aromatherapy-massage-collageEliminating Stress with Organic Scents

If you have ever been walking along and suddenly smelled a familiar aroma that brought back a memory that elicited a powerful emotion – you understand the power of scents. Whether it’s the smell of bread baking that helped you remember your grandmother’s kitchen, or the pizza shop that reminded you of little league parties – scent memories are potent. Aromatherapy is a way to channel this way of thinking to relieve your stress and facilitate healing. You can find ways to de-stress with aromatherapy!

Two Cents on Organic Scents

The power of smell can bring up strong emotions of both sadness and joy. It can also calm your nerves or irritate you. There is even a way to use blends of scents to help with ailments like fatigue, headaches, stress, and nausea. Of course, your mother’s homemade bread may smell divine and bring back wonderful memories – but that’s not what we have in mind. Shoving your face into a loaf of freshly baked bread, while delicious, will pose a burn risk, and it won’t help your headache. Aromatherapy uses singular or blends of essential oils derived from organic plants or plant parts. These oils in concentration create an aromatic balm that has been shown to cause different chemical reactions in our bodies. These reactions range from easing stress to stimulating a wakeful state to cure carsickness.

Combination Therapies – Even Better!

Aromatherapy is even more effective when combined with other natural therapies. For example, if you warm the essential oils and they are included in massage therapy. The individual then will have the added benefit of the aromatherapy and the massage therapy. This will offer the body a therapeutic boost that will heighten the effectiveness of both the aromatherapy and the massage!

De-Stress Aromatically

Some examples of scents commonly used in aromatherapy are:

  • Lavender: Great for calming anxiety, look for quality ingredients high in esters and very low amounts of cineol.
  • Rose Geranium: Mood enhancing, and some say it can eliminate pain by stimulating the lymph system
  • Peppermint: Wakes you up and can even help to take away aches and pains of sore muscles.
  • Eucalyptus: When added to a bath this can open up your sinuses and help you wake up as well ease tired muscles.

It’s important to remember that these oils are usually in concentrated amounts. Therefore, you will want to dilute them with another oil like coconut or sweet almond oils. You can also add them a few drops at a time to a bath or your favorite unscented lotion. Before you know it, you will be sitting back and letting your stress waft away on the next breeze.

Applications & Resources

  • Check out Mental Health Daily for 9 Essential Oils for Stress & Anxiety
  • Go to abcNews and find out the True or False about Aromatherapy
  • Read more about aromatherapy from WebMD
  • Find sources for oils and more about aromatherapy.com