How Aromatherapy Has Helped Me…

  It’s a bittersweet feeling that this is the last passion blog post for my freshman year. Overall, this experience has been really awesome and this passion blog has allowed me to geek out over things no one really cares about. Since this is the last blog post, I wanted to change the usual set up a little bit. The reason I decided to devote this semester’s blogs to aromatherapy was not because I use the product excessively, but because it has helped me throughout the years.

I lost my dad when I was around ten years old. Although I never got the chance to build a bond with him like every other father-daughter duo due to family related issues, the death still brought great sadness. I felt a mix of emotions the day I found out, I didn’t know if I was sad, regretful, mad, or all the above. For the first couple of weeks, I had a lot of trouble sleeping. My mom was the person to first introduce me to aromatherapy. When I told her that I wasn’t sleeping, she put a humidifier in my room that released the sleep aromatherapy scent that I talked about in a previous blog post. I didn’t know if it actually worked or if the thought of it made me believe that it worked. But, after my mom started giving me sleep and stress relief lotions and humidifiers, I started to feel better.

The reason I constantly try to advocate for the use of aromatherapy products when one is feeling a certain way is because I don’t think you can ever truly know what someone is going through. People often look to other abusive substances to help them heal pain which is obviously way more dangerous than any aromatherapy products. People close to me have used other ways to heal there pain for the time being and I am happy I went down a different road. Especially with most of my peers being in college and dealing with the stress of entering the real world and being successful, I know many people are overstrung. I think if anyone is ever going through a hard time in their life, they should look to natural and essential resources instead of abusing addictive substances.

I hope many of you have enjoyed my blog post throughout the semester and have been intrigued to try some of the products I touched upon. Every penny is worth it!

Aromatherapy: Boost Immunity &a Fight Infections

With spring right around the corner, we all know what that entails. That’s right, it is officially allergy season. Along with allergy season comes stuffy noses and aching coughs. Although, no need to worry because there are plenty of essential oils used in aromatherapy that help this sort of thing! There are multiple essential oils that have anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-fungal properties that help keep your immune system in tact! With that, there are loads of chemical mixtures including terpenes, esters, phenolics, ethers and ketones that all have the potential to fight pathogens that can ultimately threatren your  health and bring that nasty cough that everyone hates to have.

Okay, now I know that this may sound odd and even a little gross but one of the best oils to use in these types of situations is oregano oil. Oregano oil has been scientifically proven to help boost one’s immune system and fight off infections and colds (especially during this time of the year). In multiple lab studies done by scientists, oregano oil has been shown to fight off anti viral and anti bacterial diseases. The reason this oil has so much power is due to the fact that it contains carvacrol and thymol. These two compounds have antimicrobial effects and can inhibit the synthesis and growth of several types of bacteria.

Some other great essential oils that help during allergy season are myrrh, ginger, lemon, eucalyptus, frankincense, peppermint (or Mentha piperita) and cinnamon. Studies have proven that essential oils have the power to minimize the chance of catching a bacterial or fungal virus. It can fight off infections that I can’t even spell! Antibiotic resistance and flu/allergy season is becoming an increasing issue around the world and these essential oils have been proven to help us! So if you’re like me and you hate thought of taking blood thinning over the counter medication, using essential oils as a form of independent or combination therapy can help to fight bacterial infections in a safer and more natural way.

 

 

The History of Aromatherapy

This week I decided to change things up as per usual. I decided to talk about the history of aromatherapy and what the background is behind it. Most of the stuff I will be mentioning is also new to me which is why I am very excited about this blog post this week.

It turns out that aromatherapy and its roots can be traced back from over 3500 years ago; this was the era before christ was born! In these ages the development of aromatic medicines were through magic, religion, and mysticism. Egyptians believed that the ritual of burning aromatic woods (creating incense) brought their daily prayers to the heavens above. This created the foundation of aromatherapy and from here on out it continued to grow.

From around 5000 to 10000 B.C, the people in that day and age believed that the aromatic scents and herbs could be used to keep evil spirits away from those that were sick. Studies proven today state that these people were often viewed as “mentally ill”. The only way they used their aromatic tendencies were through water, fire, and smoke (Fun Fact: the word “perfume” comes from the latin word “per fumum” which means smoke).  In contrast of what we use today, it was very popular during these times to use “scented bark” and “fragrant woods”

During the times of 2650-2575 B.C, the quest for immortality was driven by the Egyptians who eventually developed the process of embalming and mummification (Embalming is a method many people who are buried use today). Aromatherapy oils such as myrrh, galbanum, cinnamon, cedarwood, juniper berry and spikenard are commonly known to have been used in some sort to preserve the bodies of their royalty in preparation of the after-life.

Hippocrates who is known to be “The Father of Medicine” because he was the first doctor to discover natural reasons for common illnesses. Hippocrates was big on the use of essential oils which are commonly used in aromatherapy techniques today; he is said to have studied and documented over 200 different herbs during his lifetime. He often used methods of infused baths and massages as a way of healing people that were sick.

It is interesting to see all the ways essential oils were used within the daily lives of people who lived before the age of christ. We often underestimate the power and practice of aromatherapy due to the advancements we have today but sometimes the oldest trick in the book can be the best one.

Here is the website where I found most of my facts: history-of-aromatherapy

Aromatherapy: Sleep

Last week I decided to change up my usual blog post, but this week we will back to our usual discussion of aromatherapy scents! This week I want to talk about one that I have been itching to try but haven’t gotten the chance. Therefore, this post will result in a lot more research rather than personal experience. My “aromatherapy of the week” is the Sleep edition! Yes… you read that correctly, it’s a scent that can put you to sleep! Do you have trouble falling asleep at night and find yourself scrolling through social media at three o’clock in the morning?

The Aromatherapy: Sleep is a fragrance that has essential oils that include lavender and cedar wood. Lavender is proven to initiate tranquility. Surprisingly, lavender oils have an enormous amount of health benefits! These benefits include things like it’s ability to eliminate alleviate pain and nervous tension, sterilize the scalp and skin, increase blood circulation, and treat respiratory problems. The reason lavender oil helps you sleep is because it helps your muscles relax and your heart rate to go down which is included in the first stages of your deepest sleep.

Cedar wood is a scent that you don’t hear as often but it has been proven to help you sleep! This scent comes from and is provided through the process of steam distillation from pieces of a cedar wood tree.  The scent of cedar wood essential oil motivates the release of serotonin, which is switched into melatonin in the brain. Melatonin is what induces your usual deep sleep and helps you feel relaxed/calm. Cedar wood, like lavender oil, also has many health benefits besides helping you sleep. Scientists have proven that it relieves symptoms of eczema, prevents infections, and reduces inflammations and spasms.

Clearly, the reason people use these essential oils is not only to help them fall asleep but also to help them feel calm. People will often spray these essential oils on their pillows or put oil diffusers in the room which will fill the entire room with the scent. You can also buy this product at Bath and Body Works in a body lotion, a shower gel, a candle, etc. I know I will be investing more money, yet again, on this product because I am intrigued to see if it actually works. Studies have shown that most people who use the sleeping oil products say that it has worked for them.

 

13 Wonderful Benefits of Cedarwood Essential Oil

13 Surprising Benefits of Lavender Essential Oil