Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils (and other aromatic compound) to benefit psychological or physical well-being. In simpler terms, aromatherapy is inhaling essential oils for the therapeutic purpose of enhancing a feeling of well-being. And we all want to feel well, right?!
How Does Aromatherapy Work
I often get asked the question, “I know essential oils smell wonderful, but how can sniffing something actually benefit my health”. You may be thinking – how does breathing an essential oil thru my nose possibly benefit my health? Well, think about how a dentist administers laughing gas, or you get anesthesia for surgery. They ask you to breathe a synthetic in thru your nose! Why? It’s a fast way to access your brain.
When you breathe in the scent of an essential oil, it travels to the limbic system of your brain. Your brain is smart and knows exactly where to send that signal or scent in your body to best benefit you. And the best part, is that essential oils aren’t a synthetic, but natural compounds from plants.
Health Benefits Of Aromatherapy
What are the health benefits associated with emotional aromatherapy? Well, the list is long. We use emotional aromatherapy, specifically essential oils, to target emotions. If you’re a science person, here ya go! Your olfactory nerve triggers memories and emotional responses. Because this olfactory system is connected to your limbic system, the area of your brain where memories and emotions are stored, essential oils work wonderful for emotional support. Uplifting your mood (I like Cheer), releasing negative feelings like jealousy or blame (I like Forgive) and calming your senses (I like Peace) are some of my favorite uses.
Grief or sorrow is also something that essential oils can really offer support through. I always tell people, that inhaling an essential oil won’t take away your grief, but it does help you manage it, so you can feel what you need to feel to move through it and function. My favorite oil for supporting times of sorrow and grief is “Console“.
Helping you relax for a restful night’s sleep is also something people ask for help with, and eo’s are also great for that. I like to run a diffuser on my nightstand, vary what essential oil(s) I put in it, and I’m happy to report I sleep like a baby (or like a husband). There certainly are other benefits to aromatherapy such as cleaning the air to prevent the spread of germs, boosting your immune system, and even easing discomfort.
Aromatherapy Starter Kit
New to aromatherapy and/or essential oils? I have a great starter kit that contains 10 oils perfect for diffusing plus a beautiful diffuser. I love that this makes it simple to start using essential oils daily. You really don’t need to know what you’re doing other than to fill the diffuser with water and add a few drops of any oil in the kit. Then you can experiment to use different oils and combinations to see what works best for you, and what scents you love.