Aroma means fragrance or sweet smell, whereas therapy refers to treatment. Aromatherapy is a gentle and soothing way of helping to restore the body and mind to a balanced, healthy state, by using certain essences extracted from plants, shrubs, and trees.

Development of Aromatherapy

The roots of aromatherapy can be traced back to the early Egyptian empire. Ancient Egyptians used essential oils for embalming their dead. Clay tablets on which were inscribed orders for essential oils of myrrh and cypress, dating about 1800 b.c. have been found in Babylon. This knowledge was passed on to the ancient Greeks, who took to using essential oils in medical treatments.

The Romans used essential oils more lavishly to beautify themselves. They would rub them onto their skin both before and after bathing, and use them to perfume their clothes and hair. Eventually, the Romans brought their knowledge to Britain. During the Great Plague in the Medieval period, churches were fumigated with frankincense and pepper, and incense was continually burned in houses. Aromatic substances were used everywhere as they were the most effective antiseptics available at that time. Glovemakers supposedly escaped the Black Death because they were protected by the essential oils they used to perfume gloves. Right upto the nineteenth century, physicians carried little containers filled with essential oils on their walking canes, believing that these would protect them from contagious diseases.

In the early twentieth century, research on the uses of essential oils began in earnest. Rene Maurice Gattefosse, a French scientist, discovered just how healing essential oils could be. He burnt his hand badly and quickly immersed it in lavender oil, the nearest available cool liquid. Amazed at how quickly the burn healed, with no sign of a scar, he continued to research the oils further and coined the term aromatherapy. During the First World War, he experimented with essential oils on soldiers’ wounds and found that they accelerated the healing process. He classified their effects on the human nervous system, metabolism, vital organs, and endocrine system.

Dr. Jean Valnet, a medical doctor and former’ army surgeon, used essential oils to treat severe burns and other battle injuries. He later treated veterans in psychiatric hospitals with different aromatics. Many of these patients, who were suffering from psycho-emotional effects from their war experiences, showed marked improvements after Valnet’s therapy. Beginning his medical writings on aromatherapy in the 1960s, he published an English translation of his classic handbook, The Practice of Aromatherapy, in 1982.
In India and other ancient civilizations of the East, plant essences were used for their fragrance and to purify the air. Agarbatis and dhoop (incense sticks) still in use as they were in ancient times in India.

How Aromatherapy Works

Scientists do not know exactly how aromatherapy works. However, they do know that our sense of smell works on a subconscious level. Olfactory nerves conduct smell sensations to a part of the brain, which also regulates behavioural mechanisms and sexual urges. The perfume industry grasped this fact early and has since used the concept of sexual stimulation through fragrances to sell its products.

Olfactory nerves also affect the memory. Like smelling salts, different odours wake up the brain, evoking images and feelings associated with each smell. A study at Warrick University in England showed that simply smelling a beach can be relaxing. Students in a laboratory experiment sniffed ozone and such coastal odours as seaweeds. Relaxation responses in some students increased upto 17 per cent. When absorbed by the skin, inhaled, or ingested, essential oils are transported throughout the body to affect various organ functions. For example, oils can act as sedatives or stimulants, carminatives and digestive aids, or cause numerous other genuine physiological effects.

Treatment

After noting down the history of the patient, the therapist mixes the oils he thinks are best suited and asks the patient to smell the mix to see whether he likes it. Only the area of the body being worked upon is exposed, the rest being covered by towels or blankets so as to keep it comfortable.

The whole procedure takes about an hour. The feeling after a session of aromatherapy varies from person to person. Most people feel very relaxed and even a little light-headed, experiencing a sort of floating sensation. Some people find that they get a sudden spurt of energy, while others become slightly lethargic after the treatment.

As a result of these and similar other studies, some practical measures have already been taken. In Tokyo, tired shoppers can step into a glass enclosure and inhale certain aromas by dropping a coin into a slot machine. The smell of fresh lemon and peppermint puts them back on their feet again. Inhaling of stress-reducing fragrances is popular with highly stressed Japanese executives. Some popular health clubs in Japan and the USA are already advocating the ‘aroma cocktail’ to their clients as a means of relaxation before work-outs. Some corporations of Japan have installed the total Environment Perfume Central System in some of their offices to make them more pleasant and productive. Various fragrances are released into the workplace through the central air-conditioning system. Some scents in the morning and after lunch lead to stimulation, some during mid-morning and the afternoon lead to concentration, while at the end of the day, relaxing scents help workers to calm down and relieve the day’s tension.

