What is aromatherapy?

Aromatherapy is a complementary therapy and involves using essential oils obtained from plants. Essential oils have been used for centuries and records go back to ancient Egypt, India and China.

Modern aromatherapy was developed in France in the 1930’s when French chemist Rene-Maurice Gattefosse discovered the amazing healing effect of Lavender oil on burns. Gattefosse became eager to learn more about the effects of essential oils. It was he who coined the term aromatherapie but it was Marguerite Maury who developed the idea of aromatherapy as a holistic treatment, prescribing oils for the individual and combining the effects of essential oils with massage.

The essential oils used by aromatherapists are complex substances containing many chemical components. The oils are distilled from the flowers, leaves, peel, roots, bark, resin or seeds of plants. Aromatherapists can have as many as sixty different oils to choose from in order to make up an individual prescription.

How aromatherapy works.

Aromatherapy is used to reduce the symptoms of a range of conditions and is believed to work both physiologically and psychologically. Essential oil molecules are extremely small and when applied to the body by massage they are easily absorbed through the skin and into the blood stream. Individual prescriptions of oils are mixed to meet one’s specific needs, once the oils are absorbed into the blood stream they are carried around the body where they can deliver their beneficial healing effects. Essential oils evaporate quickly; therefore during massage you will also inhale them, this can make them effective psychologically by altering your mood.

Your practitioner may use different massage techniques to apply the oils, Swedish massage is commonly used, but oriental massage may also be incorporated into the treatment. Oriental massage is based on the Chinese medical system of acupuncture: that the energy of the body, known as Qi, circulates from the internal organs to the periphery of the body and then returns through channels known as meridians. There are six channels of yin energy and six channels of yang energy. Along these channels the Qi may surface to the exterior at specific points. When pressure is applied at these points the Qi may be stimulated or sedated according to the body’s needs. It is important for good health to have a balance of the yin and yang within the body and for the Qi to flow freely through the meridians. Oriental massage encourages this by the use of acupressure and massage along the meridians.

What problems can aromatherapy help?

During a treatment session

On your first visit there will be a detailed consultation to enable your practitioner to build up a picture of your past and present health issues and to establish your needs and expectations of the treatment. This established, the practitioner would make up an essential oil prescription from a choice of approximately sixty oils especially for your needs. Your preferences will be taken into consideration in this process to be sure that you are happy with the aroma of the therapeutic oils. The oils are then applied by massage. It is usual in aromatherapy to have a full body massage, but if your preference is to have a back massage the oils can be applied to the back only. Aftercare advice will be given and oils or lotions can be mixed for your use at home if required, this can help to continue your treatment between visits.