Balancing Body, Mind and Spirit with Pure Essential oils

Aromatherapy is a system of healing which uses pure essential oils. There are hundreds of essential oils originating from all over the world, and apart from having wonderful fragrances they contain natural chemicals, which can have a profound effect on the body. Knowledge of these constituent parts, and their various effects, enables an aromatherapist to recommend oils most suitable for any ailments and complaints.

Aromatherapy is a truly holistic (Whole Body) therapy, taking account of the Mind, Body and Spirit of the person seeking help, as well as their lifestyle. It has its roots in the most healing practices of humankind, it is complimentary, and i.e. it can be used in conjunction with other conventional health care. In certain instances it can reduce or even overcome the necessity for medicines and drugs, but this must be achieved with your therapist and with your Doctor's consent.

The essential oils used in aromatherapy can be enjoyed in many ways.

Body methods: Hydrosols, Perfume, Tissue/Handkerchief, Massage.

Water methods: Baths, Bidet, Jacuzzi, Sauna, Shower, Hand Bath and Foot Bath.

Room and air methods: Candles, Car Vents, Diffusers or vaporiser, Burners (with tea lights), Room Sprays and Water Bowls.

Definitions:
Aromatherapy is the treatment of ailments (Therapy) with Aromas (Essences or essential oils of aromatic plants).

Aromatherapy is a technique of Holistic Complementary and Natural Medicine.

Aromatherapy can be as much Preventative as Curative.

Aromatherapy above all, Heals, Realigns and Re-Balances the whole body.

Aromatherapy as the name suggests works partly through our sense of smell.

However, the essences also enter the body through skin absorption. In these ways essential oils can affect not just the physical body but the emotional levels too.

As we inhale an Essential Oil the tiny molecules are drawn into the lungs where some are transported into the bloodstream through the alveoli, (tiny air sacs in the lungs).
Essential oils, with a very fine molecular structure, carried in a heavier base oil, penetrate the skin layers to connective capillaries, and then into the bloodstream, from here they are transported via tissue fluids around the body, influencing various organs or systems, according to their individual properties.

Essential oils can take as little as 30minutes to be absorbed and their wonderful effect can last for many hours after the treatment.
As above, our sense of smell is very important in Aromatherapy, and when Aromas are inhaled into the upper nasal cavity, Olfactory receptor cells accept certain molecules, these different molecules fit into the correct receptor and a message of recognition is sent through the Olfactory nerve directly to the Limbic System in the brain. The Limbic System deals with our instinctive responses, emotions, sex drive and memory - and are clearly linked to the pituitary gland. This gland has important functions and influences the balance of hormonal systems; different smells can trigger positive and negative responses. The versatile nature of Essential oils enables them to be used to improve your general sense of well-being as well as treating a wide range of more physical common ailments.

Essential Oils:

'Essence' of Plants is natural aromatic secretions, contained within various sacs, ducts and secretory bands within the roots, petals, leaves, fruits, etc.
These essences can be released where the plant materials are bruised or crushed. The essence can be extracted from the plant by various means such as steam distillation. The natural extract obtained is an 'Essential Oil'. An essential oil is made up exclusively of volatile aromatic molecules and through careful distillation carries the most representative image of the essence.
The plants yield very small amounts of oil, (although this is variable) and therefore the process is expensive. For example, it takes over 150kg of Rose petals to produce one litre of essential oil. However, the same amount of Eucalyptus leaves will produce over 14 litres of oil and their leaves are much more abundant.
Essential oils have many chemical constituents. These 'natural chemicals' vary in content from oil to oil and have different therapeutic values. Antiseptic, Antibacterial, Antiviral, Anti-inflammatory, etc. The properties of the oils can be used to treat a vast range of complaints and ailments, and so the oils are extensively used in 'Aromatherapy'.

Essential Oil Blends:

When two or more essential oils are combined, the result is called 'Synergy'. To illustrate 'synergy' it would be like mixing black and white paint together resulting in a combination of different colours rather than simply a shade of grey. This is the foundation for developing essential oil blends.
Each essential oil has an individual chemical structure depending on where they are cultivated and harvested; this is what is meant by a 'chemo-type'. In some plant species, such as Rosemary and Melissa, these chemicals may vary from plant to plant, therefore, it is extremely important when combining oils for therapeutic purposes that the exact content of each oil is known. This takes many years of research, experience and experimentation.
We have found that when combining essential oils into a blend, the addition in a formula, of only a few drops of oil, can dramatically change the 'synergy' or blend. For example:- 40 drops of Lavender and 40 drops of Bergamot, if we add 5 drops of Chamomile to these oils then its potency increases almost tenfold (this is not a formula).
An essential oil blend can be mixed for practically any condition, but as can be seen, it is advisable to seek the help of an experienced therapist, who will correctly formulate the desired blend.

Carrier Oils:

Essential oils are extremely pure and very concentrated, they must, therefore, be diluted prior to application to the skin. The simplest form of product is vegetable oil or base oil, more commonly called 'Carrier oil'.
Simple oils such as Sweet Almond, Sunflower and Safflower can be used, but it must be stressed that there is a vast difference between supermarket products and aromatherapy suppliers. The main differences are the purity of the oils, which will contain absolutely no additives. Secondly, and probably the most important difference is that most carrier oils are cold pressed.
Cold pressed is where the oil is extracted, usually by old-fashioned methods, and the materials are not heated in any way. Most people familiar are with the term when purchasing Olive oil, for instance 'Extra Virgin', and 'First Pressing'. This applies to many of the carrier oils available.
The other main characteristic of carrier oils is that they are emollient, and therefore help to condition the skin. They also help the therapist to apply the essential oils to the skin. Acting as the lubricant, different carrier oils have different protein, mineral and vitamin content, and certain oils are renowned for their healing properties.

Stress and Anxiety, Asthma, Rheumatism & Arthritis, Eczema, Psoriasis, muscular and Sports injuries are very common complaints for a large number of people and can be greatly helped by regular use of essential oils and carrier oil.