Aromatherapy is used to treat physical ailments as well as to obtain mental peace and relaxation. The oils are applied through several methods: massage, baths, skin preparations (salves), compresses, and steam inhalations. Some oils have a normalising effect, acting to strengthen’ the body’s own regulatory actions. Hyssop and garlic oils, for example, can be useful in treating both high and low blood pressure.

Aromatherapy helps to combat wrinkles, acne, and other skin problems and is an effective treatment for poor circulation, obesity, broken capillaries, rheumatism, sinusitis, depression, anxiety, and stress.

Massage is the most effective way to introduce essential oils into the body. The stimulation and relaxation of the massage help the essences penetrate the skin. Circulating blood and relaxed muscles improve absorption and distribution of the oils’ active ingredients. And just for pure enjoyment, nothing beats a soothing Swedish or Esalen massage scented with a favourite flower oil. Aromatherapists, especially those who treat skin conditions with therapeutic massage, may ask their clients to undergo a fast or modify their eating habits for several days to help improve the efficiency of the treatment.

An aromatic massage is an effective way to heal your child. Intimate contact, thus produced, strengthens the bonds of love between the mother and her child. This is not to suggest that an aromatic massage will heal a child’s measles or attack of influenza, but there are many times when it can provide just the relief that the child needs. Problems such as chapped skin and grazes can be helped with a loving aromatic massage. Children usually prefer any other method to being given a pill or a mixture. Even a normal child sleeps sooner and has a sounder sleep after an aromatic massage.

Another popular method of treatment is an aromatic bath. Baths can act as tonics or sedatives, and be relaxing or stimulating, aphrodisiacal, warming, or cooling. They minimise the ill effects of stress by relieving muscular pain and skin conditions. Hot water opens the pores and helps the body to absorb the oils more quickly. It also turns some of the oil into aromatic vapour, to be gently inhaled during the bath. Just a few drops of essence oil are enough in hot water. The oil spreads out in a thin layer on the surface of the water, coating the subject.

Some aromatherapists recommend that a travel kit should include peppermint for stomach trouble, lavender for cuts and bites, sage or thyme for sinus headaches and colds, and rosemary for a refreshing bath in the morning or at night.

Steaming with essential oils can also be used to deep-cleanse and moisten the face, thus helping to maintain a healthy, supple skin.

Oils can be inhaled from a handkerchief or tissue; this is a useful technique to relieve a cold or even a headache. A few drops on the pillow provide enough relief to allow for a decent night’s sleep.

Aromatherapy is undoubtedly, a gentle way of helping to restore the body’s natural resilience to viruses, infections, and fatigue. It is particularly helpful in stress-related conditions.

Precautions and Prospects

Certain oils may not suit all people. It is best to try out a little before taking a complete massage. If undergoing homoeopathic treatment, it is advisable to check with the homoeopath that the oils do not conflict with the medicines being taken.

Dozens of essences are recommended for aromatherapy. Experience has proven each one of them to have a special effect for different conditions such as tension, worry, exhaustion or depression, aches and pain in the muscles and joints, coughs and colds, skin problems, indigestion, or ever a sluggish liver.

Scientific research during the past few decades has surprised people about the effects of smell on human behaviour. Shizuo Tori of Toho University found that some scents produced a brainwave pattern that indicated calmness on the EEG (Electroencephalograph). Some fragrances, on the other hand, led to an excited state of brainwaves.

Robert Baron, a psychologist at the Rensselaer Polytechnic, USA, also found that people who work in pleasantly scented rooms are more cooperative and efficient.

Some researchers at the University of Warwick tested people who were constantly under stress. They had been taking tranquilizers. After aromatherapy, many of them were able to stop taking the pills as they felt more relaxed and tension-free.

Researchers are at present working on:

1) fragrances that will help a person to quit smoking, and

2) a fragrance that will suppress appetite in overweight individuals.

Aromatherapy does not intend to replace any other therapy or healing art or system, be it allopathy, homoeopathy, or herbal therapy. It just supplements other therapeutic systems or methodologies. It intends to make life more comfortable. It promotes positive health by enhancing inner strength and resistance of the body to physical and mental stress and strain and their subsequent effects. It also intends to promote health of the skin, the muscles, and the joints so as to make visible the inner charms on the face as well. Aromatherapy is thus recommended not as an alternative therapy, but an additional therapy.

Now You Know

An ancient system of healing, recent scientific research has corroborated the positive effects of fragrances on human behaviour. After a patient’s problem has been diagnosed (by other methods), essential oils, best suited to the patient and pleasing in aroma to him, are prescribed. While not being a complete healing system in itself for acute or chronic problems, aromatherapy is an effective supplement.

Generally free of side-effects, with no dietary requirements, aromatherapy does not prevent disease but certainly promotes health. Products should be pure and can be applied through massage, baths, compresses, and steam inhalations.