The Therapeutic Use of Essential Oils
Aromatherapy and Essential Oils and How they Help our Body
In today's world, the use of essential oils is commonplace. But knowing just how to use them for therapeutic benefits often gets missed and overlooked. Most people know to use them as simply a massage enhancer through aroma or to elevate a yoga class, but using them intentionally and with purpose can take on a whole different appreciation for the plants, flowers and trees that they come from.
For instance, did you know that aroma is the quickest of the five senses to trigger a memory in the brain? When I smell cedarwood, I’m instantly transported to my aunt and uncle's basement where they had a huge walk-in cedar closet where my cousin stored her doll house. We would play in that room for hours and now when I smell that same tree aroma, I’m back to being a little girl with my cousin playing until my heart's content. My memory is triggered simply from an aroma.
But did you know that cedarwood essential oil is beneficial for use in grounding our bodies through our brains? Let me explain. When you breathe in an aroma, the organic chemicals that make up that scent are entering into the nose, triggering the brain to complete a certain response all based on the aroma of that particular plant. Cedarwood is a tree and aromas from trees trigger the brain to tell our body to have a calm, relaxed reaction. To feel grounded or settled in our emotions (and perhaps reactions). Other trees and bushes that do this are Frankincense, Copaiba, Spruce and Sage to name a few. Many spiritual and religious practices utilize the plant’s benefits and incorporate them into sacred rituals where they may burn the plant to release the essential oils so that the plant’s aroma may take effect on the bodysystem, helping you to feel a certain way.
The peppermint plant is therapeutic in that it helps to cool, reduces inflammation and pain and can even expand the alveoli in our lungs. The use of peppermint on the tongue is phenomenal! Gives fresh breath, awakens the mind, clears the lungs and when used correctly opens the airways for clearer breathing. Useful for headaches when applied to the neck and temples, And combats sluggishness instead of reaching for that 3pm cup of coffee. I use a peppermint muscle rub on all of my massage clients (to reduce tight neck muscles) and at the end of a yoga class during shavasana (to enhance your pose, and stimulate your body to awaken from slumber). Clove has incredible immune system support! Dentists have been using clove for centuries to naturally prevent infection by packing gauze with clove in the area where a tooth was pulled. I use clove in an essential oil blend with rosemary and wild orange at the literal first sign of feeling a sore throat or cold coming on. I put a drop on my toothbrush during cold season. And I use it in my hand soap to kill germs.
As with anything, please know where your essential oils are coming from so that you aren’t duped into breathing something that is just synthetic aromas. (Think of a Yankee candle or a Glade plug-in, or even worse…. oils you bought from the dollar store, expecting them to work onthe therapeutic level.) These actually do you harm! (hello hormone disrupters!!) Go for the organic stuff. The ones ACTUALLY make with plants and you’ll be able to tell the difference in one whiff. I recommend the tested and true doTERRA brand. If you’d like to order oils or try a sample, I’d be happy to help you find the right plant oil for your ailment.
Written by Nicole Heinle, LMT, RYT-200
