Burgess - Aromatherapy and Essential Oils for Beginners: Au Naturoil: A Guide for Stress Relief, Healing Remedies and Natural Cleaners - With Over 100 Essential Oil Recipes

Au Naturoil: A Beginners Guide to Aromatherapy and Essential Oils for Stress Relief, Healing Remedies and Natural Cleaners by Susan Burgess No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including scanning, photocopying, recording, or by any informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated & signed permission of the copyright holder.
Copyright 2015 - All Rights Reserved - Get Your eBook Published Table of Contents
Introduction Did you know that the human nose can detect and distinguish between up to 10,000 individual scents? Our sense of smell is quite potent and it is linked in many ways to other functions of our bodies. Aromatherapy is the use of aromatic and essential oils to maintain and enhance the body, mind, and spirit. It is considered a holistic form of medicine that treats the whole person rather than just the symptoms of the disease. This complementary therapy works with conventional medicine to stimulate the body to heal itself. Plant based therapies have been practiced by people around the world for millennia and have been proven to be effective throughout the ages. Modern aromatherapy has built on the discoveries of medieval and ancient aromatic practices to provide effective and positive results.

Aromatherapy can be used in the home to eliminate or relieve many common illnesses like colds, coughs, headaches, fevers, muscle aches and many more. It can also raise your level of resistance to disease and stimulate your bodys own defense systems. Essential oils, when used and diluted correctly, are extremely safe and very rarely produce any side effects. These gentle and natural supplements are a great alternative to some of the harsh medicines of the modern age. This is not to say that aromatherapy is a replacement for modern medicine, however. As a preventative measure, it can be extremely helpful.

This e-book is meant as an introduction to the study and practice of aromatherapy. Throughout this book, you will find recipes of common essential oil blends that you can make to improve your body, mind, spirit, and home. What Is Aromatherapy? The Origins Of Aromatherapy What Is Aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is a holistic form of healing based on the use of essential oils. Essential oils - concentrated extracts from the leaves, seeds, roots, or plant blossoms - have been used therapeutically for over 6,000 years. The history of aromatherapy can be traced through the ancient Indian, Chinese, Egyptian, Roman and Greek cultures. These people used essential oils in perfumes, cosmetics, and drugs as well as for hygienic, ritualistic, spiritual and therapeutic purposes.

The Founding of Modern Aromatherapy The term aromatherapie was coined by Ren-Maurice Gattefoss, a French chemist. While treating a burn on his hand, he discovered the healing properties of lavender oil when he used it after an explosion in his laboratory. In 1928, Gattefoss founded the science of aromatherapy and went on to publish many treatises on the subject. One of Gattefosss followers, Jean Valnet, used essential oils during World War II to treat wounds, burns, gangrene and skin infections in wounded soldiers. How Does Aromatherapy Work? Researchers arent entirely sure how aromatherapy works. Some scientists believe that our sense of smell may play a role.

Others believe that molecules found in essential oils may interact with enzymes or hormones in the blood. Aromatherapy massage is a great method of experiencing essential oils because it allows you to benefit from both theories at once by breathing in and smelling the oils as well as absorbing them through your skin. Regardless of how, the one thing we do know is that they DO WORK. There are fantastic success stories throughout history of how Aromatherapy and Essential Oils have had a profound impact on people's lives. Aromatherapy And Essential Oils What Are Essential Oils? Essential oils are liquids distilled from the stems, leaves, roots, bark, flowers or other parts of a plant. They are not oily-feeling at all, despite calling them an oil, and most are clear in color.

Some oils, such as orange, patchouli and lemon grass, are yellow or amber colored. Essential Oils Vs. Perfumes The aromas and chemical compositions of essential oils can provide psychological and physical therapeutic benefits, usually achieved through methods including inhalation and application of the diluted oil to the skin. Essential oils are different from fragrance oils or perfumes. They are derived from the actual plants, whereas perfume oils in most cases are fragrances that are artificially created or contain chemicals or other non-natural substances. As a result, they do not offer the therapeutic benefits that essential oils do.

How Are Essential Oils Used? Essential oils are extremely concentrated and a little can go a long way. They can be used topically by blending with a carrier oil like coconut oil, apricot kernel oil, sweet almond oil, or grapeseed oil and then applying the blend to the skin to be absorbed or inhaled. Under certain circumstances, carefully inhaling the oils can also be beneficial as the oil molecules will enter the lungs and be absorbed into the bloodstream. Purchasing Essential Oils Essential Oils are usually sold for individual use in very small bottles and can vary greatly in price and quality. The rarity of the plant used, the plant's country of origin, growing & climate conditions, distiller quality standards, and, of course, how much oil the plant produces, can all affect the quality and price. You can also purchase essential oil blends.

The advantage of buying blends of pure, quality essential oils is that in most cases you will save money by not having to buy each essential oil individually to make a mixture. The disadvantage is that you have no real control over the ratio of the blend and since you dont know the exact composition, you will not be able to reliably mix your blend with other oils. A Brief History Of Essential Oils History of Essential Oils Around the World Essential oils, known in the past as aromatic oils, have been used for centuries by many different cultures around the world. Depending on the culture, their uses often varied from healing the sick or wounded to religious practices. We have not been able to pinpoint exactly when these natural oils gained popularity as healing agents, but eventually the knowledge and effectiveness of essential oils in treating the sick spread throughout the world. The earliest evidence we have unearthed of the healing properties of certain plants was found in Lascaux, an area in the Dordogne region in France.

Cave paintings in the area suggest that the use of plants in everyday life for medicinal purposes have been carbon dated as far back as 18,000 B.C.E. Egypt Recorded history and evidence have shown that the early Egyptians used aromatic oils as far back as 4500 B.C.E. They used perfumed oils, balsams, aromatic vinegars, scented barks, spices and resins in their everyday life. They transformed plants into pastes, powders, oils, medicinal cakes, pills, suppositories, and ointments. They also used fragrances for religious purposes, dedicating specific fragrances to each deity and anointing statues with their chosen oil. Myrrh and Cedar were used in the process of embalming and traces of these aromatic oils have been found on mummies throughout Egypt.

China One of the first publications on the use of essential oils was found in China between 2697-2597 B.C.E during the reign of Huang Ti, the Yellow Emperor. His famous book The Yellow Emperors Book of Internal Medicine contains many uses for aromatic oils and even today is considered a useful text by eastern medicine practitioners. India Indian medicine has a 3,000-year history of incorporating aromatic oils into their healing salves and potions. Some of their written texts list over 700 substances including ginger, cinnamon, sandalwood and myrrh as effective healing agents. During the outbreak of the Bubonic Plague, or 'Black Death' as it was commonly called, their medical techniques, called Ayur Veda, were successfully used in the place of ineffective antibiotics. The purpose of essential oils and aromatic plants were also believed to be a godly part of nature and this played a vital role in the philosophical and spiritual outlook of traditional Ayurvedic medicine.