Aromatherapy For Healing

The art of aromatherapy has been practiced for thousands of years. Strong evidence was found to link aromatherapy to many ancient traditions. Though aromatic oils have been used to treat and cure various ailments and conditions for centuries, the formal study of their properties only started in 1928.

In its simplest form, aromatherapy uses essential plant oils for therapeutic purposes. They are usually employed to relieve a person from stress and various stress-related conditions. They are also used to promote an individual’s general well-being and invigorate the body and psyche.

Aromatherapy works by inducing the olfactory nerve cells with aromatic oils, which then carry out the message to the limbic system in the brain. The limbic system is the part of the brain responsible for controlling memory and emotions.

Aromatherapy is concerned with the workings of both the physical and emotional aspects of the person under treatment. Physically, aromatherapy helps relieve specific conditions by stimulating the nervous, immune, and circulatory systems. In emotions, however, it may evoke pleasant memories and uplifted moods.

Although the medical community is not in agreement over whether aromatherapy is instrumental in healing various medical conditions, the idea of recovery through aromatherapy is widely accepted.

Essential oils are derived from the distillation of the elements of a plant like the leaves, roots, flowers, stems, and bark. They hold the true essence of the plants from which they originally came in high concentration. Though termed as oil, essential oils typically do not have the real properties of oil. Some essential oils are yellow like that of the lemongrass and orange, and many are clear.

These oils are used in various methods: through inhalation, adding in the bathwater, and applying the diluted oil on the body.

The use of oil in aromatherapy is only restricted to those with unadulterated qualities. The purest of the essential oils alone have therapeutic values.

The following is a list of the most common essential oils used in aromatherapy. Some of which are used as carrier oils (also known as vegetable oils or base oils):

– Almond, Sweet

– Apricot Kernel

– Avocado

– Borage

– Cocoa Butter

– Evening Primrose

– Grapeseed

– Hazelnut

– Jojoba

– Kukui

– Macadamia Nut

– Olive

– Peanut

– Pecan

– Rose Hip

– Sesame

– Shea Butter

– Sunflower

Below are listed essential oils that are not advisable to use in aromatherapy, especially if not supervised by a professional aromatherapy practitioner.

– Ajowan

– Almond, Bitter

– Arnica

– Birch, Sweet

– Boldo Leaf

– Broom, Spanish

– Calamus

– Camphor

– Deer Tongue

– Garlic

– Horseradish

– Jaborandi

– Melilotus

– Mugwort

– Mustard

– Onion

– Pennyroyal

– Rue

– Sassafras

– Thuja

– Wintergreen

– Wormseed

– Wormwood

Despite the lack of formal research on aromatherapy, therapists and European physicians often prescribe certain aromatic oils for complaints, including colds and flu, insomnia, sinusitis, migraines, digestive problems, and muscle pains. However, aromatic oils must never be taken orally. They should be first tested to determine the degree of skin’s sensitivity to some oils.