With ESSENTIAL OILS - All is well!

Historically plant oils and essential oils have been considered precious substances used as beautifying and healing agents. When the baby Jesus was born wise men from the East came bearing gifts of Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh. Frankincense and Myrrh are known for their extraordinary antiseptic, healing and emotionally uplifting qualities and even as perfumes. Cleopatra understood the power of botanical smells and used them to attract Marc Anthony-a Roman general. When she left to meet him, she had the sails of her ship drenched in Jasmine. Marc Anthony fell deeply in love with the Egyptian ruler.  A French cosmetic chemist in the 1920’s burned his arm badly in his laboratory. He plunged his arm in the nearest cold liquid that happened to be lavender oil. He was surprised to find that it lessened the pain and it healed quickly without a scar. He is responsible for the term “aromatherapy”.Today we can purchase quality essential oils in many places - - but it is important to know the source, because in this worldwide market there are many who are cheating those who cannot tell the difference between pure oils and those that have been adulterated.
 
Essential Oils (when high quality)can be used in many ways; applied topically, ingested orally or diffused as an aromatic. Note that orally is potentially dangerous and is not recommended by amateur practitioners who have not studied in depth.  The most safe application is on the bottoms of the feet, as the feet have more pore per square in in the body - - and the hotter oils will not burn the plantar tissues.  Within seconds essential oils are flowing throughout the body.

For babies, cautions are high, because the liver is not yet developed - so the only safe essential oils are Lavendar (calming, sleep), Ravensara (colds, viruses), Dill (colic) - - and Eucalyptus radiate (diluted 1:4) on the back for respiratory. These same rules apply to the elderly and very weak.

Essential oils enter our body topically and aromatically. Topically oils pass through our skin, to the capillaries and into the bloodstream. These oils contain the life blood of the plants they were extracted from. The molecules are so small and lightweight that in the distilling process they separate from the heavier nutritional molecules (found in Hydrosols).  Oils contain terpenes, ketones, aldehydes, esters, terpene alcohols, cineol’s, phenols, phenylprophane derivatives, sesquiterpenes and more. While these names may sound foreign, they are the characteristics inside the plants that have special jobs. They come in a balanced form that works in a beautiful symbiotic flow.  Their jobs can be to help protect, repair, relax, restore and so much more. They did that for the plant they came from and will do that for us too.

It is important to note that plants store their essential oils in small pouches and do not use them in their pure form. They retrieve and dilute their own oils when needed. So it is with humans, we should dilute essential oils with a carrier oil such as grapeseed (the thinnest oil), coconut, almond or olive oil when applying topically.

Aromatherapy is both topical and aromatic. Smell is considered one of the most powerful senses we have. Smells grab our attention. They can take us back to a memory or bring us to the present moment. Babies use it to find their mother’s breast milk. Perfumes and colognes are used to attract attention. I call Geranium the "ALL IS WELL" essential oil, as it can help us overcome anxiety and incorrect-thinking patterns.  Apply to temples, back of neck, adrenals, heart and under the nose.   Repeat to yourself, "Even though I am feeling this _____________, all is well".  "Even though I cannot change ____________, all is well!"  "I can choose to have healthy emotions".

Hippocrates said, “The way to health is to have an aromatic bath and scented massage every day.” Since that is not possible for most, we can care for ourselves by softening our skin with olive oil infused with drops of our favorite essential oils - - and making sprays of distilled water with drops of our favorite emotional or air-cleaning essential oils.  

Smells have unique shapes (chemical bonds) that give them their characteristics. Synthetic smells are man-made, generally alkanes, that often give headaches or other sensitivities. Pheromones are animal steroids that can incite aggression or libido, etc.

But, Essential oils are from plants and have terpenes that help us be calm, adaptive and flexible. The amazing thing about essential oils is that, unlike the synthetic cosmetics and perfumes, these botanical oils not only draw us in with their scent, but have healing qualities aromatically and topically. When entering our nasal cavity smells land on olfactory tissues. Tiny molecules land on the receptors of the olfactory tissues that are attached to the olfactory bulb. Smells are like a key and receptors are like a lock. Once they fit inside the lock, an electrical impulse is sent to the olfactory bulb and onto the brain. The olfactory bulb is situated in the brain’s limbic system and is connected to the amygdala which processes emotion  - - and the hippocampus that stores memory and facilitates learning. This is why smells are so personal and can trigger powerful memories and emotions.