A Wellness Community for Women
Aromatherapy - Does it Work?
In a previous post, A Little Bit About Aromatherapy, with the help of my dear friend Eagle, we laid out some of the basics about aromatherapy. Today, I want to follow that up with some information about how it is coming into the mainstream.
As I wrote in Pragmatic Reiki and other posts, a wide range of Complementary Alternative Medicine practices are gradually coming into the mainstream. Aromatherapy is no different.
Aromatherapy uses what are called "essential oils." Essential oils are pure concentrated substances steam-distilled from plants, roots, barks, fruit rinds, leaves, and grasses. They can be used during massage to help ease a spectrum of conditions or used separate from bodywork. They can be inhaled, applied to the skin for fast absorption or released into the air.
Early this morning, I received a Women's Health alert on how two hospitals in Nebraska are using aromatherapy as part of their patient after-care. Nurses at Richard Young Hospital, in Kearney, Nebraska use aromatherapy to help patients fall asleep. At Good Samaritan Hospital, also in Kearney, nurses use essential oils to help patients in between doses of traditional medicine.
"I had a severe headache but I couldn't take any more medicine. So they gave me this piece of cotton and it really helped," said one patient at Good Samaritan.
They use a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball, and have the patient inhale deeply. It's said the oils penetrate through the skin and nose, which release natural painkillers and relaxants into the bloodstream. Nurses say they use aromatherapy to help with anxiety, depression, nausea, headaches, and even menstrual symptoms.
I routinely use essential oils in my practice to help my clients reduce anxiety, help reduce symtoms related to fibromyalgia and allergies, and to reduce menstrual cramping and symtoms of PMS. Aromatherapy offers a lot of hope as complementary care to traditional medicine.
The results of aromatherapy are very individual. While there is general agreement about the actions of certain oils, no two persons are affected by the same essential oil in exactly the same way. Even the same person can be affected differently by the same oil depending on surroundings, time of day or mood.
If you'd like to explore using essential oils, I suggest you start with Lavender. Lavender is probably the most versatile of the essential oils. It's calming properties relieve tension, headaches, hypertension, stress, depression, anxiety and insomnia. It's a good general oil that helps with a number of women's health issues. Lavender, and other high
quality essential oils can be purchased in health food stores and in stores such as Whole Foods.
If you have serious health issues and wish to explore whether aromatherapy can work for you, I STRONGLY urge you to consult with a qualified, certified aromatherapist.
As I wrote in Pragmatic Reiki and other posts, a wide range of Complementary Alternative Medicine practices are gradually coming into the mainstream. Aromatherapy is no different.
Aromatherapy uses what are called "essential oils." Essential oils are pure concentrated substances steam-distilled from plants, roots, barks, fruit rinds, leaves, and grasses. They can be used during massage to help ease a spectrum of conditions or used separate from bodywork. They can be inhaled, applied to the skin for fast absorption or released into the air.
Early this morning, I received a Women's Health alert on how two hospitals in Nebraska are using aromatherapy as part of their patient after-care. Nurses at Richard Young Hospital, in Kearney, Nebraska use aromatherapy to help patients fall asleep. At Good Samaritan Hospital, also in Kearney, nurses use essential oils to help patients in between doses of traditional medicine.
"I had a severe headache but I couldn't take any more medicine. So they gave me this piece of cotton and it really helped," said one patient at Good Samaritan.
They use a few drops of essential oil on a cotton ball, and have the patient inhale deeply. It's said the oils penetrate through the skin and nose, which release natural painkillers and relaxants into the bloodstream. Nurses say they use aromatherapy to help with anxiety, depression, nausea, headaches, and even menstrual symptoms.
I routinely use essential oils in my practice to help my clients reduce anxiety, help reduce symtoms related to fibromyalgia and allergies, and to reduce menstrual cramping and symtoms of PMS. Aromatherapy offers a lot of hope as complementary care to traditional medicine.
The results of aromatherapy are very individual. While there is general agreement about the actions of certain oils, no two persons are affected by the same essential oil in exactly the same way. Even the same person can be affected differently by the same oil depending on surroundings, time of day or mood.
If you'd like to explore using essential oils, I suggest you start with Lavender. Lavender is probably the most versatile of the essential oils. It's calming properties relieve tension, headaches, hypertension, stress, depression, anxiety and insomnia. It's a good general oil that helps with a number of women's health issues. Lavender, and other high
quality essential oils can be purchased in health food stores and in stores such as Whole Foods.
If you have serious health issues and wish to explore whether aromatherapy can work for you, I STRONGLY urge you to consult with a qualified, certified aromatherapist.
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