Aromatherapy Can Help Improve Your Daily Lives
Have you ever gone to the local bath and body store to pick up your favorite body lotions? Perhaps it is lavender and vanilla. It may be cherry blossoms. Those scents that make you feel better, relieve your stress or make you feel energized is aromatherapy in action. It is nothing new. People have always been drawn to particular fragrances that just seem to make them feel better, to feel sexier or to help improve their mood.
The use of aromatherapy has had a long and glorious history with mankind. The actual word was not coined until the 1920’s by a French chemist, but there have always been essential oils used for a variety of purposes. We now see these oils being used in body lotions, soaps, candles and even when indulging in a spa massage. The goal of the masseuse is to find a scent that achieves its purpose. Take, for example, a therapist using lavender to soothe and calm someone who is under a lot of stress.
Our sense of smell drives us and influences our behavior. Think about a freshly baked pumpkin pie. Now, if that image was reinforced by the smell of a pumpkin pie, then it will probably make you hungry for a slice. Our sense of smell plays a huge part in everything we do. Aromatherapy is about using pleasing scents to change your behavior and mood. If you think about it, then consider your reaction to a foul smell.
Scientists and the medical profession are now embracing the fact that an aromatherapist can work wonders on a person’s psychological well-being. If the body is relaxed and free of tension, then the mind will follow. Perhaps these discoveries will help influence mental health professionals when dealing with individuals who are Bipolar or suffer from depression.
Aromatherapy is here to stay. Each time we breathe in and smell something that changes our mood or changes the body’s response to certain stimuli, we are embracing the concept. Considering how long the practice has been used and how long mankind has responded to these scents, it is fairly certain that there will be continued use for a variety of treatments. Perhaps one day medical science will be able to reproduce those calming effects that lavender and vanilla have on the human body.
