AROMATHERAPY - Chapter III by Deborah Dolen
History of Aromatherapy
Excerpt How to Make Perfume and Aromatherapy Basics Copyright © Deborah Dolen 2011
Aromatherapy has been around for 6000 years or more. The Greeks, Romans, and ancient Egyptians all used aromatherapy oils. The Egyptian physician Imhotep, recommended fragrant oils for bathing, massage, and for embalming their dead nearly 6000 years ago. Imhotep is the Egyptian god of medicine and healing. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, used aromatherapy baths and scented massage. He used aromatic fumigations to rid Athens of the plague.
The modern era of aromatherapy is dated in 1920 when the French chemist, René Maurice Gattefossé coined the term aromatherapy for the therapeutic use of essential oils. Rene started investigating the effect of other essential oils for healing and for their psychotherapeutic benefits.
During World War II, the French army surgeon, Dr. Jean Valnet, used essential oils as antiseptics. Later, Madame Marguerite Maury elevated aromatherapy as a holistic therapy. She started prescribing essential oils as a remedy for her patients. She is also credited with the modern use of essential oils in massage.
Aromatherapy works best when used on the mind and body simultaneously.
How Does Aromatherapy Work?
Essential oils stimulate the powerful sense of smell. It's known that odors we smell have a significant impact on how we feel. In dealing with patients who have lost the sense of smell, doctors have found that a life without fragrance can lead to high incidence of psychiatric problems such as anxiety and depression. Studies with brain wave frequency have shown that smelling lavender increases alpha waves in the back of the head, which are associated with relaxation. Fragrance of Jasmine increases beta waves in the front of the head, which are associated with a more alert state. Neroli is offered to women in labor to help calm the feeling of trauma. We have the capability to distinguish 10,000 different smells. It is believed that smells enter through cilia (the fine hairs lining the nose) to the limbic system, the part of the brain that controls our moods, emotions, memory and learning. Scientific studies have also shown that essential oils contain chemical components that can exert specific effects on the mind and body.
mistry of esential oils are complex but generally they include alcohols, esters, ketones, aldehydes, and terpenes. Each essential oil contains as much as 100 chemical components, which together exert a strong effect on the whole person. Depending on which component is predominating in an oil, the oils act differently. For example, some oils are relaxing, some soothe you down, some relieve your pain, etc. Then there are oils such as Lemon and Lavender, which adapt to what your body needs and to that situation. (These are called 'adaptogenic'). The mechanism in which these essential oils act on us is not very well understood. What is understood is their effect on our mind and emotions. They leave no harmful residues. They enter into the body either by absorption or inhalation. The studies below demonstrate the powerful psychological impact aromatherapy can have on work productivity: A fragrance company in Japan conducted studies to determine the effects of smell on people. They pumped different fragrances in an area where a number of keyboard entry operators were stationed and monitored the number of mistakes made as a function of the smell in the air. The results were as follows: When exposed to lavender oil fragrance (a relaxant) the keyboard typing errors dropped 20 percent. When exposed to jasmine (an uplifting fragrance) the errors dropped 33 percent. When exposed to lemon fragrance (a sharp, refreshing stimulant) the mistakes fell by a whopping 54 percent! ~Revised by Deborah Dolen & Group 7.18.2008 via Wiki.
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ReplyDeleteI Have never Known that Sense of Smell is so important in daily life.
Thanks for the info.
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