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Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy-Connecting the Mind, Body and Spirit
By: WhiteOak

What is aromatherapy? The Oxford dictionary explains, “It is the use of plant extracts and essential oils in massage”. Ok, this is true however; aromatherapy is also used without massage. I will be explaining some of the other ways but I want to take this topic deeper.

When you are working with herbs or the extracts of plants, one of the most important things to remember is; you must learn to connect to the essence of the plant you want to work with. Ok, I can sense those eyebrows rising; do not give up on me yet.

Many moons ago when I first wanted to start working with herbs and plant extracts on a more serious level, I wanted to grow everything and anything. I purchased almost every herb plant that I could afford. I was over ambition in my guest; I grew plants that I knew nothing about, planted them in the wrong kind of soil, and did not know how to take care of them properly. In turn, many of the plants withered and died. I felt like my gardening days had come to an end. One morning I decided to meditate in between two rows of the herb beds; and this is what happened. “I could almost hear this soft gentle voice speaking to me and it asked me the true reason why I wanted to grow all of these herbs”. I was putting all of my concentration and energy in just having an herb garden; I was not listening to the spirit or the true essence of the herbs and did not understand what they were used for. Listening to the herbs and plant extracts will be your greatest teacher, all it takes is for you to ask them to be your teacher and be willing enough to be their student. Ever since that day many moons ago, I am still a student and the herb/plant life world is still my teacher. Working with plant extracts and herbs, is a slow process but very rewarding if you are patient enough and do a lot of research.

When you are working with aromatherapy, you are working with your “smelling sense”. Aromas evoke different emotions and memories and often the two are connect. One of the herbs that I work with is the “Mint Family”. I dedicated my mint garden to my grandmother who I loved more then life. When I was a child, my grandmother’s kitchen (which was the heart of her home) always smelled like mint. She had a small area in the back where she grew mints and a few other Italian herbs. The second she opened the back door, the kitchen filled with the wonderful aromas of mint. You see; emotions and memories both connected to each other for me because of the smell of mint.

Different aromas stimulate different parts of our mind, body and spirit. As an example, Lavender and Jasmine both relax you, calm you and can make you feel like you are floating in a cloud of comfort. Lavender and Jasmine both are also used as natural aphrodisiacs. The essence of these two fragrances make you feel relaxed, sensual, calm and very good.

Plant extracts have a powerful energy of their own. Aromatherapy has been the vehicle for many spiritual journeys for centuries. Aromatherapy dates so far back that I cannot tell you how old it is. In the Victorian days, women would use lavender water to calm their crying babies, oils were used in the Bible for purification, and Native Americans used different herbal scents before rituals and ceremonies.

Everything around us affects our energy in one way or another; colors, music, sounds and smell, the list endless. The energies from these things need to go somewhere and many times will attach to our chakras. We have seven main chakras (energy areas) Crown, Brow, Throat, Heart, Solar plexus, Sacral and Base and each chakra is represented by a different color. (We also have twenty-one minor chakras but I do not know enough about them to go into detail). The color that represents each chakra is as follows: the Crown=White/Lavender, the Brow=Indigo, the Throat=Blue, the Heart=Green, the Solar plexus=Yellow, the Sacral=Orange and the Base=Red. Not only do these things connect to aromatherapy but also to the mind, body, spirit.

For example, the energy from Stress, Tension and Depression are stored in the head area also known as the Crown Chakra. If you are dealing with stress, tension and depression, try using some Neroli, rose or frankincense in an oil diffuser. The aromas from these scents are used for relaxing and calming the energy. If you have a Respiratory problem you could use, ylang-ylang, jasmine, geranium or lavender in a diffuser. The aroma from these plants could aide in relaxing the energy in the Heart Chakra. Remember we are trying to get rid of the trapped energy in order to allow the plants essence to come in and heal. When energy is trapped, it causes dis-ease and in turn, we get sick. With the help of aromatherapy, we can incorporate that into other healing methods and feel better. The best way to understand how aromatherapy works is to envision these little fragrant molecules rushing to the area of our body that needs healed the most.

Aromatherapy sounds more complicated then it really is. I have always viewed aromatherapy as another alternative method of healing, by using another one of our senses. I have known people whose smelling abilities were not good and actually in some case the only things they could smell was very strong odors. However, they were still able to experience the sensations from aromatherapy, sounds odd doesn’t it? I have always believed just because the physical nose may not work, the spiritual “smeller” knows exactly what it is doing.

Connecting the mind, body and spirit of our being can be accomplished by aromatherapy. You can begin with one or two essential oils and slowly begin to formulate your own combinations. One of my all time favorite combinations is amber, myrrh, sandalwood and frankincense. This combination is very powerful and spiritual. It promotes harmony, balance, visions, enlightenment, acceptance and unity. All of these effects help with emotional healing. On a physical level, this combination is a calmative, expectorant, antidepressant, decongestant and antiseptic. I have mixed these oils with a carrier oil such as olive, sunflower or almond oil and used it as massage oil, body oil and I have mixed a small amount the oil with my shampoo. I have rubbed this combination onto candles before burning them and I have made soap. You are the only one who limits yourself as to how to use aromatherapy in your daily life. You do not want to ingest essential oils, as many are toxic. Be sure if you do decide to use essential oils as a massage or body oil that you mix it with a carrier oil because some essentials could burn your skin if you use them without diluting them.

