AROMATHERAPY Articles
Aromatherapy Oils: The Healing Power of Nature
By Bryan Josling
The origin of aromatherapy goes back thousands of years in time, but it is only in recent times that it has been recognizes as an essential ingredient of holistic well being. Aromatherapy uses oils to promote physical and emotional health. Aromatherapy oils combine the mind, body and spirit to achieve optimum health and wellbeing. Aromatherapy oils reinstate the belief that nature has the best storehouse of tools for a healthy living. Aromatherapy oils can heal the body by strengthening it and giving the body the nutrients to replenish the immune system that help combat disease, relieve stress and regenerate the system. Aromatherapy oils can help greatly in case someone is facing emotional issues. The proper use of aromatherapy oils calms the person and enhances its emotional outlook towards the world. Aromatherapy oils help you relax, balances your emotions, give you an energy boost. Aromatherapy oils work on the principle of treating the real cause of illness rather than the symptoms. With aromatherapy oils bring back in your life health and vitality. You not only feel good, you look good! Aromatherapy is almost inevitably linked with essential oils. Essential oils are absorbed through smell and skin and enter into your blood stream. Aromatherapy essential oils are extracted from different part of the plant. It can be flowers, leaves, twigs, bark etc. each aromatherapy essential oils have its own healing effect. They are used either in combination or alone to produce the desired effect on the person. For aromatherapy, it is important to understand the effect of the oil and how they work.
Aromatherapy essential oils can be inhaled. When they are inhaled, the impulse it produces is transferred to the emotional centre of the brain. This has a direct effect on the memory, breathing, blood circulation, hormone levels of the body. Aromatherapy essential oils can also be used in massage. They penetrate through skin, enter the blood stream and produce the desired effect. Essential oils are not used in their pure form but diluted to produce the desired effect. Carrier oils in aromatherapy are used to dilute essential oils before they can be used. Different carrier oils have different benefit; therefore, they are carefully chosen to get the desired therapeutic benefit. Olive oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, grapeseed oil are few examples of carrier oils. At times, a plant does not have essential oil in it, which makes it impossible for them to be used for aromatherapy purposes. In such a situation, they are infused with carrier oils to produce infused oils. Infused oils in aromatherapy have the therapeutic attributes of both the herbs and the carrier oil. Not all oils produce the same effect for everyone. Therefore, it is important to choose the aromatherapy oils carefully. Do not pursue the use of the oil that irritates you, produces negative feelings or whose aroma you don't like. Aromatherapy essential oils can widely help people in taking personal responsibility of their health and living a more balanced life.
Bryan Josling is working with the Horticultural Research Station in Adelaide. He has also been involved with research on plants.
 
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