Aromatherapy uses aromatic essences that are extracted from plants. The essential oils are like the plant's hormones: They control its biochemical reactions and relay messages between cells; they also protect the plant from parasites, bacteria, and fungi. They are the most vital substance of the plant.
Essential oils are very potent, and many are too strong to use directly on the skin. If you use them for massage, add them to massage oil or cream, and experiment with the amount to use. Even in a bath, too much of a particular oil could be irritating to your skin. Begin by using just a few drops. If you like the effect, you can gradually add a bit more if you wish.
Some oils can counteract homeopathic remedies, so be sure to check with a homeopath if you are using both treatments simultaneously.
Aromatherapy can help in mild forms of depression. It may ease mental fatigue and help with sleep. However, if you, or someone you know, are severely depressed, additional support and therapy are necessary. Aromatherapy is more effective when used as a complimentary therapy, assisting other therapies.
Essential oils used for depression are basil, bergamot, cedarwood, clary sage, frankincense, geranium, grapefruit, lavender, lemon, jasmine, myrrh, neroli, rose, sandalwood, spruce, orange, and ylang ylang.
Essential oils that can have a positive influence on feelings of anger, which are associated with depression, include rose, chamomile, ylang ylang, and rosemary.
If the depression is associated with a loss, then essential oils helpful for grief and bereavement, such as lavender, rose, frankincense, neroli, hyssop, and marjoram, should be included.
Many of the essential oils used for depression are from flowers and fruit. These essences have an uplifting effect on the mind and emotions.
Inhalation blend for mild depression
4 parts Clary sage essential oil
4 parts Ylang ylang essential oil
3 parts Geranium essential oil
2 parts Basil essential oil
1 part Sandalwood essential oil
Mix the above essential oils in an amber glass bottle, Label. Use three to four times daily.
Essential Oil Blend for Depression
Basil
Clary sage
Jasmine
Rose
German chamomile (matricaria recutita)
Mix the oil together. Place it in a bowl of steaming water (2 or 3 drops), or in a bath (5 or 6 drops ), or on the edge of your pillow (1 or 2 drops).
Aromatherapy Bath
An aromatic bath two to three times per week is especially helpful for depression. Sometimes the aromatic baths are effective enough on their own as a remedy for mild bouts of depression or feeling blue.
Aromatic Bath for the Blues
For mild bouts of depression
1/4 cup Honey (or almond, canola, soy and safflower)
3 drops Lavender essential oil
3 drops Ylang ylang essential oil
2 drops Basil essential oil
2 drops Geranium essential oil
1 drop Grapefruit essential oil
Mix the essential oils in the honey. Fill the bath tub with warm water and then add the aromatic honey mixture. Stir well using your hands. Soak for 20 to 30 minutes.
Aromatherapy Massage
An aromatherapy massage is one of the best ways you can treat yourself It is pampering and nurturing, in addition to very satisfying. Massage and aromatherapy go hand in hand in treating nervous system ailments such as depression.
Elation Formulation
A concentrated massage oil for mild depression
2 tblsp. sweet almond oil (or vegetable oil)
1 tsp. Wheat germ oil
8 drops Lavender essential oil
8 drops Ylang ylang essential oil
2 drops Basil essential oil
2 drops Geranium essential oil
2 drops Bergamot essential oil
Collect the essential oils in an amber glass bottle. Add the sweet almond oil and wheat germ oil. Shake gently and mix well.
Apply a small amount onto the back of the hands and chest area. Inhale the essences from your hands after application to the skin. Apply two or three times daily.
Aromatherapy is a modern term for a healing art that is ages old. Rene Maurice Gattefosse, a French perfume chemist, created the term in the 1920's when he published a scientific research paper titled 'aromatherapie.'
Lavender is thought to be one of the few items Adam and Eve carried out of the Garden of Eden.
Queen Elizabeth I drank an abundance of Lavender tea to help ease her migraines and used it as a body perfume.
Queen Victoria is most notable for making Lavender popular across England and it could be found, in one form or another, in every one of her rooms, as she used it to wash floors and furniture, freshen the air, and had it strewn among the linens.
Gattefosse encountered the healing properties of lavender when he plunged his arm into a vat of lavender oil. He had obtained a 3rd degree burn during a laboratory accident and intended to submerge his arm in water; however, he synchronistically mistook the lavender for water. The lavender not only reduced his pain - through several repeated applications his arm healed with no scarring.
It is important to note that large portions of any essential oil applied to the body directly can cause irritation. Essential oils such as lavender, are generally mixed with a carrier oil like Grapeseed, olive, or almond oil to dilute the potency.
Facts from the Experts:
Insomnia: Essential oil of lavender has a calming effect which can be helpful in treating insomnia. Inhaling lavender oil may be as effective as using a prescription tranquilizer, according to one study. It is also effective when applied topically to help relax muscles.
Post Partum: Lavender oil can help to ease perineal discomfort after childbirth. It can be applied
as a massage oil, or used in a bath.
When taken internally, lavender may help: (use only with a qualified therapist)
a.. insomnia
b.. depression
c.. headache, especially when caused by stress
d.. poor digestion
e.. nausea
f.. flatulence
g.. colic
When applied externally, lavender may help:
a.. burns
b.. wounds
c.. eczema
d.. acne
e.. fungal infections such as candidiasis or ringworm.
f.. rheumatism.
Caution: Do not drink oil of lavender. Recommended Dosage for the ailments above: One cup of tea twice daily, or oil applied as needed.
