The use of plants, aromas and natural ingredients for their healing and health-improving qualities dates back thousands of years. To fully appreciate what aromatherapy is today, we first need to return to its humble beginnings. Firstly, we’ll look at a general description of what aromatherapy is and then explore a little of its history. What is aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is the art of using plant-based essential oils to maintain or improve our mental, physical or spiritual wellbeing. The essential oils are obtained (often through the process of distillation) from different parts of the plant. For example, from its leaves, seeds, flowers or bark. (http://www.ifparoma.org/public/whatisaromatherapy.php). Examples of essential oils include lavender, …show more content…
The Greeks and Romans used essential oils for massage in their bath houses. (Hare, 2004 https://books.google.co.uk/books? id=tTsJocoSCasC&pg=PA84&lpg=PA84&dq=Aromatherapy+Massage: +Essential+Oils+Explained+for+Health+and+Pleasure&source=bl&ots=zZz_of85kM&sig=Irjh 5_QVo50Au_tA6kG27q11wPs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=AypfVebaHMjbUciwgMgK&ved=0CC8Q6AE wAg#v=onepage&q&f=false. This could be seen to be like the spa massages which are very popular in the modern day. It was the Romans who are credited with bringing perfumery over to the British Isles. However, that’s not to say that some form did not already exist here. Other early civilizations, such as the Japanese, Indians, Persians and Incas also exploited aromatics for various …show more content…
Valnet, like Gattefosse was methodical. He chose essential oils on the basis of active constituents and he related their functional groups with their potential therapeutic properties (Rhind, 2012 https://books.google.co.uk/books? id=aUHGyCqvSxgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Essential+Oils: +A+Handbook+for+Aromatherapy+Practice&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dAg1VdyZB6Kd7gaQYGABQ&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false Aromatherapy in the UK Widespread interest in the UK followed the publication of Robert Tisserand's 'The Art of Aromatherapy' in 1977. Tisserand also went on to found the 'International Journal of Aromatherapy', which accrued an evidence base and greater credibility for the profession. (Rhind, 2012 https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aUHGyCqvSxgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Essential+Oils: +A+Handbook+for+Aromatherapy+Practice&hl=en&sa=X&ei=dAg1VdyZB6Kd7gaQYGABQ&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false
Aromatherapy has expanded enormously since the 1970s but what continues to matter is the enhancement of individuals comfort especially patient’s symptoms who have an advanced progressive condition from essential oils. This is what encourages more in depth knowledge into this area.
Essential oils have long played a role in our physical and emotional well-being. Not only can certain scents bring about peace and tranquility or boost energy, they can also treat various medical conditions and improve your overall health. They can be used as a supplement to traditional healthcare practices in order to trigger your body's natural healing processes.
Aromatherapy can be used to treat many problems such as nausea, body aches, anxiety, depression, fatigue, headaches, labour pain and hormonal problems (Lane et al., 2011; Medicalnewstoday.com, 2018). Aromatherapy can be used in addition to other medicine practises including those performed by allied health professionals, or on its own (Medicalnewstoday.com, 2018). For example, a study conducted by (Olapour et al., 2013) has found that aromatherapy can provide pain relief to women who have recently had a
Why does a certain scent boost your energy while another helps you to relax better? And why does inhaling essential oils have a positive effect? Why can aromatherapy be a solution for managing stress, reducing pain, and even healing certain maladies? Do natural oils really boost our overall well-being?
The three essential oils used in the trials were ginger, spearmint, and peppermint. All of the oils were extracted using steam distillation. In this meta-analysis, the results were inconclusive. Several studies found that there was no reliable evidence for the use of peppermint oil for the treatment of nausea. Conversely, there were studies that supported the efficacy of peppermint for reducing post-operative nausea. One randomized control trial ascertained that a blend of ginger, mints, and cardamom were effective in reducing nausea. Mint was found to reduce colonic spasms and slow peristalsis. Regarding the safety of essential oils, the possibility for reaction due to high concentration and lack of standardization resulting in the presence of differing substances poses potential risk for drug interaction or allergic response. In their review of available data, they found that there were 71 reported cases of adverse effects to aromatherapy, including one death. Topical application had the most adverse response with dermatitis being the primary reaction. With this in mind, it is important to spot test prior to liberal administration of topical essential
When mankind feels healthy and fulfilled, life flows smoothly and successfully, and he can focus on his day to day activities. When he feels ill, however, his productivity is diminished, and his focus shifts to the best and quickest way to feel better. Obtaining the perfect medicine then become a primary goal. Often, patients will seek medical assistance and will be supplied with synthetic drugs. Recently, though, people have discovered essential oils, which are natural and healthy for the human body. Essential oils are not new, but they have enjoyed a recent resurgence in popularity. Since the biblical age, essential oils have been well-known for their healing powers and their proven positive effects on the human body.
