Aroma Helpers: Balancing bergamot, geranium, and lavender
The Digestive System
The alimentary canal and the organs connected with it, such as the liver, are part of this important system. It is concerned with the intake and breakdown of food and needs to be in good working order for good health. This system can be prone to a number of uncomfortable problems such as indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, heartburn, and a sluggish digestive system.
Indigestion can be caused by difficulty in digesting food and by eating food that is too spicy. Try to avoid this by eating foods with a milder flavor and drinking peppermint tea after a meal. A comfortable, relaxing setting when sitting down to eat and eating slowly help to avoid indigestion, as sometimes this is caused by tension and stress. Avoid eating late at night.
• Ginger, used in massage or diffusion, calms down the digestive system.
• Lemon is useful for stimulating the appetite. It tones the digestive system and is helpful for indigestion as well.
• Peppermint, known as a “digestive,” is a well-known remedy for digestive disorders.
• Lavender helps digestive problems caused by stress, stomachache, and nausea.
• Massage the upper abdomen gently in a slow clockwise direction with a mixture of 6 tablespoons (90 ml) of a carrier oil to two drops of any one of the essential oils suggested.
• Chamomile’s soothing properties can help indigestion, colic, and peptic ulcers. Use as a warm compress, a massage over the painful area, or in a bath or diffusion.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome Peppermint oil is an antispasmodic and so will help to relieve the painful spasms caused by irritable bowel syndrome. This condition is not well understood, and some doctors do not even believe it exists. However, using peppermint oil mixed with chamomile and lavender, well diluted in a soothing massage over the abdominal area, will help to ease the painful spasms of this condition.
To get a sluggish digestive system moving, a blend of marjoram and geranium in a carrier oil massaged over the abdominal area will help stimulate and encourage a strong squeezing action of the muscular walls of the large intestine so that it does its job of moving waste material.
Aroma Helpers: Soothers peppermint, orange, and mandarin
The Endocrine System
A number of separate ductless glands are involved in the human glandular system known as the endocrine system. This system is concerned with controlling the body’s general activities, which include the growth and development of the body. Involved with hormone production, the glands secrete chemical messengers into the bloodstream and lymphatic system. The body can be kept in a state of good health only if the hormones needed to stimulate a particular activity are in balance. We live in a stressful environment these days, and these glands can get out of balance. Stress has become the “modern” disease.
Aromatherapy has some very good oils that can help to reinstate homeostasis, or bring a system back into balance. These oils have the remarkable property that they can be stimulating and calming at the same time. Known as adaptogens or balancers, these oils assist us to adapt to stressors through their ability to restore equilibrium. Mother Nature has many herbal adaptogens and plant oil adaptogens as well. When used, they attune to the body’s requirements. Used in combination, their healing abilities are strengthened.
Stressful conditions, anxiety, panic attacks, constant worry, and so on will put your hormones into overdrive, flooding the body with stress hormones. This constant stress overload is very damaging and can lead to serious health problems. Continual stress has been known to activate dormant genes that bring on diseases that may be in your genetic patterns, but would otherwise have remained inactive. If you do not learn to “switch off,” these stressful hormones can trigger these ailments into activity. It is therefore important to keep this glandular system healthy. Overfunctioning glands need to be encouraged to revert to a homeostatic state. Underfunctioning glands need stimulation to bring them back into equilibrium. This is where the adaptogenic oils come into their element.
I cannot say that these oils have been proven scientifically to act in this way, but many aromatherapy practitioners have found this to be so. There is still a lot that is not understood about the way essential oils work, but we do know they work, through empirical evidence and observation over thousands of years.
If there are any hormonal imbalances in either under-functioning or over-functioning glands, these healing balancers can be used with therapeutic effect:
Basil: This is useful for over-functioning hormones, nervous insomnia, and mental strain. Stressed-out states increase cortisol, the stress hormone. Basil’s balancing effect increases the body’s natural response to these situations helping the body’s hormonal systems to cope in a better way. Adaptogenic
Clary sage: Over-functioning hormones and high blood pressure due to nervous tension can be calmed with this oil, enabling the body to reinstate the correct balance needed to promote good health. Adaptogenic
Geranium: This homeostatic oil will help to calm an overwrought system, improving hormonal function when tension has caused restlessness, panic attacks, and anxiety. Adaptogenic
Lavender: Reactions to stress, such as palpitations, high blood pressure, and irritability will respond well to the calming and restorative effect of this healing oil. Adaptogenic
Lemon: This oil’s stimulating fragrance will help underfunctioning hormones reinstate the correct balance, enabling the body to function in a healthier way. Adaptogenic
Lemongrass: This strengthening oil relieves depression, tension, and nervous exhaustion—all signs that the hormones are overfunctioning and need calming down. Adaptogenic
Ylang-ylang: This is a balancer that will calm frayed nerves, and it is also a relaxant. A few drops on a handkerchief inhaled deeply will be beneficial to someone who has low blood pressure. It will also help nervous or emotional people who tend to get palpitations. Put into a warm bath, it is useful as a relaxant. This oil does not share the adaptogenic qualities of some other oils, but it has a balancing, sedating, and relaxing effect on the emotions.
