Aromatherapy is the inhalation and topical application of essential oils (or the pure essence from plants). As a form of alternative medicine, it is used to enhance physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.
Let’s take a look at the general health benefits of aromatherapy.
Inhalation: When a person inhales an essential oil that scent is carried by olfactory nerve cells in the nose to the olfactory system which then sends the aroma to the brain, namely the limbic system, the house of emotions and emotional behavior such as intimacy, passion and sex. Immediately, and depending on the oil, you may begin to feel more alert or more relaxed. You may feel excited and aroused. You may feel the release of negative emotions and/or the soothing of muscle tension. Mood enhancers like serotonin and endorphins get released.
Our sense of smell is 10,000 more powerful than any other sense and the recognition of smell is immediate. (Other senses like touch travel to the brain via the spinal cord.) Smell is also the strongest link to the subconscious mind and also to our collective unconscious mind where memories are stored.
Topical Application: Essential oils have high antioxidant properties as measured by the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC), a test developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Tufts University to measure the antioxidant speed and power of free radical inhibition. The oxidative damage caused by free radicals is implicated in everything, from aging and wrinkling of skin to DNA damage, cancer, heart disease, and premature death. Antioxidants control for free radical damage at the cellular level and supports youthful aging and a healthy body.
While vegetables and fruits have antioxidant power (e.g., cucumber at 60 units of antioxidant strength; celery at 75 units; apple at 207 units; broccoli at 890 units; blueberries at 2,400 units), essential oils have higher antioxidant strength (e.g., Orange oil at 18,898 units; Ylang Ylang has an ORAC of 1,300,478 units; Patchouli has an approximate ORAC of 494,271 units.) (“Units” are actually called “TE/L.” TE/L is expressed as micromole Trolox equivalent per liter.)
When essential oils are applied to the skin the oils are absorbed through the skin. Since the oils don’t dissolve in water and attach to body fat and fluids they get into the body’s systems bringing their antioxidants and enhancing our immune strength.
Why Aromatherapy Boosts Mood! FEEL THE VIBE . . .
In addition to the antioxidant influx essential oils bring when applied to the skin the oils also invoke good feelings of wellness and vitality through a process called “entrainment.” According to researchers in Washington using Tainio Technology the vibrational frequency of essential oils are the highest of any natural substance known to man. Through the principle of entrainment the oil’s higher frequency will raise the vibratory quality of that individual.
For example their technology has shown these frequencies:
- Healthy human body is 62-70 MHz.
- Human cells can start to change (mutate) when their frequency drops below 62MHz.
- 58 MHz is the frequency of your body when you have a cold or the flu.
- When candida is present within your body, you vibrate at a frequency of 55MHz.
- 52 MHz is the frequency of a body with Epstein-Barr virus present.
- 42 MHz is the frequency of a body wherein cancer can appear.
- When the death process begins, the frequency has been measured at 20 MHz.
The measured frequencies of essential oils have been shown to go as high as 320 MHz as seen with Rose oil! Lavender has a frequency of 118 MHz and Sandalwood has a frequency of 96 MHz. Oils entrain the cells of the body to increase their vibratory rate. Can you feel the vibe of good health? Good health actually has a frequency! 70MHz.
To put this frequency business into perspective, dead foods such as hamburger and chicken have a frequency of 3 to 5 MHz; raw almonds vibrate at 50 MHz; living greens such as broccoli and wheatgrass have a frequency of 70MHz. Living greens, herbs and botanicals capture light from the sun and that light or “life force” is held in the molecules.
Energy
Albert Einstein said it best when he said: “Everything is energy.” We literally live in a sea of vibration! Four out of our five senses—sight, sound, touch, and taste—receive sensory data from the environment which is transferred through the nervous system to the brain. At the brain level, data is interpreted based on our mental schemas or mental filters (i.e., beliefs). For example, when a person hears a dog barking, that bark is really a sound vibration that the ears receive and then they send that signal to the brain where the person perceives the sound to be from a dog. If the person initially “learned” that bark was from a cat then he would interpret the sound data according to that belief system.
When it comes to the sense of smell, odor is received by the receptors in the nose and that signal is transferred to the olfactory bulb which is part of the limbic brain. Because smell data doesn’t first travel to the nervous system and instead goes directly to the brain, it is said that smell is the brain’s direct link to the environment. All smells, like all sounds for example, have their own signature frequency. If they didn’t have their own vibration we wouldn’t be able to tell one odor from the other scent.
Since the human body is really energy it makes sense to use energy based products that are in alignment with us so as to support our body and mind. In the images below you can see just how we are energy: We have the human body, then we have organs that make up the human body, then we have cells that make up the organs, then we have atoms that are the blueprint for the cells and at the subatomic level there are electrons, vortexes of energy. Science shows what Einstein said: Everything is energy, including humans.
When it comes to the botanical essences of aromatherapy, their natural ability to enhance our health and well-being are without a doubt in alignment with our vibrational nature.
(Dr. Lana is the Research Director for NuWorld Botanicals, and organic wellness and beauty business. To view their aromatherapy products visit: http://www.nuworldbotanicals.com)
