What Is Aromatherapy?Although one thinks of aromatherapy only in terms of relaxation through smell, true aromatherapy incorporates inhalation, bodily application and ingestion. Therapeutic-grade essential oils retain the healing and protecting properties of the plants from which they are distilled. Therefore, the finished product may be anti-fungal, anti-bacterial and cell regenerating, all biochemical attributes of the plants inherent nature. Essential oils contain chemical compounds such as terpenes, sesqueterpines, and phenolic compounds. Oils with phenolic compounds are some of the most important oils to use as they can clean out receptor sites. Why is this important? Because receptor sites receive chemical messages and if they are blocked the healing messages may be distorted or never received. Oils high in phenolic content also protect us from harmful bacteria and viruses. You cannot just use any essential oil if you are to receive the benefit of the plant’s underlying properties. Most oils sold in the US today are for external use only and are perfume, not therapeutic grade. Essential oils must only be used in their whole natural state, as they are more in synergy than the sum of their parts. Oils containing synthetic or extracted compounds do not have the same therapeutic properties as oils created entirely by nature, even if their components have the same chemical formulas. In addition, the distillation process as well as the testing of the finished product are important components of ascertaining viability. Plants should be grown organically or wild crafted in an area that is free from environmental pollutants. Pure non-chlorinated water must also be used. Lavender may be great for skin problems but if you use a lavender that is cut with lavadin (although the bottle says 100% pure lavender), distilled with solvents or not tested to insure a low camphor ratio the lavender may actually do more harm than good. The other questions to ask are: Is the oil processed using a technique that maintains the therapeutic components of the plants? Do the oils have high biofreqency? Has the purity and quality of the oil been ensured through independent lab analysis? In addition, only cold air diffusion is used with therapeutic grade essential oils since heating them (such as with a tea light or in a candle) would destroy any therapeutic benefit. Therefore, if I see a company that claims to have 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils but also advocates burning them I know that they have perfume grade oils since no seller of therapeutic grade oils would advise burning them in any way. It is the responsibility of the massage therapist to insure that when they offer aromatherapy, what they use with their clients are pure essential oils. This insures that the healing benefits they are offering are actually able to be delivered by the product. That is why I only use therapeutic-grade essential oils in my practice.
I offer workshops in the use of therapeutic-grade essential oils and I am seeing a trend toward greater understanding of essential oils and their real therapeutic benefits by health professionals and clients. For more information on Aromatherapy, please visit my website:
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