Aromatherapy is the skilled and controlled use of essential oils for physical and emotional health and well-being. Science is now confirming what has been known for centuries: essential oils have healing properties on both physical and emotional levels. Absorbed through the skin and via the olfactory-brain connection through inhalation, they have been considered among the most therapeutic and rejuvenating of all botanical extracts throughout the ages.
Only nature can produce whole essential oils. They are tiny droplets contained in glands, glandular hairs, sacs, or veins of different plant parts: leaves, stems, bark, flowers, roots, and fruits. They are the “essence” of that particular plant form. They are responsible for giving the botanical its unique scent and “fingerprint.” When you brush against your rosemary bush in the garden, or sniff a rose growing in the hedgerow, you experience the essential oils being released into the air. Essential oils are volatile, which means they turn from liquid to a gas very readily at room temperature or higher. They aren’t oily at all, but rather a water-like fluid. Rupture of the essential oil glands, or simply heat exposure, will help release these natural, memory-evoking, volatile scents. This is one of the reasons why we experience more fragrances in the summer than in the winter. Obviously there are fewer plants blooming in winter, but also because the weather is so much colder, and the air denser, molecules are moving at a slower rate and the essential oils are less likely to evaporate. This makes it more difficult for us to pick up their scent.
At the Geneva Conference, Essential oils were defined as: “the exclusive product of the extraction of the volatile aromatic principles contained in the substances of which they bear the name.” Essential oils are highly concentrated forms of the plant part in which they were derived; however, the oils can also change composition and location from one part of the plant to another. Take the Orange Tree, for example. Neroli oil is obtained from the blossoms, orange oil from the citrus fruit itself, and petitgrain essential oil from the leaves of the tree.
To give you an idea of how potent these oils are, consider this: one drop of essential oil equals about thirty cups of herbal tea in terms of concentration. When you make a cup of chamomile tea by pouring boiling water over the dried herb, and letting steep, you are extracting minuscule amounts of the essential oil present in that herbal tea along with water-soluble constituents. Sometimes these oils can be 75 to 100 times more concentrated than the fresh herb. This is one reason why they should be used with caution and knowledge of their potency.”
From Aromatherapy, A Lifetime Guide to Healing with Essential Oils by Valerie Gennari Cooksley, pages 3-6.
The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy is a national organization devoted to aromatherapy in the United States. Their web site provides information on essential oils for health and healing purposes. http://www.naha.org/
Frontier Herbs is a great source for ordering essential oils. Their web site also provides information and recipes to create your own individualized combinations. http://www.frontiercoop.com/products/aromatherapy.html
Recently a French company that provides high grade organic essential oils for aromatherapy has begun operating in the United States. Their home office for the USA is located in San Antonio, TX. Their web site is: http://usa-florame.com/index.php
For more Information:
call 210-495-0050 or
email pam @ wholebeingwellnesscenter.com
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