Exploring the Mystery of Aromatherapy: Marcy Foley, D.C., N.D.

Aromatherapy, certainly the "in" buzzword these days, is far removed from the artificially-scented shampoos and bath products so familiar to mainstream America. It is actually our oldest form of medicine, recorded as early as 2500 B.C. in Egyptian papyri. The holy anointing with sacred or blessed essential oils — frankincense, myrrh, galbanum, and others — is amply portrayed in the Bible. Although aromatherapy, as the term implies, is based upon smell, the oils may be used in a variety of ways. Deeply inhaling an essential oil is the most common method of use, either through simply smelling oils as they are rubbed onto the body or through essential oil diffusers that waft the aroma through an entire room. In France, for example, where the term ''aromatherapy'' was coined, it is common to ingest certain essential oils for treating digestive and other disturbances — although this should never be done without professional guidance. Also, these oils are often used in conjunction with massage and foot reflexology. There is even a specialized process involving the outer ear canal — and again, this should only be done by someone with proper training, as the oils can burn a hole in the ear drum! As you can see, essential oils are serious healing tools. However we must use certain precautions. It is important that we receive proper instruction in their therapeutic application. It also is important to make sure that your source is a company that performs scientific testing to ensure the purity of its products. Adulteration of essential oils is very common, and the fact that you purchased your oils at the local health food store is no guarantee of their quality or purity. How Do These Oils Work? Unfortunately, because of so many inferior products, many of us in America have never smelled pure, unadulterated, therapeutic oils — oils that have been processed at the correct temperature and pressure for that particular oil, and for the correct length of time. When we do, it can be a magical, intoxicating, mystical experience. Each essential oil has from 2 to 800 chemical constituents which work in a synergistic manner to produce a wide variety of responses in the human body. These constituents are the chemical properties within the oil which are responsible for its effects. For instance:

Ketones dissolve mucus and are found in eucalyptus.
Chamazulene, contained in chamomile, is anti-inflammatory.
The esters found in lavender are responsible for its calming and soothing properties.
Phenols found in oregano and thyme help in clearing the body's receptor sites of petrochemicals.

Some of the most interesting chemical constituents are sesquiterpenes, which have the ability to cross the blood-brain barrier and oxygenate the brain, suggesting many exciting possibilities in working with neurological conditions. Sesquiterpenes are contained in frankincense, sandalwood, myrrh, and even lemon essential oils.

How Essential Oils Affect the Emotions

While we have mentioned oils that focus their attention on the physical level, many have a higher frequency for emotional and spiritual applications.

I believe all emotions are beautiful, dynamic aspects of ourselves. Emotions are important teachers that provide richness to our daily life experiences. However, when we do not accept or give expression to them their patterns are stored in the body, causing damage.

This storage of emotional patterns can be compared to static electricity in certain parts of the body which blocks or repels nutrients and healing energies. One of the reasons some people never seem to be able to heal has to do with this emotional blocking.

Thus, the use of therapeutic quality essential oils together with hypnotherapy or other emotional healing work is invaluable. The oils won't "do it to you" — not without your active participation.

It's difficult to heal what you can't see or detect, especially repressed emotions. Here, essential oils can help by bringing emotions to the surface where we can work with them more easily.

Essential oils bring up emotions because when they are inhaled (or placed under the tongue) they go directly to the amygdala gland within the limbic system of the brain, stimulating nerve receptors there. This, in turn, can trigger stored trauma to be brought up, where it may be cleared.

Essential Oils and Mental Clarity

The use of therapeutic quality essential oils is one of the best ways to clear up brain fog and endocrine imbalances, conditions often due to toxic residues in our bodies. These toxins are introduced to our systems by our environment, by residues from the drugs we take, and by the food we eat, including pesticides, and the drugs and hormones given to animals.

Essential oils such as oregano help to clear off our endocrine system's receptors, so that we can make use of the enzymes and hormones that we produce in our bodies. By having these residues out of the brain, we can think more clearly and in some cases even improve our memory and concentration.

How Essential Oils Detoxify

What keeps us physically healthy is a series of important chemical reactions which occur within the trillions of cells in our bodies. However, when the oxygen level in the body drops as little as one percent, the cell membranes thicken. This causes us to retain toxins, and prevents nutrients from reaching the inside of the cell. It is imperative to have the best diet and to digest all that we eat. Equally important, however, is that the nutrients get from the blood serum into our cells.

Essential oils deliver oxygen, and they bond to the cell membranes so that toxins can pass out of the cell and life-giving nutrients can go inside where they are needed. This is why we may begin to feel better immediately when we use essential oils. By increasing the oxygen level within our bodies, aromatherapy may help give us immunity to certain anaerobic diseases. These oils are so delightful to use because they work easily and quickly. Whether they are placed on the feet, the back, the earlobes, or the chakras, essential oils are some of the most effective oils our Creator gave to us. These oils are so delightful to use because they work so quickly. Even if the oils are only placed on the exterior of the body, studies show that they can travel from the feet to the brain in as little as one to three seconds.[†] Depending on the size of the body, essential oils can be in every cell of the body within 20 minutes, performing their transformational healing miracles.

What Kind of Results to Expect

Though the substances of essential oils are not cumulative in the body, their effects are. The more we use essential oils in our daily lives, the more positive effects are seen.

It is common to clear out parasites and metal residues with essential oils. I've also seen amazing changes in people's attitudes and spiritual outlook on life with regular essential oil use. Sometimes aromatherapy is the crucial difference in why one person heals and another one doesn't.

Remember: We are more not ''just a physical body.'' We are a collection of energies, and we have mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies as well as the physical one. All of these energies intermingle with each other, contributing in each moment to our total state of spirit-mind-body awareness.

When we use the beautiful, natural essential oils which our Creator gave to us, I believe we have the best chance of reprogramming our bodies to work together in harmony, producing in each of us a symphony of delights. Let us be wise stewards and use them sparingly, with a loving intention, and watch as they perform their transformational healing miracles.