What is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy is a practice that makes use of essential oils to benefit a person's well-being. Since the time of ancient Egyptian and Indian cultures over 4,000 years ago, it has been a powerful healing art and science. Derived from aromatic plants and trees, each essential oil has specific therapeutic and balancing properties. Oils are in highly concentrated, volatile liquid form, which evaporate quickly and usually require dilution. Not only does the body benefit by absorbing the unique chemical composition of the selected essential oil(s), but because oils are delightfully aromatic, each directly stimulates the limbic system - the emotional centre of the brain - via the sense of smell. It is also believed that essential oils capture the very 'life force' of the plant, an energy present in all living things. By using the process of Kirlian photography, scientists and researchers have been able to visually document the energy fields (or auras) of both plants and people. Essential oils are successfully used to treat a variety of conditions, without the inconvenience of side effects. The positive effect on mind and body is enhanced by a relaxing lymphatic drainage massage. Inhalations and other applications are also used,
Aromatherapy Today
About 1930 the term Aromatherapy was coined to describe the use of essential oils to promote health and well-being - the therapy that uses plant aromas. In fact, essential oils have been used for millennia for healing and perfumes. Their use dwindled in the 1800's when the world learned how to synthesize medicines. People believed these new compounds could take the place of the natural, more expensive, genuine article. Since then, we have learned that drugs are not always what they were intended to be, and that nature provides a solution that is often more suited to the task.
It was the French chemist Gattefosse, who in the 1900's rediscovered the healing properties of lavender oil after burning his hand in a laboratory accident. This Circumstance prompted his lifelong research on essential oils and their properties. "Aromatherapie: Les huiles essential hormones vegetales" (the first book on aromatherapy) was published in 1937.
Professional Aromatherapy
Although some countries are only beginning to rediscover holistic health therapies such as Aromatherapy, it has been used extensively in many different parts of the world for centuries. In England, professional Aromatherapists are integral members of the health care team in hospitals and clinics. Aromatherapy complements conventional medicine in so many ways.
As a profession, Aromatherapy does not make any claim to be an alternative to conventional medicine. During professional training, Aromatherapists are encouraged to persuade their clients to consult an M.D. whenever the need arises.
