The History of Essential Oils

In modern times, essential oils are used in aromatherapy to aid people with their physical and emotional health. In the past, they have been used by many people all over the world and in different cultures to do just that. The history of essential oils is a long one. Thousands of years ago, the Chinese were using plants with aromatic qualities for healing. Although these plant substances were being used in the medical practices of the day, they had not yet been distilled into essential oils.

The Egyptians, and perhaps also the Persians and the people of India, were the first to make distillation machines. Oil of cedarwood distilled with such machines was used along with myrrh, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg oils to embalm the dead.

The Egyptians were concerned more with the sense of smell than with any of the other senses. They believed that it was the most important and dominant sense. They adopted the essential oils they made to their medicine, cosmetics, and fragrances.

The use of essential oils was taken up by the Greeks next. Hippocrates did an ancient form of aromatherapy. A Greek named Megalleon invented a perfume called megaleion. This substance was used in aromatherapy and as an essential oil as an anti-inflammatory and to heal wounds. A Roman, Discorides, wrote on the uses of 500 different plant substances. Distillations were also made of such substances. However, these distillations didn’t produce essential oils. Instead, they made floral-smelling waters.

Avicenna was a Persian man who refined the process by inventing a distillation machine with a coiled cooling pipe. This allowed for more effective cooling. Eventually, the focus shifted towards more emphasis on true essential oils and their uses.

Paracelcus was a doctor of the fifteenth century who began using the term “essence.” His emphasis was using essential oils for medicine. During this time, many new essential oils were being produced. Among them were juniper, rosemary, rose, and sage. During the sixteenth century, people would go to their apothecary to get essential oils for many different uses. Around this time, the advent of new essential oils flourished. In the next few centuries, essential oils changed little except in their use in perfumes.

The major chemical ingredients of essential oils were identified. Scientists became more interested in the subject of essential oils. In the twentieth century, this became a problem for those interested in the use of true essential oils.

Much of twentieth century science has been consumed with creating synthetic versions of essential oils. However, an early twentieth century Frenchman named Gattefosse became increasingly involved with the study of essential oils and their medicinal values. He was the first to use the term “aromatherapy”. Aromatherapy and the use of essential oils were not well known in English-speaking countries. Robert B. Tisserand changed all that. He wrote the first English book on the subject, and many other books and articles.

As the years go by, people are becoming more and more interested in natural ways of doing things. They want to find ways to soothe their minds and comfort their bodies without synthetic drugs. Essential oils give them a way to do it.

How Essential Oils Are Used For Emotional Well-Being

Essential oils have been used for about one thousand years for all sorts of reasons. One of the key uses for essential oils has been for emotional healing. These preparations of plants are excellent at producing a feeling of well-being.

There are generally three methods for using these essential oils to promote emotional health. One is to add ten drops of the oil to a bath and soak. Another is to put a few drops on the essential oil in a carrier oil and use it for a massage.

The final method is to inhale the aroma of the oil directly. This can be done by putting a few drops of the essential oils on a handkerchief or tissue and holding it up to the nose. You can also accomplish the same thing by boiling two cups of water, adding the oil, and inhaling the vapors. Different essential oils are used for different emotional problems. For example, grief comes to most people at some time in their lives. It may involve a loss of a job, a home, a marriage, or an actual death. In any case, using essential oils of frankincense or rose can help to ease the suffering.

Poor memory is often the result of poor eating and sleeping habits. If you are suffering in this way, you can try oil of rosemary to help the problem. However, if you notice poor memory being a continual happening in your life even after using essential oils, you should seek a medical opinion.

The same is true for postnatal depression. Many new mothers find that they feel down after the birth of their child. After their hormones get back to normal, they should begin to feel better. In the meantime, they can use essential oils such as bergamot, chamomile, or neroli. If at any time they feel it is important, they should seek a doctor’s help. This is not a problem to treat lightly.

For stress, chamomile, lavender, and sandalwood have all been used with success. Ongoing stress without substantial relief should be reported to a doctor. Anxiety should not be taken lightly either. However, you can try the essential oils bergamot, cedarwood, or lavender before seeing a physician.

If you are actually having panic attacks, your anxiety is much worse. You are probably having symptoms that seem more physical than emotional. At times, you may almost feel like you are having a heart attack. If you have panic attacks, you should have medical advice to rule out physical causes. If you still don’t get relief, essential oils can help you. Frankincense, lavender, neroli, and ylang ylang will help to alleviate the distress.

Mental fatigue comes after hours of work or study. It can make you feel a kind of exhaustion that sleep won’t even cure. Essential oils, though, can help with that feeling. The use of lavender, peppermint, and rosemary will all relieve your mind.

Emotional distress can become a part of anyone’s life. The world is full of stresses and pressures that keep people from feeling relaxed. Essential oils can help these people to feel more at ease with themselves and the world around them.

Massage Therapy Stress Management For Students

Are you looking for some inside information on stress? Here’s an up-to-date report from stress experts who should know.

Students deal with a congregation of stress in their everyday lives from having to juggle their academic, ingrained, and social lives. Not to mention that having to beat deadlines, examinations and tests, and the pressure of performing well at school all combine to produce a lot of stress in any student’s life.

Below are some tips on how to cope and facilitate in an effective stress management method.

Effects of Stress in a Student

Stress is a natural response of the body when demand is placed upon you, which is often the case at school as students had to undergo tests and other stressful academic situations. This has been proven by studies and the more stress a student undergoes, the bigger its impact to one’s physical and emotional health condition. Considering a trainee entails a lot of things and it is not solely about the academic commitments expected of an individual. Crackerjack are also social pressures labyrinthine with being a student that additional adds affliction to the situation.

Students are therefore encouraged to take proactive stress management approaches to ensuring that you can maintain overall wellness. It is not just all about eliminating stress in your life, but also helps to improve your lecturer performance as a student. There are several recommended stress management techniques that a student can use but massage therapy is often on top of that register.

Why Massage Therapy?

Massage therapy is known as one of the most effective stress busters there is. But what is it about massaging that make it a very effective method to relieve stress? It starts off by relieving tension off of your body. As soon as you can release physical tension, you can consequently experience relief in the mind. Massage therapy is therefore useful for students due to its might to provide physical and mental relief for a comprehensive approach in fighting stress.

Costs of Massage Therapy

When thinking off stress management techniques that students can use, the cost is an important plug in to consider. If you are going to hire a trained masseur to perform your massage therapy, it is important to know how much it entrust cost and if it will fit into your budget. This very concern has resulted in a number of wellness and massage therapy programs available for students who wanted to enjoy relief from stress. You can also schedule your massage therapy sessions such that you can maximize its results without costing you a lot.

Different Types of Massages

According to the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, there are several massage techniques that one can use as portion of stress management regimen. The three most popular techniques are as follows:

Swedish massage This technique involves the use of long strokes and kneading to provide maximum relief from muscle tension and stress.

Deep – tissue massage This is another bona fide massage technique that can effectively deliver stress reduction and relaxation results.

Trigger point massage This massage technique that works in knots to eliminate tension that has build up in your body.

You are therefore free to choose your own stress management massage technique to relieve tension and develop wellness.
Now you can be a confident expert on stress. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on stress.