Stress detracts from beauty, causing lines and wrinkles, prematurely graying hair, baggy eyes from insomnia and all sorts of illnesses. If you haven’t already given in to the aromatherapy craze, you may decide to go for it to achieve a little synaptic peace of mind, without the antidepressants (more about antidepressants later). Aromatherapy is based on the science of scent, and permeating your nostrils with a chemical that sort of smells like lavender is not the same as using the real, essential oil.
Using Essential Oils
Essential oils are extracted from plants either by using steam of by dissolving the oils out using solvents, then evaporating the solvents. What’s left behind is the soul of the plant –the essence without the physical form. Romantic, isn’t it!
Stress-Free Mornings By Waking Up to Relaxing Aromatherapy
Do you like the sounds of birdsong or ocean waves? How about the scent of lavender, to calm or energize your morning and provide the day's first pick-me-up? Natural, soothing sounds can wake you gently instead of an alarm blasting you out of bed. Aromatherapy scents with flowers and herbs, set up the expectation that maybe the world can be a beautiful place—even before your morning coffee.
The way you start your morning tends to color your experiences of the day. There's no law that says your moment of waking should be stressful: don't you get enough stress in the daytime? Try a gradual awakening; soft sounds and a glowing light that grows gradually and a sweet, natural scent. Imagine that: starting your day with an experience that wakes you up-- without freaking you out.
See how you can wake-up stress free and gradually to soothing light, soft sounds and relaxing aromatherapy.
Rules of Aromatherapy Blends
The first rule of aromatherapy is to know yourself. The part of the brain responsible for olfaction (sense of smell) is partly surrounded by the part of the brain that handles long-term memory, and is also part of the limbic system, which handles emotion. The central position of your olfactory sense is why when you smell something you smelled as a child, it will often bring a flood of memories and emotions with it. That’s why scent is a highly individual thing.
Aroma researchers have found that in general, men like the smell of vanilla and the smell of lavender. That’s no reason to choose either scents as a perfume, though: men are also crazy about the smell of pizza! Most people love the smell of something sweet baking, and one do-it-yourself aromatherapy is to bake a loaf of bread.
Some years ago, psychology researchers found that piping the smell of the ocean in to the air significantly helped people feel less depressed
Aromatherapy Product Information
If you have allergies or asthma, chemical-based aromatherapy may be fraught with danger. Synthetic scents are derived from chemical compounds, many of which can cause strong allergic reactions such as wheezing, coughing, hives and itching or even nausea and vomiting. Don't fall into the trap of believing that, just because a product claims to be aromatherapy-based, it's automatically good for you.
Many people have allergic reactions to perfectly natural products. If you have allergies, make sure you read the back of any product you're considering before shelling out money for something that may make you sick.
Avoid scents that bring back unhappy memories or that make you feel heavy and sleepy (unless you’re using aroma for insomnia).
