Aromatherapy – How It Works » Well Tuned Naturally

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Aromatherapy – How It Works

Wednesday, August 20th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed

Aromatherapy is a type of alternative medicine that has been around for about 6000 years. Aromatherapy involves the use of essential oils to address not only physical symptoms, but mental, spiritual and emotional factors as well, making it a holistic therapy. Holistic therapy recognizes that these aspects of your being are essential to take into account as they all greatly influence your overall health.

Essential oils enter your body in three main ways:

* through your skin
* through olfaction - your sense of smell
* through your lungs

The Skin

Using essential oils in massage is the most common use of aromatherapy. The massage oil is made from a carrier oil with a few drops of essential oils added, this allows the essential oils to be absorbed into the skin. Applying heat will increase the rate at which the oils are taken in. The massage itself will produce a bit of heat, and covering the area with towels or blankets or a heated wheat bag is also common.

Once the essential oils are absorbed into the skin they work their way into the underlying tissue thereby affecting the nerves, organs and blood stream.

Here’s a quick and easy experiment to prove that essential oils really can enter your body through your skin. Cut a clove of garlic in half and rub the liquid (garlic essential oil) from the cut end on the bottom of your foot. See how long it takes before you can taste garlic on your breath (usually about 15-20 minutes).

The Sense of Smell (Olfaction)

The olfactory receptors, which are called chemoreceptors, are nerve endings embedded deep within your nasal passages. Fragrance chemicals in the air are inhaled and dissolve once they hit the fluid lining in your nasal passages. This allows the chemoreceptors to pick them up and send the ‘chemical message’ to the brain.

These chemical messages are sent first to the frontal lobe of the brain where the smell is analyzed, and secondly to the limbic system and autonomous nervous system. This is where emotional and physical responses to the fragrance are created. For instance, you might feel calm or sleepy, or you might sneeze. Other times you might be reminded of something in your past, and this experience will have an emotional response attached to it.

You may be able to relate to how quickly and dramatically ‘chemical messages’ can be sent to the brain if you’ve ever had the experience of having smelled a real strong scent or odor that may, or may almost have, caused an upset stomach.

The Lungs

The fastest way to get essential oils into your bloodstream where they can start working is by inhaling them. Since your respiratory system is designed to get oxygen into your bloodstream, when you inhale the fragrance of vaporized essential oils, they too are carried quickly into your bloodstream.

Some Benefits of Essential Oils

In France, the birthplace of aromatherapy as currently defined, it is a part of mainstream medicine in the control of infections because of the strong antibacterial, antiseptic, antiviral and antifungal properties of many essential oils.

All essential oils are antiseptic to some degree. However, a few of the more powerful antiseptics are lavender, thyme, clove, cinnamon, tea tree, manuka and oregano.

Essential oils are extremely beneficial in skin care. The ancient Egyptians, who invented cosmetology, used essential oils in skin care around 5000 years ago.

A study in Japan showed that lemon, vaporized in a room, reduced typing errors by 54%. Lemon is well known for its antiseptic and antimicrobial properties which would make it additionally beneficial in office environments.

Some essential oils actively mimic neurotransmitters which have a powerful ability to alter mood. These can be helpful for conditions such as stress and depression.

These are just a few of the many uses of essential oils in aromatherapy. But there is also an important aspect of aromatherapy that is often overlooked - the pleasure aspect. Using essential oils is fun, even if you aren’t a qualified aromatherapist. Find authentic essential oil suppliers and have some fun discovering which fragrances you enjoy; they are bound to have a beneficial effect even if you just use a few drops in your bath water.

A Word of Caution

Please understand that these oils do affect the body, so inquire about the safety of use if pregnant or breastfeeding or with other conditions as some may not be suitable during that time. Also, as the field grows more popular, it’s important to find out where the product comes from and how it is produced to ensure its safety. Do a little homework first, and then enjoy.

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