wellness
e s o R ABY ANY OTHER
NAME IS AROMATHERAPY By Patricia Danflous
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emotional he issues
applications for essential oils, Sigur recommends peppermint, lemongrass and lavender as the best for an aromatherapy first aid kit. Peppermint relieves nausea, soothes muscular aches and pains, reduces or relieves migraines and also boosts energy. Lemongrass has cleansing properties and may be used as an antiviral or insect repellent. The calming effects of lavender reduce anxiety and aids wound healing, burns, cell regeneration, insect bites and general skin care. Depending on the condition you want to address, essential oils should be used in safe dilutions. Some oils may not be appropriate for children – children under 30 months should not use peppermint, for example – and the elderly may require significant dilutions when applying it to their skin.
ESSENTIAL OILS Essential oils have been used for centuries around the world to heal in places like Egypt, China, India, Rome, Greece, Persia and Europe, to name a few of these early locations. Today, many still see the merits in a holistic approach to healing or the benefits in using natural remedies alongside Western medicine. To make a beginner’s healing kit, start by purchasing lavender, peppermint, bergamot, tea tree, clove, rosemary and eucalyptus essential oils.
If you are interested in incorporating aromatherapy into your lifestyle, consult an aromatherapist or learn more from NAHA at www.naha.org.
YOUR SOUL
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f your mother tells Groovy, Aromatherapist and you one more time to Holistic Practitioner Sandra “slow down and smell Sigur, LMT, CYL, SCS, exthe roses,” don’t roll plains that aromatherapy your eyes behind her is the harvesting of essenback. That cliché advice is tial oils from plants, flowers, absolutely accurate. roots, barks and herbs and The queen of essential applying those oils theraoils, rose is known for repeutically. generating cells, nourishing “Essential oils are the emotions, treating stress inhaled to activate the and PMS, and frequently limbic system, used with a used as an aphrodisiac. carrier oil (such as coconut, For thousands of years, jojoba, almond) to massage aromatherapy, or esseninto the skin or added to tial oil therapy, has been bath water to ease pain associated with increased and encourage circulation well-being. Recognized and relaxation,” she reports. today as a significant holistic “The molecular structure complement to contempoof essential oil is so small rary medicine, the practice that it can cross the bloodis proving effective for a brain barrier, making it wide range of physical and easily absorbed to reach the emotional health issues. organ, gland, muscle and/or According to the emotion you are trying to National Association for connect with.” Holistic Aromatherapy Although there are (NAHA), aromatherapy numerous choices and is the art and science of hundreds of aromatherapy utilizing naturally extracted Aromatherapy is aromatic essence from plants to balance, harmonize proving effective and promote a healthy body, for a wide range mind and spirit. of physical and In her book Healing alth
