AROMATHERAPY FOR STRESS
by Certified Aroma Therapist KG Stiles
It is through your nervous system, the body’s electrical pathways for sending and receiving signals or currents of energy, that consciousness of all your body parts, systems, functions, and patterns of movement is coordinated.
Communication within the body is conducted through your nervous system.
When wires are jammed or blocked transmission of signals is impaired. Essential oils are natural chemical messengers your body readily responds to for bringing it into harmony and balance.
Essential oils travel through the nervous system to the brain to nourish and balance both the sympathetic and parasympathetic branches of the autonomic nervous system, enhancing brain chemistry.
I. The Neuro-chemical delivery pathways for your Nervous and Hormonal systems – the Vapors from the essential oils enter through your nose and immediately stimulate your Olfactory nerves which then signal your Limbic system (the control mechanism in your brain for emotions and memory).
and Hippocampus (center for Memory recall, Learning and Emotional control) are stimulated.
and your Hypothalamus gland, located at the base of your brain, the Reptilian or Old Brain (regulates many body functions, including appetite, thirst, temperature, sleep and mood).
The Hypothalamus is a KEY PLAYER as it orchestrates the interplay between your nervous and endocrine systems. It is thus at the juncture of your Hypothalamus that a signal is sent to your Pituitary gland (Master controller of your entire Endocrine system).
This neuro-chemical signal and response mechanism culminates at your Adrenal glands (your fight or flight, response to stress mechanism which controls aggression and sexual response).
II. The Neuro-chemical Delivery pathways for your Organs and other systems – the Vapors entering through your nose go immediately into your Lungs where they enter your Bloodstream.
Through your Bloodstream the oils are delivered to your Heart, as well as all your Body tissues and Organs, the Liver and Pancreas, your Reproductive organs, Skin, Kidney and Bladder. The oils then circulate back to your Lungs where they are excreted.
Research shows that through inhalation essential oils will remain for a longer period in your cell tissues (4-6 hours) than through any other means of application.
More and more case studies are being recorded, proving the effectiveness of aromatherapy for therapeutic use.
Virtually everything used today in modern drugs can be traced back to a botanical extract. Hippocrates said that there is a remedy for everything to be found in Nature.
To administer essential oils for inhalation simply dispense 1-3 drops of oil into the palm of your hand, rub your hands together vigorously, and then breathe in their aroma for 30-60 seconds.
Therapeutic-Grade Essential Oils are highly concentrated, a drop or two can produce significant results. There are many cheap chemical copies of essential oils available, but these are not recommended for therapeutic use.
You may also make an aromatic mist using essential oils, or an aroma diffuser to dispense the lighter more fluid essential oils scent into a room. Essential oils, when diffused, provide a high quality air filtration system.
Surely we all prefer a natural, effective treatment that causes no added stress to our systems. For those who wish to be directly involved with their own self help, who prefer a remedy that treats the whole system rather than just the symptoms, aromatherapy provides a safe, natural treatment, one that can produce surprising results where other methods of treatment have failed.
