The beneficial properties of the pure essences of plants have been known for thousands of years, and have been used throughout ancient cultures to treat ailments and promote good health and emotional wellbeing. The Egyptians would use plants for spiritual purposes, cosmetics and embalming dating back to 3,500BC. The Chinese have been utilising plants for medicinal purposes since 4,500BC and the Romans used plants in rituals, ceremonies and for bathing and massage.
Today, we are still utilising the incredible healing powers of plants in both personal and professional settings to heal mind, body and soul. Essential oils harness these amazing benefits and allow us to easily incorporate the rituals of aromatherapy into our routine.
From experience we know how profound the effect of a whiff of sea air can be, instantly lifting our spirits with the promise of holidays. Conversely we are filled with a sense of dread by the evocative smell of antiseptic and its strong hospital connotations. This potent connection between nasal receptors and brain is the reason why aromatherapy works. Aromatherapy seeks to identify and direct the mood altering properties of smells and so enhance the body’s ability to heal itself.
The essential oil itself is created through a process of distillation of plants, which can be flowers, fruit, wood, bark, herbs or spices. When these essential oils are released into the air the beneficial effects include mood enhancement, promotion of a sense of wellbeing, improved breathing and decongestion, heightened energy and awareness, relaxation of muscles and improved digestion. Topical application of these oils by massage leads to better healing for wounds, relief from menstrual cramping, better respiratory function, reduction of inflammation and improved circulation.
Significantly aromatherapy in both its applications has been found to be extremely effective in the prevention and treatment of stress related disorders. Stress is now commonly believed to be the underlying cause of many of today’s common health problems which include migraine and other headaches, muscle pain, insomnia, inertia, depression. One of the most attractive attributes of aromatherapy is that it does not involve the ingestion of substances likely to have nasty side effects as well as benefits.
What makes the ECO. aroma range different to many other oils on the market is that we have modernised aromatherapy to make it easy to introduce the benefits of essential oils into your life. Aromatherapy can be seen as quite an old-fashioned ritual, however we have made it easy to incorporate into your modern lifestyle with themed kits that help you know exactly when and how you can use essential oils, some of these best-selling trios include Travel Essentials, Calm and De-stress and Fight the Flu. We also create beautiful blends such as Sleep, Energy and Sinus Clear – so it’s simple to know exactly which oil is for you.
Here are some easy ways you can introduce aromatherapy into your routine at home:
- Vaporisation: add 6-8 drops of ECO. essential oil to your electric or tealight vaporiser. For tealight vaporisers, add 3/4 water to the top dish before adding your essential oils.
- Steam inhalation: add 1-2 drops of ECO. essential oil to a bowl of steaming water & cover the head with a towel. Close the eyes & inhale deeply for 5 minutes. Repeat as needed. Bath: add 3-5 drops of ECO. essential oil to a full bath before immersing yourself in the warm water. Not all essential oils are suitable to be used in the bath.
- Shower: sprinkle 1-2 drops of ECO. essential oil on the recess of your shower floor (be mindful not to apply to an area where you may slip.)
- Massage: applies the therapeutic touch of an experienced massage therapist combined with the benefits of aromatherapy. Sensitive skins may wish to perform a patch test to the skin before the massage. Add 3-6 drops of ECO. essential oil to a carrier oil for use in massage.
- Pillow: several essential oils are beneficial to help with relaxation & encourage a good night’s sleep. Add a drop to your pillow before sleep. Take care to not get oil in your eyes. Spritz: dilute the essential oil in pure water, 1-3 drops, shake well & spritz over face with eyes closed. For more, check out our complete range of pure essential oils and blends!
