Ok, so stop and think with me a moment I want you to relax;
How does this make you feel…..
- Fresh baked bread
- Chocolate chip cookies
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Fresh cut oranges
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New carpet
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Sunscreen
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Summer rain on pavement
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Gingerbread
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Fresh cut cedar
If you have smelled any of these things, they should also make you have a little shift in your mood. There is a big trend in some very simple ideas. Aromatherapy. Not only are they mood changers, but they have been proven to have some great healing properties.
There is an actual definition out there. It is:
- Aromatherapy is the practice of using the natural oils extracted from flowers, bark, stems, leaves, roots or other parts of a plant to enhance psychological and physical well-being.
The inhaled aroma from these “essential” oils is widely believed to stimulate brain function. Essential oils can also be absorbed through the skin, where they travel through the bloodstream and can promote whole-body healing.
We, in Western Cultures, are seemingly new to this form of therapy, but it has been around for many many years. For some, it is way too ‘out there’ to be a real form of therapy, but to those who use it, it has real results.
I really believe that we all know it works, but haven’t realized it. Remember that list at the top of this post? We all have smells that bring back memories, that bring back feelings or places, well this really isn’t any different.
We, in our house, have used it for a while now. I started using it when we started traveling with the children and they were having troubles sleeping in a strange place. I found a mist that I would spray on their pillows at home before we went away. It calmed them and helped them to fall asleep. So when we were away, that smell was familiar and it would help them to relax and sleep.
One of my all time favorite and my first exposure to aromatherapy is peppermint halo. Is a combination of peppermint, lavender, and rosemary oils. It is used to help get rid of headaches. The first time I used it, I was on a field trip with one of my kids and had an awful headache. Someone offered this to me and at that point I said sure, I would try anything and boy did it work. I did some research and found that peppermint has a lot of healing qualities, headaches being one of them. Just a few drops in the right spots and it was gone. If I don’t have any peppermint halo handy, I will have a peppermint candy and that works sometimes too, at least until I can take some medication or get some halo.
Another oil that I am using right now is helping with menopause symptoms. It is a combination of grapefruit, peppermint, and clary sage. I use a roll-on applicator to my neck front and back and it helps me with my temperature changes.
I remember the first house we bought and then sold. We asked what we could do to make our place be more appealing to potential buyers. I was told to put a small pot of water with cinnamon on the back of the stove or bake a batch of cookies just before the showing. So without knowing it, it was the appeal of home baking that the realtor was aiming for.
I am not telling you to forgo proper medicine. Please understand me there, but, I have found that if I can prevent some things ailing my body with things that are natural, my body will heal itself better than with chemicals. What I am saying is that you are the best advocate to your own body and the more we can do to help ourselves, the less strain we are on the medical system and the more we can be more preventative instead of reactive.
Keep your eyes open. Make mistakes – because you will anyway – and remember that small stuff stinks but that it's also essential.- Adam Sadowsky
