Guest Post by Janice Oliver.

What is Aromatherapy?

In a basic sense, aromatherapy is the use of essential oil extracts
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essential_oils) from medicinal plants through the olfactory senses (the nose). Just as one might use the flowers of a plant (think chamomile tea) to have a physical effect on the body, inhaling the essential oil of the plant also has a physical, and possibly psychological, effect on the body.

Sometimes the effect aromatherapy has on the body is something intangible like relaxation. Sometimes the effect is actually something more tangible, like healing from an injury or getting over a respiratory infection.

The best way to learn more about aromatherapy is to see its use in real people’s daily life.

Nighty Night Little Sheep

I have 3 little daughters. Two of them sleep pretty well, but one does not. We had been looking for different ways to help her calm down at night. One thing that we tried with some success was infusing some cotton batting with lavender essential oil, then inserting the batting into a little pillow. We gave her the pillow and we ask her to smell it for a couple of minutes. We have also used a salve with the lavender oil in it and put it under her nose. However, sometimes the aromatherapy is not effective by itself and other natural methods may be used in conjunction with the aromatherapy.

If an adult wanted to use the lavender oil for sleep, they could setup a device called a diffuser, which lightly heats the oil and allows the aroma of the oil to permeate the room.

Help, I Can’t Breathe

Another great example of the practical use of aromatherapy would be my own story of using eucalyptus oil. I suffer from respiratory issues, especially sinus congestion. Because I use a CPAP to sleep at night, it is imperative that I am able to breathe through my nose at night. I sometimes use a natural inhaler that is infused with eucalyptus oil. This usually works to open up my sinuses enough to breathe and get sufficient air with my CPAP.

Some people have successfully used eucalyptus oil with mild asthma attacks.

Some Words to the Wise

Although aromatherapy is a relatively safe natural medicine, some of the oils used can be very irritating to the skin, so caution needs to be used if one is putting oil into a delivery device like an inhaler or diffuser.

Also, the research is limited on the effects of aromatherapy use during pregnancy. I have used the eucalyptus oil inhaler during pregnancy and administered the lavender oil to my daughter, but I limit my contact with the oil itself.

Research & Give it a Try

There are so many more uses of aromatherapy. Start by identifying some area in your life that would benefit from aromatherapy, research the appropriate oil and delivery method, and see what it can do for you.

Janice Oliver is a home decor consultant and content contributor for candleluxury.com, a shopping destination for Seda Candles and hundreds of other scented accessories in the Luxury Candles line.

Category: Guest Posts | Loved by 1 Babe