What is aromatherapy?
Sure, maybe you have heard
of aromatherapy before and are, at least, marginally familiar with the term and
the basics of what it means. Aromatherapy has something to do with scents and
smells treating illnesses and conditions, right? Now, that does sound a bit
unbelievable! How can it possibly do that, simply through the smell of
something?
Don’t worry, you are not
alone in your cynicism. Others have often questioned the viability of this
treatment method.
How is it really supposed
to work anyway? In order to better understand aromatherapy and how it works –
if, in fact, it does work at all – we need to get a better understanding of
what aromatherapy truly is.
Aromatherapy is actually a
generic term that refers to many different types of traditions that make use of
plant matter and essential oils to create a more positive atmosphere in
conjunction with benefiting someone's quality of life. All current treatments
throughout the Western civilized world that use essential oils and plant matter
are considered aromatherapy, rather than “actual” medical treatments.
In general, aromatherapy
is a form of therapy that is meant to help someone relax or to reduce stress.
Aromatherapy is practiced using essential oils and volatile plant oils to
create psychological and physical sensations. It usually requires scented
compounds created through volatile plant materials, essential oils, or similar
herbal products and it is used as a form of alternative medicine for positively
affecting a person's health or mood.
All of these many uses
have made aromatherapy a very popular treatment method among alternative medicines.
Many people who do not
like the sometimes-unpleasant side effects of prescribed medication,
particularly for depression, stress, or other similar disorders, have opted to
use aromatherapy to help reach the desired state of being. You might think of
some of these people as oddballs for choosing to use aromatherapy instead of
other synthetic medications, but it has proven to be effective in certain
circumstances when used appropriately or with the permission of a physician.
History of aromatherapy
Aromatherapy has been used
in one form of another for thousands of years. Throughout time, people have
used essential oils and plant matter to try to heal illnesses and cure
diseases. For this reason, it is hard to give a specific date or event
timeline for the creation and development of aromatherapy. It has adjusted over
time to meet the specific needs of each culture as the cultural needs have
changed. It has also changed as new plant matter and essential oils have been
discovered and utilized.
Due to this ever-changing history,
aromatherapy in its current manifestation evolved with the use of distilled
plant material in order to create essential oils. This particular form of
distillation can be traced back as a 20th-century innovation. As currently
defined in the medical field, aromatherapy is a term that was first coined in
1920 by a French chemist Renée Maurice Gattefosse.
This renowned French
chemist Renee Maurice Gattefosse had dedicated his life to research and study
regarding the healing properties of essential oils. This dedication was spurred
by an incident that happened by chance in his laboratory one day. Gattefosse
accidentally set his arm on fire and was racing around the inside of his lab,
searching for some way to put the flames out. While searching for the nearest
vat of liquid to thrust his arm into, French chemist
Renée Maurice Gattefosse
came across a large open container of lavender oil. Quickly, the chemist put
his arm into the lavender oil to extinguish the flames and, to his surprise, he
experienced almost instant pain relief.
Next time we will speak about :
Does aromatherapy really work?
Aromatherapy at home
Next time we will speak about :
Does aromatherapy really work?
Aromatherapy at home
No comments:
Post a Comment