From
stress to insomnia, aromatherapy can
ease your woes and worries. And
here’s the bonus: Most of these
remedies will not only lighten your
ailments, but also will sweeten your
household.
Both art and science,
aromatherapy involves “healing body,
mind and spirit by the use of
natural, essential oils,” says Marge
Clark of Madison, Tenn., who founded
Nature’s Gift in 1990. The volatile
aromatic oils involved in this
practice are all derived from plants
and intended to “enhance or achieve
physical and psychological
well-being.”
Although aromatherapy originated
with methods of healing through
herbs that have been practiced for
eons, Clark says the so-called
“modern” form of this science is
said to have started in France early
in the 20th century. Research
scientist Rene Gattefosse reportedly
“burned his arm in the lab and
plunged it into a vat of lavender
essential oil to ease the burn. The
burn healed much more quickly than
expected, and he devoted the rest of
his life to the study of the healing
attributes of the oils.”
Despite this history, “The oils
are most effective when inhaled. Any
other use is secondary to the
effects caused by inhalation,” Clark
says.
Using Aromatherapy for
Specific Purposes
Stress relief:
Citrus oils often can help to
relieve stress, Clark notes. “All
citrus oils are mood-elevating.”
Those that are calming and
“uplifting” include bergamot,
clementine, mandarine and sweet
orange oils. Aromatherapy oils that
are both energizing, uplifting as
well as “excellent de-stressors”
include pink grapefruit and lemon
oil. You may also want to experiment
with blends of such oils. For
example, Clark sells
Nature’s Gift DeStress synergy oil,
which eased my worries after a long
day at work followed by an evening
at a neighbor’s “poodle-sitting.”
Increased prosperity and
happiness: “If we are
speaking purely of financial
prosperity, there are some oils that
are said to encourage this,” Clark
says, including many of the
so-called “hot” spices such as
ginger, basil and cinnamon. For a
more abundant life, she says she
experimented with “the spiritual
oils -- frankincense, cistus -- and
used them in meditation to see what,
within me, was blocking me from
having a more abundant life.” You
may also have heard cistus referred
to as rockrose. “It's considered one
of the ancient spiritual oils,”
Clark says. However, she cautions
that because cistus can have some
extremely powerful emotional
effects, you should be careful if
you choose to use it. For more
details,
click here.
