|
|
What are essential oils?
Essential oils are the concentrated, fragrant and volatile extracts from plants. Essential oils are found in parts of the plant such as the leaves, roots, spices, rinds of citrus fruits, seeds, woods, and flowers. Essential oils play a key role in the biochemistry of the plant since they are contained in small bag like chambers between the cells and act as regulators or messengers. They are referred to as the blood of the plant because they contain the life force of the plant that they come from. Each essential oil has multiple benefits to which the mind and body respond. Since some of their properties are antiseptic, purifying and stimulating to the immune system, they are considered to be part of holistic herbal medicine.
How concentrated are essential oils?
Essential oils are the most concentrated and potent of all plant extracts. They are 75-100 times more concentrated than dried herbs. This is why only a small amount needs to be used. Essential oils are priced according to the concentration in the plant and the process of distillation. For instance, Eucalyptus is inexpensive because a large amount of oil is found in the leaves (50 pounds of plant material yields 1 pound of oil) and the distillation is easy. In comparison, Rose is very expensive and has small amounts of oil in the flower making it costly to produce (about 5,000 pounds of flower petals yield 1 pound of essential oil).
What is aromatherapy?
The simplest answer is that aromatherapy consists of using essential oils for healing and for their natural soothing and stimulating powers which help create a sense of relaxation, mental acuity and peace of mind by relieving stress. Only pure essential oils enhance well-being.
How does the sense of smell work?
The sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than any other sense. The sense of smell acts mainly on a subconscious level because the olfactory nerves are connected to the primitive part of the brain called the limbic system (originally known as the rhinencephalon-"smell brain"). The olfactory nerve can only be reached directly through the nose. That is why fragrance creates an instant bodily reaction in the brain as the breathing process takes scent through the nose right into the limbic system. That is where the olfactory memories are stored. Every one has their own personal connection to every smell. Smells, moods, and short term and long term memory are all linked and stored in the limbic system. With every breath we smell. When we come in contact with an aroma our subconscience receives and reacts to it even before we are conscious of it. The sense of smell shuts off after about fifteen or twenty minutes. At that point you need to take a break and get some fresh air. When a person applies perfume or cologne, they smell it at first then can't smell it any more so they might spray more and become a fragrance offender! Other people they come in contact with smell it and, if it's too strong, get annoyed. More and more people are becoming fragrance sensitive because of being bombarded with all these perfumes in stores, the workplace, and in the home.
Website created by KDVstudios.com. All content is ©2001
|
