Is Aromatherapy a holistic health solution?
She bathed in jasmine, had her floors strewn with carpets of rose petals and her barges garlanded with flowers.
Is Aromatherapy a holistic health solution?
She bathed in jasmine, had her floors strewn with carpets of rose petals and her barges garlanded with flowers. It was common practice among Egyptian women to use aromatic oils in the bath and then massage by a salve.
Although Aromatherapy is a new term which was first introduced by French Chemist Dr. Rene-Maurice Gattefosse, it grew to become a complementary therapy after her findings and practice. The practice of aromatherapy predates written history, going back thousands of years. It wasn't known then as aromatherapy, but plants, oils, and resins were widely used. Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese manuscripts dating back thousands of years show priests and physicians using plant-extracted oils, making aromatherapy one of the earliest forms of medicine.
Egyptians used essential oils for cosmetics, medicinal purposes, and embalming. Traces of cedarwood, nutmeg, and cinnamon have been found in mummies' bandages. It was also common for Egyptian women to use aromatic oils for baths and massage.
Hippocrates, known as the 'father of medicine' recommended aromatic baths for treatment of female disorders and massage as healing art. At the time of plague he also urged people to burn aromatic oils to protect themselves. Jesus Christ as a baby was presented with gold, frankincense, and myrrh by the three wise man, while Mohammed is also believed to have sweated the scent of rose on his ascend into heaven.
All these histories show how plant and plants oils were used for wide range of applications from beauty products to self care (relaxation), to medicinal purposes, to special gift. Today, modern aromatherapy use pure essential oils to get holistic health benefit. These essential oils are extracted from different part of plants, tree or shrub, including flowers, leaf, resin, bark, root, twig, seed, berry, rind and rhizome. As we know essential oil carries specific therapeutic properties that can be used to balance and heal mind, body and spiritual conditions.
Aromatherapy, in essence, is a holistic therapy. The holistic health relates to the fact that; mind, body and spirit are interconnected. Imbalance between these aspect may cause unhealthy situation while harmony between all these areas will create good health. Aromatherapy can help all three aspect to realign naturally bringing harmony in-between i.e. good health.
When essential oils are applied to the body, the mind and spirit are able to reap the benefits of aromatherapy for health and wellbeing. As soon as essential oils comes in contact with our body and gets penetration in to the blood stream, it reacts with hormones and enzymes and the chemical changes takes place. It effects on physical level as well as on our feeling and emotion as we inhale aroma of essential oil. Finally, Holistic affect meaning overall response of our body to essential oils which includes the above 3 and other responses.