‘Stop, and smell the flowers’ deserves high credence when we fully realise how medicinally beneficial fragrance can be.
Aromatherapy is an incredibly powerful way of modifying mood and emotion. Make up your own prescription of aromatherapy oils to soothe the nervous system, get more energy, boost mood or sleep. Here is an interesting anecdote, some useful recipes and some info and an interesting anecdote.
Long time anxiety sufferer Angelica reminisces how anxiety made life unbearable. After every prescription pill imaginable, she found relief from a mixture of aromatherapy oils. “A difficult childhood left me with debilitating anxiety, sometimes I used to vomit for hours from being anxious, other times I wouldn’t sleep for nights on end. At times I even thought I was going to die.”
She never dreamt aromatherapy oils could provide such healing and relief. In many cases research shows results parallel to the effect of prescription drugs. Aromatherapy oils are powerful and, used correctly, have no detrimental side effects. Angelica’s power blend is Lavender, Wild Orange, Vanilla, Sandalwood and Ylang Ylang. When choosing yours, be guided by what you love as this affects how it operates in your body. Try these out or find your own unique formula.
RECIPE FOR DEEP CALM
Mix Rosewood, Moroccan Chamomile and Frankincense in equal parts. This woody smell brings a calm and serene disposition. Moroccan Chamomile is said to be anti-inflammatory with antihistamine qualities. Frankincense has anti-depressive and anti-anxiety properties.
A team of scientists, including researchers from Johns Hopkins University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, describe how burning frankincense activates poorly understood ion channels in the brain to alleviate anxiety or depression.
RECIPE FOR EASY SLEEP
Mix 3 parts of lavender, 1 of sweet marjoram, 3 ylang ylang, 2 sandalwood and 1 vanilla. All these oils bring a sense of calm and invite sleep. Ylang ylang has a sedative effect on the autonomic nervous system.
LIVE WITH MORE FRAGRANCE
Being surrounded by beautiful fragrance will considerably enhance your mood and add a positive spin to your life. Use aroma oils everywhere – in a burner, your bath, on your clothing, your pillows, face creams, household cleaning products and in your car.
DID YOU KNOW? Our olfactory receptors communicate with the parts of the brain that store memories and emotions. Researchers believe smell directly influences physical, emotional and mental health, affecting blood, hormones and enzymes.
Lavender
Lavender has a profoundly relaxing effect. You can add lavender to your body cream, deodorant, perfume and pillow. A study by H. Woelk and S. Schläfke, showed that food grade lavender, taken orally over a 6-week period, had results comparable to the popular anti-anxiety drug Lorazepam. This was a multi-centre, double-blind, randomised study of the Lavender oil preparation Silexan in comparison to Lorazepam for generalized anxiety disorder. (published in Phytomedicine, Vol. 17, no. 2 in 2010).
Another study conducted by the University of Clinical Neurology in Vienna showed that ambient odours of orange and lavender reduced anxiety and improved mood in patients waiting for dental treatment. They used this study to support the opinion that fragrance can alter emotional states and reduce anxiety.
Wild Orange
Wild orange is a distinct mood booster that brings a sense of happiness and well-being. Get the food grade variety and you can add a drop to your herb tea or salad dressing. It’s a great oil to have around the house.
Bergamot
Besides dissipating tension and stress, Bergamot is great for the skin. It has a note of citrus in its scent and helps boost mood. Drop Bergamot in the bath at night to help sleep. Add it to a carrier oil and use it on your body. Bergamot also treats headaches.
CAUTION: Be aware that essential oils are highly concentrated and should not be used directly on the skin. It’s always advisable to use a carrier oil like almond or jojoba. If you need to ingest any of the oils, make sure they are food grade standard.