils, that are absorbed into the blood stream, that help oxygenate the body and provide many specific benefits from their individual components. Note that fragrance oils, perfume grade oils (florals and some lavender blends) and food grade oils (vanilla, nutmeg, flavorings) that are created in a lab do not contain all these natural substances and so have NO therapeutic benefits.

Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils are being studied for their ability to kill viruses, bacteria and fungus especially those that have become drug-resistant. By using these essential oils which are natural substances, these organisms cannot build up tolerance or resistance like they can with prescription drugs.

Body, Mind and Spirit
These wonderful essential oils affect not only your physical body, but your emotional and spiritual body as well. Certain essential oils have been used to elevate moods. Some are part of Spiritual healing work to assist with grounding, balancing, protection and empowerment.

Our sense of smell is the most direct path to our memories and emotions. Just the brief smell of a particular fragrance can release a flood of memories from the past, perhaps of a person we have not thought of in many years, or a childhood event. Since inhalation is the fastest route into the bloodstream, the fragrance molecules go directly to the limbic system of the brain where memories and emotions are stored, which triggers the associated memories and emotions.

Aromatherapy in Massage & Bodywork
The wonderful combination of beautiful aromas massage, aromatic baths and other body treatments are very beneficial for body and mind. Aromatherapy is particularly beneficial in professional therapies such as

In addition to smelling the fragrance of the essential oil, the skin, muscles and reflex points on the body, hands and feet absorb the essential oils. The benefits of the oils are therefore absorbed into the body and bloodstream in several ways.

As a non-professional there are also many delightful ways you can use aromatherapy for yourself, your friends and family:

Disclaimer:

The information on this site is intended for educational purposes only.
The information provided here is not in any way intended as diagnosis, treatment, or prescription of any kind. Aromathapy, Reflexology and massage and other body work modalities are natural & holistic therapies which should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care. Please consult a qualified medical provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding any medical condition. The decision to use any information presented here is the sole responsibility of the reader.

What is Aromatherapy?