It’s really easy to understand how essential oils enter the body when you think about how they are used.
Other essential oils like tea tree have been around for many years. This healing oil is used in treating various skin conditions like psoriasis and comes with a very pleasant scent.
Some research even dates back to around the 1930’s, it actually has ancient roots. The people began using synthetic medicine for their needs instead of natural oils due to the new technology and medication. Yet, the major properties of oils have been known to heal throughout most of history. Documentation of what they called “healing oils” have been dated in the ancient civilizations of China, Greece, India, Rome, and throughout much of Europe. Ancient Greeks truly felt that the smells of these oils would purify their bodies and souls. Information has been given that says: “Known as a holistic therapy, aromatherapy is believed to benefit both the mind and the body. As far back as the time of the ancient Egyptians, fragrant oils were recommended for bathing and massaging. In fact, plant fragrances were used against the plague in both ancient and medieval times. Although, aromatherapy was not formalized as a specialized branch of herbal medicine until the 1930s” (Aromatherapy 5). A french chemist René-Maurice Gattefossé began to study the scientific effects of essential oils after finding that lavender oil helped decrease his pain when he applied it to a burn on his arm. Gattefossé introduced the word "aromatherapie" in 1928 as a name to represent the sort of “therapeutic” use of essential oils. Some oils were even found in King Tut's tomb, but with the advancement of modern medicine, people began to turn away from the natural
Aromatherapy, one type of alternative medicine, is the practice of using natural oils extracted from different areas of plants, such as the leaves, roots, stems, bark and flowers to promote well physical and psychological wellness. These natural oils, referred to essential oils are very concentrated and are widely believed to improve mood, relieve pain and increase the brains cognitive performance, among a host of other things. Aromatherapy, which has been around for at least six thousand years, is gaining in popularity as many people try to embrace practices and philosophies that are closer or perceived to be closer to nature and what is natural. In aromatherapy, essential oils (the main components of the practice), may be inhaled or applied to the skin via massages. There is myriad of essential oils available and each has its own beneficial and healing properties.
Ancient Egyptian and Chinese texts contain written evidence that people used essential oils thousands of years ago to embalm corpses, heal sick people. and perform cleansing and bathing rituals.
Aromatherapy is a great invention that has been around for about 6,000 years. It consists of the use of essential oils as inhaled or diffused through the air or applied to the body topically or internally. This use could be in a diffuser, smelled in the bottle, put on a scarf, handkerchief, or diffuser pendant, worn as perfume, added to a bath, made into a massage oil, added to food or drink, dropped on clothes or blankets, capsuled, held under the tongue, or added to beauty products.
The essential oils are grown in the plant to help it survive. Certain oils are produced to help ward off pesky and hungry insects that would otherwise consume the plant if it did not have the oil. The same oil that protects it, is what we distill and then use as a natural insecticide. The process can take years depending on the plant. The plant needs to be the proper age. If too young, it may not have enough oil, and the same goes with a plant that is aging and not producing nearly as much. Then it has to be harvested and extracted. Then bottled, and shipped often across entire continents since some plants grow better in different climates. Pure essential oils are believed to have therapeutic properties that fragrance oils do not have. They contain phytohormones which can bind to the receptors that humans have and create an actual effect. Certain oils have phytoestrogen that may bind to human estrogen receptors as an example. Although essential oils have potent and powerful scents often, the scents were not created for human enjoyment in a laboratory like fragrance oils can be. They are simply natural. They often are smaller molecules, so they tend to evaporate more quickly. In aromatherapy, essential oils are used extensively due to their therapuetic
Organic Essential oils Melbourne are taken from plants that are grown organically a therapeutic, unadulterated and pure oil which is just excellent for the environment because it prohibits use of pesticides, fertilizers or chemicals which leave various damaging deposits in water, air and soil supply. Mainly these Australia Essential oils are used in bath salts, aromatherapy and many other products. Several oils are found over the counter in retail shops and can be purchased at drug stores, pharmacies, spas, healing centers and health food stores. Some favorite organic essential oils are lemon, peppermint, rosewood and lavender. They can be put in baths or on skin for better relaxation.
Essential oils are commonly used in aromatherapy and though aromatherapy is used mainly on relaxation and in relieving stress as well as alleviating pain, the benefits of essential oils are not limited to these.