I am a firm believer that many times when we are sick or not feeling good, we need to go deep within and see if something is bothering us that we may not be aware of. Maybe we are more stressed then usual, maybe we have a migraine headache or we are very short with people because we are in a bad mood. Many times if we sit silently and trust in our self, we can find the answers as to what is causing the feeling. Aromatherapy is very magickal and goes so much further in its own abilities.

There may be many times when you do not have the money to spend on essential oils or carrier oils. In those times, you can use a single flower in a glass of water. Maybe all you can afford is to purchase one small mint plant. You can nurture and take care of that plant and still get the benefits from its aroma. I personally love to plant seeds of all sorts. It helps me to relax while planting the seeds and although I may get a little impatient waiting for the little babies to grow; the reward afterwards is well worth the wait. All it takes to get started with aromatherapy is one essential oil or one flower. If you have the desire to begin, you can use your creativity and come up with a starting point.

Here are just a couple of ideas:

Planting some Basil seed:

I adore this herb. It is especially good for people who, through life’s emotional circumstances have become numb too the “wholeness” of one’s existence. For those who have lost their selves by others always taking from them, basil offers an opening of the heart. Its aroma is aniseed like, rich, warm, slight peppery. Emotionally speaking basil can aid with concentration, trust, enthusiasm, strength and clarity.

I have grown a lot of basil and I just cannot get enough of it. I would advise everyone to grow at least one pot full. You can get a pack of seed for around a dollar (or cheaper) and you will get benefits back a hundred fold. You can use it for cooking, making pesto and aromatherapy, use your imagination! Basil’s powers are love, wealth, protection. Using basil for aromatherapy: you can make a strong tea and add it to your bath water and envelope yourself in its essence.

Jasmine: I adore this herb also. Jasmine has a rich, sweet, floral aroma. It encourages your spirit to be uplifted, promotes joy and inspiration, harmony and sensitivity. Jasmine has the ability to call the angelic realm closer to you. It taste wonderful as a tea, you can scent your rice with it, again use your imagination.

Orange: Next time you have an orange at hand, notice how fresh, fruity and sweet its scent is. How do you feel when you close your eyes and inhale its aroma? Physically oranges act as a calmative and sedative. Emotionally the same orange encourages joy, creativity and self-confidence. Wash your orange peels real good, use a small paring knife and cut as much as the white pulp off as you can. Put all of the peels into a brown bag until they dry completely, store in a glass jar. So how do you use them? Put them in herbal teas, soak them in water to soften them up and use them for cooking. The list of things you can do with herbs is endless, just use your imagination, experiment on different things and you will be surprises how wonderful the world of aromatherapy really is!

Contributor's Note

This article is to be used as educational purposes only. Always do your own research on any and all subjects that you are not familiar with.

I find the scents of certain herbs and spices really do affect your mood and make you feel better and more empowered. It really does work. Very nice article.

Thank you. I really appreciate you commenting.

Beautiful intel, I also love herbs and grow as many as possible. The one herb that I'm never without is rosemary. I often brush my hand over my rosemary bush and take a deep breath. It smells wonderful and takes my headache away, too. Thank you, WhiteOak!! :)

Rosemary, has also been one of my favorite herbs. I use to grow it all of the time. Did you know if you grow Rosemary outside close by your yard, it also "protects" against bad energy? Rosemary has been used for years for so many things.

I use to do the same thing daria and run my hands over the sprigs and smell the wonderful scent. It is also fantastic mixed with some butter on homemade bread.

I love fresh Rosemary too. We have a bush outside and it's great to pick fresh sprigs. It smells so good.

Poddy have you ever drank rosemary in tea? I love mixing Rosemary, Rose Petals and a little spearmint together. It is so good.

To me, rosemary smells of Mediterranean - or better - Adriatic Sea since there was a rosemary hedge around one of the houses on the beach where we used to stay during summer a lot. Brings beautiful memories back... :)

daria, that is what the smell of peppermint does for me. It takes me back to my grandmothers kitchen when she had the back door open. The whole kitchen filled with the scent of peppermint.

I have a page on my dog website about Aromatherapy: Aromatherapy for your Dog Helps Relieve Separation Anxiety and Nervousness http://www.dog-first-aid-101.com/aromatherapy-for-your-dog.html but for some reason until I read this I never thought of it my myself. Thanks for the article now I will be looking at Aromatherapy in a new light.

Oh, yes..aromatherapy is great for animals as well. My yorkie loves Lavender and when he gets real upset, I will give him chamomile tea with a touch of peppermint. I will have to check out your article. Thanks for commenting.

You know what my husband and I do when we travel, I make lavender/vanilla candles in tins and burn them in our hotel room. Usually little towns will have gift shops that carry small candles or even the grocery stores carries different candles. But I agree that there is nothing like being home smelling the garden. Thanks for commenting.

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