The Healing Power of Aromatherapy
In the August issue of Naturally Well Today, I included an article on healing with essences. In the article, I discuss the many ways that essential oils can be useful in battling infections and bacteria and supporting a healthy immune system and tissue health. Though I highlight some of the more unusual uses of essential oils, I also briefly mention the benefits of aromatherapy itself.
We all know aromatherapy has to do with smell—but what most people don’t realize is just how powerful aromatherapy is. Aromatherapy can have an extremely positive effect on our mood and mental state, but certain scents even have the power to positively influence your physical well-being. For instance, if you’re feeling run down, bergamot mint oil is a great “picker-upper.” Or, if you find yourself wondering where you left your keys, sage oil can help improve your memory.
The reason aromatherapy works is that your nose is a direct gateway to your brain. The olfactory (or smelling) nerves can often detect hundreds of different scents, each of which has its own effect on the body. The essential oils used in aromatherapy are the fragrant essences of flowers and plants—and they can have wonderful, natural sedative, stimulant, and pain-relieving effects. As I mentioned above, they can also help relieve depression and anxiety.
Each variety of essential oil can bring a different result—such as relieving pain, helping you sleep, energizing you, or relieving stress. It’s so powerful that in France aromatherapy is prescribed by medical doctors, and insurance companies will even reimburse for the essential oils.
Essential Oils for Everything
There are several ways you can use essential oils, and all can be effective. (Some oils may irritate your skin, however, so read the instructions on each variety before you use it.) At the end of this section you’ll find specific directions for the various methods.
Lavender and eucalyptus are some of the more well-known essential oils, but the list of oils with positive uses is far more extensive than that. Here are some essential oils that might come in handy in your day-to-day life. In several areas you’ll see that I’ve recommended several different oils. The one that will work best for you is probably the one that appeals to your sense of smell the most.
Pain: For general aches and pains, use a few drops of one of the following in an ointment, oil, or liniment and massage the preparation into your skin: camphor, wintergreen, menthol, thyme, ginger, cinnamon, eucalyptus, rosemary, or lavender. The combination of the strong scent with the warmth or coolness will help soothe and relieve muscle or joint pain.
If you’re taking a bath to soothe your aches and pains, try adding a few drops of birch, juniper, rosemary, or thyme oil to your bath. For pain relief from rheumatism or muscle aches, try massaging a few drops of the following oils directly into your skin: birch, thyme, pine, or chamomile.
For pain relief from a first or second degree burn, apply spike lavender (Lavandula spica) to the affected area. In 10 minutes, the pain will have subsided, and within 20–30 minutes the redness, sensitivity, and blisters will be history.
Relaxation: When you need to relax, try adding some marjoram, orange, lavender, fir, or chamomile oil to your bath or steaming bowl. If you’re feeling nervous and want to calm down, try using mugwort, marjoram, or petigrain in a bath, steaming bowl, or aromatherapy lamp.
Mood: The following essential oils are great for helping to lift your mood: frankincense, myrrh, and cedarwood. None of these should be topically applied to your skin, but they work very well in aromatherapy candle lamps.
The following oils can all help improve certain emotional states. Chamomile and ylang-ylang can be particularly helpful when dealing with anger, and bergamot, cedarwood, fir, lemon, lime, and pine can be helpful in dealing with anxiety. Jasmine enfleurage can help boost your confidence levels, while bergamot, clary sage, geranium, and peppermint can be useful in dealing with feelings of depression. Benoin resinoid, rose, and jasmine enfleurage are also helpful when you are feeling sad, and finally, cedarwood, fir, pine, and spruce essentials oils can all be useful when you are stressed out.
Energy: The following essential oils should be used with an aromatherapy candle lamp: pine, fir, or black spruce to help increase energy and vitality; and marjoram or chamomile to improve symptoms of insomnia. In addition, basil, juniper, and nutmeg can help with feelings of fatigue.
Skin Health: To soften and rejuvenate your skin, add one of the following essential oils to an unscented lotion or cream: chamomile, carrot, geranium, lavender, lemon, ylang-ylang, Frankincense, or cedarwood. I recommend bergamot, eucalyptus, juniper, and lavender oils for treating acne. Cedarwood, chamomile, and lavender can all be helpful in soothing skin with eczema. Lemon, peppermint, and sage, on the other hand, are best used for toning skin.
Various: The following oils can be used in a bath, steaming bowl, or an aromatherapy lamp: sage, pine, and rosemary for stimulation and energy; and lavender, eucalyptus, pine, and hyssop to help clear out your lungs.
Multitasking Oils: Peppermint oil is great for handling jet lag, tension headaches, and even dizziness. Apply one drop to your temples and the problem will be gone. It can also be used to settle an upset stomach. For nausea, place one drop on the tip of your tongue and presto! Your stomach will be settled.
Oregano is another multipurpose wonder. I recommend taking the essence of oregano in a tablet form with every meal. Whether just traveling overseas, or deep in the jungles, Biotics Research’s ADP—a micronized extract of wild Mediterranean oregano leaf—has kept me happy, healthy, and moving in the most dangerous situations. To prevent, treat, and beat food poisoning, traveler’s diarrhea, et cetera, I recommend taking one tablet with each meal. It can be purchased at www.nutritional-solutions.com. It has beaten every bug it’s been tested against. Bon Appétit!
Important Instructions
If you’re feeling sick or congested, using a steaming bowl can be quite soothing. To do this, you simply add one or two drops of an essential oil to a bowl of steaming hot water, place a towel over your head to trap the steam, and breathe. A variation on this is adding five or six drops of an essential oil to a hot bath.
If you prefer, you can put a few drops of some of the essential oils on your skin, hair, or clothes in the same way that you would use perfume. However, please note that not all oils can be applied directly to the skin. Some are strong enough to actually burn you.
Another option is to use one of the oils to make a liniment. To do this, add the essential oil to a carrier oil such as jojoba oil or grapeseed oil to make a liquid preparation that you then rub on your skin. A more popular option is just to add a few drops of an essential oil to a cream, unscented lotion, or massage oil and then massage the preparation into your skin.
Using essential oils in an aromatherapy lamp is another great choice. Aromatherapy lamps are simple and quite effective. Some use light bulbs while others use candles to heat up a dish in which you put your oils. The oils evaporate quickly and fill your room. Aromatherapy candles are available at health food stores.