Aromatherapy is the therapeutic use of essential oils to enhance and balance the mind, body and overall wellbeing.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are the highly concentrated essenses of plants. Aromatherapists use about 150 essential oils and each one has a unique chemistry and properties that produce a distinct therapeutic, psychological and physiological effect. Every plant contains essential oils and they are extracted from different parts of the plant (flowers, leaves, bark, root, seeds, peel or resin) by either steam distillation, expression, extraction. When two or more essential oils are mixed together they have a synergistic effect. A trained aromatherapist knows how to select and blend the right oils to meet the needs of the client.
How to use essential oils
Essential oils can be absorbed into the body through the skin via massage, creams, aromatic baths or compresses , or inhaled through diffusion or steam inhalation.
On my blog I will be talking about specific essential oils and how to use them effectively.Â
If you would like to learn more about Aromatherapy then please book one of my Aroma Balance workshops. Click here to find out more.
History
Some people think that aromatherapy is a new holistic therapy, but in fact people have used aromatic plant extracts for thousands of years, as incense, perfumes, medicinal and culinary attributes.
The french chemist and scholar Rene-Maurice Gattefosse coined the term ‘aromatherapie’ in 1928. Gattefosse is considered by many to be the father of modern day scientific use of essential oils. He became interested in the study of essential oils after an accident in his laboratory in which he badly burnt his hand. He applied some lavender oil protecting it from infection, healing with remarkable speed and leaving no scarring.
Madame Marguerite Maury (1895 – 1968)Â influenced the beginnings of aromatherapy in the UK by combining the use of essential oils with massage. She went on to set up clinics in Paris, London and Switzerland.
