| What is Aromatherapy?
In a very broad way, aromatherapy could be defined as the use of scents to create a therapeutic effect. Historical accounts and research show that aromatic plants have been used throughout human history for special purposes. Today we often see the word aromatherapy used in two ways:
- Items that are fragrant, whether naturally derived or synthetically manufactured, are being sold to supposedly create a pleasant effect and are labeled aromatherapy.
- A holistic complementary medical modality using pure essential oils for therapy is being practiced and is called aromatherapy.
This website is concerned with the practice of medical aromatherapy.
As a holistic healing modality aromatherapy uses the volatile compounds in oils distilled from aromatic plants to create beneficial changes in a person’s wellbeing, bringing them into balance mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically. Healing becomes easier as a person starts to achieve this balance or homeostasis. While a person may see immediate changes during one treatment session, those results may only be an indication of what can be achieved since it takes several sessions for the body to work at rebalancing its systems. Aromatherapy’s effect is subtle but with correct use and over a period of time improvement occurs.
Aromatherapy has its roots in ancient civilizations, which used the knowledge of plants for the effect of their smells. Today’s aromatherapy uses only the healing power in the essential oil of a plant and not the whole plant as in the practice of herbalism or phytotherapy. The chemical constituents in the essential oils interact directly with the human organism through the olfactory and integumentary systems. Essential oils can be used in a number of ways to achieve therapeutic benefits but there is always the element of inhalation involved – the sense of smell.
The aromatherapy of today is based on a discipline of therapeutic applications of essential oils that have been scientifically studied. Early pioneers in the field were medical doctors, scientists, and chemists in Europe during the 1930s. Réné-Maurice Gattefossé published his research in 1937 in Aromatherapie: Les Huiles essentielles, hormones végétales. This book used the word “aromatherapy” and spoke of the therapeutic applications of essential oils, which he had spent years researching. At that time the pharmacological effects of essential oils were considered as effective as those of pharmaceutical drugs. The human body and the causes of disease did not seem to become insensitive to essential oils over time the way that they did to synthetic medicines.
The way it affects on our being, showing how physical and emotional health are related, places aromatherapy in the fairly new category of science called psychoneuroimmunology1. This science studies how the psychological, neurological, and immunological systems of the body interact to achieve wellness. It seeks to understand how both positive and negative experiences impact these systems.
Aromatherapy has become so popular because it is gentle, user-friendly, natural, and non-invasive. It is seen as a versatile, pleasurable, and easy to use solution for a variety of problems often with almost instantaneous results, such as in the case of headaches or tension. “Western” medical practices can be alienating, creating fear and tension, and look only at physical symptoms. Aromatherapy joins other holistic modalities in seeking to initiate healing in our whole being. Essential oils are being used to enhance the balancing effects of yoga, meditation, exercise, psychotherapy, and life-style changes as well as to provide a natural complement to allopathic and holistic medical practices.
Therapeutic benefits can include: enhancing a person’s feeling of well-being, revitalizing mind and body, improving mood, reducing stress and anxiety, improving sleep, and aiding in health matters such as skin problems, stomach aches, and motion sickness. Aromatherapy takes into account the multitude of causes of dis-ease, viewing at the client as a multifaceted being. The therapist looks at what is happening physically, emotionally, spiritually, and mentally. Lifestyle, eating patterns, relationships, home and work environments, stress, recreation, as well as physical symptoms may be considered.
1. “In 1975, Dr. Robert Ader, Director of the Division of Behavioral and Psychosocial Medicine at the University of Rochester in New York, first reported that our immune system, nervous system, and endocrine system work together, each system influencing the other systems. The study of these complex interactions was originally termed psychoneuroimmunology or PNI although today it is more commonly referred to as the mind-body connection. By 1980, the early studies of Ader were reproduced and confirmed by researchers at Harvard University, and today PNI is taught at most leading medical schools”. Elaine Moore – The Mind Body Connection http://www.suite101.com/blog/daisyelaine/the_mind_body_connection
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