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Aromatherapy

The use of essential oils distilled from highly scented plants is hugely popular, a natural enough fact given that people have enjoyed the perfumes of plants as far back as we can remember. Most ancient civilisations have used fragrant oils and plants; herbs, flowers and aromatic woods were burned in temples to purify the atmosphere and to please the gods. Their perfumes were believed to rise higher than the temple ceilings to the heavens where they scented the realms of Paradise. In Biblical times, aromatic oils were used for anointing and as temple incense; we read of spikenard, myrrh and frankincense, camphor and cinnamon that perfumed the rooms of temples and palaces. Myrrh and frankincense were obviously so highly valued that they were considered by the Magi to be worthy gifts for the infant Jesus.

The ancient Egyptians used aromatic oils skillfully in their healing ointments and in the mummification process, and used perfumes in courtship just as we do today; Queen Cleopatra's royal barge apparently emitted the most exotic perfumes as it sailed down the Nile to meet Mark Anthony. Cleopatra is said to have bathed several times daily with essence of rose and orange blossom. The Romans loved aromatic oils, favouring rose above all for wine making, perfumes and their famous baths. When the fashion for bathing died out or when water was short, aromatic oils would be applied to skin and clothes to mask more unpleasant smells – they were particularly popular in Tudor and Elizabethan times. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, perfumed gloves were the height of fashion, and in fact Queen Elizabeth herself possessed her own still room for distilling oils for making the royal floral perfumes. So powerful was the effect of scent with its sensual, often mind-altering properties, that when the Crusaders returned from the Holy Land laden with perfumes of the Orient, the medieval clergy were greatly alarmed and associated it with the forces of evil. Later in the eighteenth century the House of Commons considered applying the laws of witchcraft against women who tried to seduce any of the crown's subjects into marriage with the aid of scent! Certainly the exotic fragrances of plants have traditionally been associated with the supernatural, and used in love potions as well as magical and religious ceremonies to heighten perception, and for divination.

Healing Heritage

Fragrant oils have also long been used in healing. From Hippocrates onwards we know that aromatic baths, massages and inhalations have been employed to remedy all kinds of health problems. Herbs such as rosemary, pine and juniper were burnt and pomanders were worn to keep contagion away and for protection during epidemics. With the development of scientific analysis of plants and their constituents, more has become known about the amazing range of biochemical constituents that make up the volatile oils. In the 1920s a French chemist, Rene Gattefosse, brought the healing benefits of oils to the attention of the orthodox scientific world, which by now was disregarding much of the benefit to be derived from the plant world, preferring to develop the synthesis of more powerful drugs in the laboratory. Gattefosse had a family perfume business and while experimenting in his laboratory, he burnt his arm badly and plunged it into the nearby vat of lavender oil. To his great delight his arm healed quickly with no scarring. Gattefosse was then inspired to devote much time to researching essential oils and their medical application, particularly in relation to their benefit on the skin. In 1937 he published his book Aromatherapy, the name he coined for describing the healing benefits of essential oils that is still used to this day. Gattefosse's research papers were read by a French army doctor, Jean Valnet, who was so interested in the subject he began his own clinical research using oils on soldiers as antiseptics and wound healers, and was greatly impressed by their efficacy. He then began to experiment with treating the emotional or psychological problems of war veterans, and to write extensively about aromatherapy. His Practice of Aromatherapy, published in 1964, is a standard text now for all professional aromatherapists.

Essential oils are stored in dark glass bottles to preserve active ingredients that are destroyed by light and heat.

Modern Aromatherapy

The practice of aromatherapy as it exists today, using essential oils with massage for health and well-being, was actually popularised by an Austrian biochemist, Marguerite Maury. She was particularly interested in the healing and rejuvenating properties of essential oils and carried out an extensive research programme on the effectiveness of oils when absorbed through the skin. She went on to write about essential oils and publicised La Capital Jeuness in 1961, which has been reprinted and translated into English as The Secret of Life and Youth. Dr Maury opened several clinics for aromatherapy, offering massage using essential oils to treat a wide range of physical problems and to address underlying emotional and mental problems. Many practitioners have since followed her example. As well as the great versatility of the effects of essential oils, massage gives the opportunity of benefiting from the comfort of touch, and the great therapeutic value that brings.

Volatile oils can be taken into the body in a variety of different ways. They can be taken in aromatic herbs in foods and drinks; diluted in a carrier oil and rubbed on to the skin, or inhaled through the nose stimulating olfactory receptor cells to carry nerve impulses to the brain, especially the limbic system, where they have the potential to affect our instinctual responses, emotions and memory. As oils are inhaled, molecules are also taken via the lungs into the bloodstream and the systemic circulation. Their actions are felt throughout the digestive tract, the urinary tract and the respiratory system, and affect sweat, salivary, vaginal and lacrimal secretions. It is probable that the oils are passed in some amount through the breast milk; fennel, dill and chamomile tea for example have been drunk for centuries by lactating women to soothe babies' colic and help induce sleep.

Lavendula, or lavender, when distilled as an essential oil, was discovered by the French chemist Rene Gattefosse to be a powerful treatment for burns.

When oils are absorbed through the skin during massage or baths, they stimulate nerve endings in the skin and messages are relayed to underlying tissues, muscles, blood and lymphatic vessels, and also via the nervous system to the pituitary gland, thereby having the ability to regulate the action of other endocrine glands, including the adrenals. This can be helpful in the treatment of hormonal problems and stress-related symptoms.