If you work long hours at a computer, make sure you do plenty of eye and body exercises to prevent any long-term harm....These blends will help to relieve fatigue, promote stamina and re-charge your energy levels:
It could not have been long after humanity learned to have power over fire that they discovered that simple fragrant wood, resin, herbs, or roots can do more than produce pleasing aromas. The first forms of incense were simply fragrant plants tossed into fire, and it was only later that pastes, oils, powders, joss sticks, and cones were created. Incense has soothed, excited, aroused, and centered us for thousands of years. The people of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, Greece, and Rome all consumed great quantities of incense, using it for rituals in their temples and homes. Even today, incense is used for a number of spiritual and practical reasons.
Fragrances can affect us in many ways, and each aromatic has its own unique qualities. Lavender holds the power to quiet the soul, while sandalwood can ease feelings of anxiety. Patchouli is helpful for grounding and centering yourself. A single stick of incense can convey up to a symphony of fragrances. When burned prior to or during meditation, the fragrant smoke can direct the course of your thoughts and influence the rhythms of your body. The time it takes to burn the entire stick of incense can even act as a natural timer. You can also offer burning incense as a gift to the divine while performing a ritual.
There are no right reasons or wrong ways for you to use incense. In the Chinese tradition, burning three upright sticks of incense can give you insight into what the future holds. Enjoying a cone of smoking incense also can simply add sweet fragrance to a room. And should you choose to light a cone of lavender incense after a long day of work, you may find yourself effortlessly relaxing into the quiet arms of the night.
Essential oils are the oldest and some of the most powerful therapeutic agents know to man. They have a millennium-long history of use in healing and in religious ceremony throughout the ancient world, besides their use as fragrance.
Some, particularly frankincense, are cited repeatedly in many Judeo-Christian and Muslim religious texts. They were used to cure every ailment "from gout to a broken head." Others, such as myrrh, lotus, and sandalwood oils were widely used in ancient Egyptian purification and embalming rituals. Still others, such as clove and lemon, were highly valued as antiseptics hundreds of years before the discovery of modern antiseptics.
Aromatics, as they were called, were some of the most prized treasures of the ancient world - they were traded for gold, silver, and even slaves.
To understand how valuable essential oils were in ancient Egypt, records show that when Tutankhamen's tomb was opened in 1922, 350 liters of oil were discovered in alabaster jars. Amazingly, the plant waxes had solidified around the openings of the jars, sealing and preserving the oils!
The National Geographic reported in October of 1985 that almost 1,000 years before Christ, dynasties of the ancient world were fighting over the lucrative incense market. Caravans of 3,000 camels transported costly frankincense along the Frankincense Trail, a 2,400-mile-long road that stretched from southern Arabia to the coast of Israel.
It appears that the ancient Egyptians were the first to recognize the therapeutic potential of essential oils. They created fragrances for personal use as well as for ritualistic and ceremonial use in the temples and pyramids. In 1817, the 870 foot long Ebers Papyrus, dating back to 1500 B.C., was discovered. It listed over 800 herbal prescriptions and remedies. Many mixtures were composed of myrrh oil and honey. Myrrh was most often used for embalming, due to its effectiveness in preventing bacterial growth.
The physicians of Greece came to Egypt to learn about the oils. Even Hippocrates attended the school of Cas.
The Romans used essential oils by diffusing them in their temples and political buildings. They were fond of soaking in oil-scented baths, then receiving a fragrant oil massage.
The ancient Arabian people began to study the chemical properties of essential oils. They developed and refined the distillation process.
Europeans began producing essential oils in the 12th century. During the Plague of the Middle Ages, a band of theives robbed the dead without becoming infected. Finally, four thieves were captured in Marseilles, France, and charged with robbing the dead and dying victims of the plague. At the trial, the magistrate offered them leniency if they would reveal how they managed to avoid contracting the dreaded infection, in spite of their close contact with infected corpses. It was disclosed that these thieves were perfumers and spice traders who had rubbed themselves with a concoction of aromatic herbs (cinnamon, clove, and oregano), which was the source of their immunity.
When the great library was burned in Alexandria during the Dark Ages, much of the knowledge of essential oils and their uses was lost. It was only through the cosmetic and perfume industry that some of the valuable science of aromatherapy began to resurface.
Modern Rediscovery
The modern rediscovery of the value of essential oils is attributed to French cosmetic chemist, René-Maurice Gattefossé, Ph.D. In July of 1910, a lab explosion set him aflame. After extinguishing the flames, he discovered that his hands were quickly developing gas gangrene. But just one rinse with lavender essential oil stopped the horrible process. Healing began the next day.
His discovery was quite accidental -- he had plunged his arm into a vessel that he assumed was water. But it actually contained pure lavender oil (Lavendula officinalis). With regular application of lavender oil, the wound healed without a scar. When he investigated the chemistry of the oil, he discovered that some of its chemical components had tremendous healing properties.
This incident prompted Dr. Gattefossé to research the healing compounds of essential oils. His research spurred the clinical use of essential oils.
As a result, French physician, Dr. Jean Valnet, used therapeutic-grade essential oils on patients suffering battlefield injuries during World War II. He was able to save the lives of many soldiers who might otherwise have died, even with antibiotics. After the war, he documented his clinical results in his book, The Practice of Aromatherapy. He also shared his knowledge with his student, Daniel Pénoël, M.D., who later co-authored the first definitive medical textbook on the chemistry and clinical application of essential oils: L'aromathérapie exactement.
Two more of Dr. Valnet's students, Dr. Paul Belaiche and Dr. Jean Claude Lapraz, expanded his work. They clinically investigated the antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic properties in essential oils.
