For nearly 6,000 years essential oils have been used for therapeutic purposes. A number of ancient civilizations including the Chinese, Indians, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans used them for cosmetics and perfumes as well as for rituals and spiritual reasons. Oils are documented by the Greek physician and botanist Pedanius Dioscorides in the first century in his five-volume encyclopedia about herbal medicine, De Materia Medica.
De-stressing holistically is but the tip of the iceberg of alternative healing. There’s reiki, acupuncture, acupressure, massage and tai chi, to name just some of the more than 60 approaches. Of course, people pick and choose their tonics, but the one that’s getting increasing, consistent mainstream acceptance is aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is the gentle, ancient art of fragrance, anchored by the use of all-natural, essential oils, which are extracted from flowers, barks, resins, herbs, fruits and other botanicals. Steam-distilled from nature, essential oils get that name because you’re left with the “essential” core, or the undiluted, and beneficial, chemistry of nature’s curatives.
There are many essential oils used in aromatherapy, including those from Roman chamomile, geranium, lavender, tea tree, lemon, ginger, cedarwood, and bergamot. Each plant’s essential oil has a different chemical make-up that affects how it smells, how it is absorbed, and how it affects the body. Studies of aromatherapy have shown mixed results. There have been some reports of improved mood, anxiety, sleep, nausea, and pain. Other studies reported that aromatherapy showed no change in symptoms.