Aromatherapy

The Joy Of Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy is sweeping the nation and is converting a whole new faction of believers to the healing waves of odour and smell. It is basically the use of essential oils or liquid plant materials to affect someone s mental or physical health. These plant compounds can include any number or combination of soothing and healing plant materials that are aromatic compounds. There are three basic branches of aromatherapy: clinical, home, and aromachology. This article will discuss each of the three branches of aromatherapy and will serve as an overview of the topic.

Home Therapy

Home aromatherapy is basically the use of the essential oils and other materials in a very basic sense. This is often the technique used for relaxation and other ideas. Some of the materials used in home therapy include essential oils such as eucalyptus oil or grapefruit oil. Absolutes are also used. Absolutes are basically oils extracted from fragrant butters or concrete materials such as rose absolute. Rosewater is another popular material used in aromatherapy at home. This is known as a hydrosol because it is the byproduct in aqueous form from a distillation process.

Clinical Therapy

Knowledge of chemicals and their synergistic effect is used for determining the clinical use of aromatherapy. It is important to know the dosage and duration of dosage in terms of what aromas to use for treatment. For the most part however, it is regarded as an art form as opposed to a legitimate healing science. In clinical cases, aromatherapy is not likely to be used as treatment in any major clinical facilities. Instead, you are more apt to find it in use at some of the more holistic healing centers in your area. For the most part, you should use aromatherapy as a supplement to a normalized medical treatment until the medical proof is established to start using it as a comprehensive treatment.

Aromachology

This is seen as the study of how aromatherapy and various odours affect the brain and the physiological makeup of the human body. In short, it is about how we react to certain smells and what our body does when we encounter them. This is also known as the basic intent of studying the effects of odour on human behaviour. Certain plants may have stimulating effects and some may have relaxing effects, so the intent of aromachology is to study and determine these effects and their possible usefulness in the world of accepted medicine.