Cruise - Abstracts of Technical Papers Presented at the 106 th Annual Meeting National Shellfisheries Association Jacksonville, Florida March 29—April 2, 2014

The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Uncovering the Healing Benefits Aromatherapy!

By: Abigail Cruise

INTRODUCTION

I want to thank you and congratulate you for downloading the book: Essential Oils: The Ultimate Beginners Guide to Uncovering the Healing Benefits Aromatherapy!

Is this book right for you?

If you want to experience the benefits of essentials oils then this is the right book for you. If you want to gain from the following benefits of essential oils then look no further! Essential oils can be used:

• As An Effective Antibacterial
• As An Antiviral
• As An Anti-Fungal
• As An Anti-Parasitic
• To Reduced Stress
• To Lower Anxiety
• As A Pain Relief
• As Immune System Strengthening Enhancer

What will you learn?

You will learn:

• What Is Aromatherapy And Essential Oils?
• How Do Essential Oils Work?
• The Chemistry Of Essential Oils
• Essential Oils Methods Of Extraction
• The Grading System
• Understanding Purity And Quality
• Usage Guidelines For Essential Oils
• Diluting Your Oils
• Where Should You Apply Essential Oils?
• How To Administer Essential Oils
• Massage And Aromatherapy
• Blending Essential Oils
• The Top Twelve Essential Oils For Your Body And Mind Important Carrier Oils
• The Top Seven Carrier Oils
• Blending Your Own Recipes

Aromatherapy can be defined as the practice of using pleasant smelling botanical oils, including essential oils, absolutes, CO2s and hydrosols for the purpose of achieving physical and psychological well-being. In other words, it is the science of scent that allows you to take control and care for your mind and body. Hydrosols, milk powders, cold pressed vegetable oils, herbs, sea salts, clay, mud, etc. are some other complementary natural elements used in aromatherapy.

Essential oils are different from the fragrance oils that you see in a superstore. These fragrance oils are synthetic in nature whereas essential oils are derived from plants and are completely natural.

The term aromatherapy was not widespread until the 20th century. However, the foundation of aromatherapy dates back to around 6000 years. The Egyptians, Romans and Greeks all seemed to have used aromatherapy.

It is believed that the Chinese were the first ones to use aromatherapy by burning incense in order to create balance and harmony.

Around 6000 years ago, the use of fragrant oils for massage and bathing was suggested by Imhotep, the Egyptian physician also referred to as the Egyptian God of healing and medicine.

The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates, also used aromatherapy for scented massages and baths.

The term aromatherapy was however coined by a French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse in the year 1930. He first used lavender oil in order to heal his burning hand and this led him to investigate the impact other essential oils could have on physical and mental healing.

The French army surgeon, Dr. Jean Valnet used essential oils as disinfectants during the World War II. Aromatherapy got the status of an alternative holistic therapy by Madame Marguerite Maury who prescribed essential oils for treatment to her patients.

Aromatherapy has been said to be most impactful when it is used to work its magic on both the mind and the body.

HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS WORK?

The term aromatherapy is somewhat misleading. It implies that the patient can get better simply because they can smell something. This is only partly true.

Sniffing oil can lead to mood alteration and that can be considered as medicine. This is accomplished through the fine hairs that line your nose. These hairs are termed as cilia and they are responsible for transporting the smell of essential oils to your limbic system (this is the area in your brain which controls your emotions, learning, memory and moods).

The brain wave frequency has been a subject of various studies. Most of these demonstrate that the sense of smell has a profound impact on the human mind. For example, the smell of Lavender elevates the alpha waves in the posterior portion of your head. This is linked to relaxation.

Similarly, the fragrant smell of Jasmine enhances the beta waves in the anterior portion of our head. This is linked to alertness. The tiny molecules of essential oils can pass through the blood brain barrier and hence lead the body and mind to experience a number of positive benefits.

Another way in which these oils can heal you is through permeability through the pores of your skin. From here, they can enter the blood stream through the capillaries located in the base of your dermal layer. And then circulate around the body to work their magic in a number of ways.

Therefore, we can say that essential oils can be administered in two ways: through the nose (via inhalation) and through the skin (via absorption) .

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL OILS REALLY?

The term essential oil is derived from the original word quintessential oil. The main principle behind this is that everything in the universe is made up of four elements earth, water, air and fire.

In the past, prior to understanding essential oils completely, it was said that the fifth element or Quintessence, was the life force or the spirit of the plant. Since it was important to remove this spirit from the plants, processes such as evaporation and distillation were deployed to achieve the task.

This is also evident from our language since the term spirits is often used for distilled alcoholic beverages such as whiskey, brandy, and eau de vie. Overall, this meant the process of removal of the life force from the plant.

Today, it is known that essential oils hold no relevance to being spirits; they are physical in nature and are comprised of complex mixtures of chemicals.