Since ancient times, mankind has used health products from the realm of nature - medicinal plants. Even 2000 years before our era therapeutic properties of essential oils were known. Modern aromatherapy is a preventive, wellness, all-natural way to maintain a good psychological, emotional and physical fitness. It is a therapy which allows a person to remove and resolve everyday stress, prevent the development of diseases and color everyday beauty with fragrances. The basis of aromatherapy is the principle of a human exposure to natural essential oils, which were used for the treatment and prevention of diseases in ancient times. Hence, aromatherapy is a beautiful and natural method of calming many physical and mental ailments. Its main goal is to return a balance to a body and a spirit, as well as support and stimulate natural defense reactions.
Modern civilization made it impossible to have a daily contact with nature; plus, environment is filled with the fragrance of burning, chemicals, aromatic food, and artificial fragrances. All these attacking harmful factors lead to the fact that people live in an artificial world and have an artificial health, supported by a growing number of chemical drugs, treating one disease and causing another one. Aromatherapy, like other branches of natural medicine, is an attempt to slow down this process. The use of essential oils can return a balance of the internal forces to a person. Aromatherapy normalizes mental state, improves circulation of blood and lymph fluid, balances processes in a body, and thus increases its resistance to harmful external influences. Aromatherapy is a great way to use the natural forces in the fight against various diseases and ailments. It is an effective and completely harmless natural medicine.
Unlike modern pills and drugs, essential oils used in aromatherapy rarely have side effects. Instead, they help to achieve harmony and health, peace and tranquility. In the case of anxiety, tension and nervous excitability, essential oils are much safer than tranquilizers and stimulants. Oils have a tendency to normalization and establishment of peace of a mind, but not a direct stimulation or sedation. Except for medicinal purposes, essential oils can be a wonderful way to help a person enjoy the aroma of their favorite flowers all year round.
Among other benefits of aromatherapy the following issues might me mentioned.
- Most of the components of aromatic compounds in chemical composition are similar to endogenous compounds, which provide bio regulation in all body systems.
- Aromatherapy acts slowly and has a long period of aftereffect.
- Simplicity of the method of aromatherapy and low costs allow treatment at home.
- Aromatherapy treatment effect is achieved by the response of a body, which can exceed the positive response in the application of classical drugs.
- Aromatic substances of vegetable origin are not allergens.
- Vegetable flavors do not cause addiction and accumulation.
What is special about aromatherapy? One explanation is that some of the molecules of essential oils act like hormones, getting into physical reactions and adjusting them. Essential oils optimize the body's defenses against infectious diseases. They are able to stimulate the production of white blood cells which attack harmful microorganisms. The range of effects on a human being is very large due to a complex chemical composition of oils. The composition of oils includes terpenes, ketones, alcohols, aldehydes, esters, phenols, and other substances (from 50 to 300 connections). All essential oils have antibacterial, antiseptic and anti-inflammatory effects; most of them have a positive effect on the nervous system - they calm down, relieve stress and depression. Hence, aromatic oils are easily absorbed through skin and inhaled into the bloodstream, affecting the circulatory system as a whole. Recent studies confirm that the skillful use of the specific properties of essential oils helps people in different situations. Oils with a warming effect not only increase blood circulation but also affect the internal organs. Thanks to anesthetic properties they significantly relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Cleaning and antitoxic action of oils of juniper, lemon, clove and rosemary is used for rheumatism and inflammation of the muscles. Oils of grapefruit, lemon, mandarin, juniper, patchouli and rosemary are frequently used to stimulate the lymphatic system in case of cellulite, obesity, and edema, etc.
Aromatherapy has a mild and gentle manner. Nevertheless, there are contraindications to it. Such cases can include individual intolerance of odors, allergy to flowering plants (hay fever), asthma, heart disease, and pregnancy (with sensitivity to smells).
A human desire to seek a natural remedy is not only the cause of his instinctive understanding of the unity of nature, but also due to the centuries of experience of using a variety of natural factors, among which there are essential oils. Modern medicine uses only pieces from the rich arsenal of knowledge in the field of aromatherapy. Experts consider that the loss of knowledge about the treatment of odors was an inevitable side effect of the evolution of mankind. Hence, aromatherapy refers to a method of treatment of diseases with natural essential oils. This method has its roots far back in time and is aimed not only at the treatment of a body, but to a greater extent - the treatment of a spirit. Aromatherapy normalizes mental state, improves circulation of blood and lymph fluid, and balances processes in a body, and thus it increases a body's resistance to harmful external influences. Mitigation of diseases or specific traits of a disease in aromatherapy are secondary, but they are a very necessary result of oil.