What is Aromatherapy?

In its most basic definition, aromatherapy means ‘a therapy using aromas’. These aromas and essences are derived from plants, flowers, herbs and other such plants using a variety of techniques.

The term aromatherapy was coined in the 1920s by René-Maurice Gattefosse, a French chemist, to describe the usage of essentials oils for therapeutic purposes. If one looks into the past history of Mankind, it is easy to see how ancient and diverse the use of aromatherapy truly is, as well as how wide-spread it’s practice was.

Man appears to have been using plants for medicinal purposes as far back as 18,000 B.C., according to carbon-dating done in the Dordoigne area of France on ancient cave paintings. We know that aromatic plants and oils have been used for thousands of years for both religious and medicinal purposes, as well as for use in perfumes, cooking and cosmetics.

In “The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils”, they speak of the eastern cultures and the Catholics and Anglicans of the West, using juniper and frankincense as a form of purification. The North American Indians have used Sweet Grass, Sage and other herbs to accomplish the same purpose. Even today these customs are still practiced. In China of 3,000 B.C. “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine” was written by the Yellow Emperor Huang Ti himself, and included a book on Herbal medicine. The East Indian’s Ayurvedic medicine speaks of (and lists) over 700 substances in the Rig Veda, going back some 3,000 years ago. If we go even farther back, the better known Egyptians used aromas for religion and health reasons, including embalming. Around 1240 B.C. the Israelis took with them the knowledge of aroma oils when they left Egypt .

The term “aromatherapy” does not mean healing exclusively through the sense of smell. Apart from its aroma, each oil also has a combination of properties that interacts with the chemistry of the body and can positively affect certain organs or systems in the body.

“Odour signals are passed directly to the limbic system brain, evoking an immediate emotional or instinctual response”. This would be the air borne application or method. When the oils are used directly on the body, the oils are absorbed though the largest organ in the body directly -- the skin. This would be considered a direct application.

Doctors in France who are also trained in Aromatherapy, prescribe oils to some of their patients to be taken orally. The Federation of Aromatherapists advise against this method of application for most purposes, as most aromatherapists are not trained doctors, rather they use the oils only externally.

Aromatherapy can be used to treat the skin, the mind, the muscles and joints, the respiratory, digestive, circulation, immune, endocrine, genito-urinary, and nervous systems.

The oils can be applied through massage, hot and cold compresses, baths, vaporization, and douches. For therapeutic purposes, essential oils are diluted before applying to the body. For massages, the oils are mixed with carrier oils, such as grapeseed or almond oil. For vaporization, a few drops are simply added to heated water.

The art and science of aromatherapy, which is truly holistic in it’s approach to helping people by treating the whole person -- mind, body and sprit -- is coming back. With it roots buried so deeply in the past’s most ancient healing practices, our sights are set firmly on the future. ‘Forgotten and ignored for many years, aromatic essences are coming back into their own. Faced with a mounting toll of complications known to have been caused by synthesised chemical medications, many patients are now unwilling to be treated except by natural therapies, foremost among which plants and their essences have a rightful place.’

So it is not just a “therapy using aromas” is it?

Bibliography

Shirley Whitton: Essential Oils & Essences, New Burlington books; Introduction page 6; 1995

Maggie Tisserand: Aromatherapy for Women, Healing Arts Press; Introduction page 10; 1985

Julia Lawless: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils, Element; pages 22-23; 1996

Charla Devereux: The Aromatherapy Kit, Headline; Introduction pages 7, 13-14; 1993