Physical reactions to stress are usually a sign that the adrenal glands are overworked. Positioned across the upper end of each kidney, these glands produce the stress hormone cortisol and many other hormones. Calming hormone output from these glands is important, and therapeutic oils used in healing massage, baths, diffusers, and inhalations can do this.
Insomnia
Lack of sleep can be very wearing and may be the result of stress-related anxiety and nervous tension. Worry over the day’s events can also result in sleepless nights. The use of the sedative herbs below can help soothe an overactive mind, thereby promoting restful sleep.
Aroma Helpers: Sedatives, proven natural sleep aids and stress-reducers in aromatherapy’s armory, are lavender, cypress, chamomile, and melissa
Aroma Helpers: Energizers lemon, orange, and grapefruit to stimulate the glands
The Immune System
This vital system is critically important and should be kept in good condition in order to help you withstand viral and bacterial attacks. A healthy and well-functioning immune system will keep disease-causing materials from entering your body. If the barriers of this system fail, any number of diseases can result, from external influences and also if an imbalance occurs within the body, whereby the immune system attacks the body, resulting in auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, allergies, and so forth. To avoid this serious malfunction, there are immune-boosting essential oils that you can use.
Scientific studies show that emotional and physiological stress impacts this sensitive system negatively. Oils that help to build up a system weakened by stress, overuse of drugs, and poor nutrition are bergamot, Roman chamomile, lavender, and myrrh. These oils, diluted in a carrier, can be applied on the neck and the temples. They can also be used in baths, inhalations, and diffusers.
Other oils that have immune-boosting propert
ies are eucalyptus, lemongrass, ravensara, rosemary, and thyme. They encourage the production of white blood cells by activating them so that they collect in the areas where the bacteria or viruses are multiplying. This enables the immune system to fight off these disease-carrying germs.
Allergies
During the annual pollen season, many people suffer from hay fever, which is an allergic response to trees, weeds, grasses, shrubs, and farm crops. Allergies are an immune response to a harmful allergen, whereby the immune system overreacts, so calming this system down will help ameliorate these seasonal allergies. Hay-fever symptoms include allergic rhinitis, frequent sneezing, itchy, watery eyes, and inflammation of the nose and throat caused by airborne irritants.
When a warm day follows a period of cold and dampness, there is a buildup of pollen in the plants. In the country, exposure to pollen occurs in the late evening, whereas in the city, this happens from late evening to late at night. It is not always easy to avoid going out at these times. With the use of aromatherapy oils before the pollen season starts, you may be able to lessen the symptoms of these distressing allergies.
Cedarwood: This soothing oil can help relieve the mucus congestion and sinusitis of hay fever. Try it in a steam inhalation.
Chamomile: The anti-inflammatory properties of this oil can help control the inflammatory response of the immune system in allergic reactions. Three drops of chamomile mixed with one drop of eucalyptus in a room burner will create a calming atmosphere that is beneficial for allergic conditions. The same blend can also be used for sinusitis in 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of carrier oil, to massage the sinuses. Eucalyptus: This oil can relieve the symptoms of hay fever when used in a relaxing bath. Its decongestant properties work well used as a massage oil mixed with a light carrier. A drop or two on your pillow at night will help you to breathe more easily and get a good night’s sleep. During the day, carry a handkerchief with one or two drops of eucalyptus and sniff it regularly to keep your airways clear.
Frankincense: Make up a massage blend with this anti-inflammatory oil and rub it onto the chest to relieve congestion in the case of hay fever. Try it in the bath as a stress-reliever.
Juniper: This oil helps to tone up the glandular system and, when used in a diffuser, can purify and detox the air during the allergy season.
Aroma Helpers: Immune Boosters tea tree, rosemary, lemon, geranium, and eucalyptus
The Limbic System
The primitive brain is based in a series of parts known as the limbic system. The sense of smell is connected to this area of the brain. We all have an emotional and instinctive reaction to aromas, so we either love a smell or recoil from it. Through the use of the sense of smell we can uplift our emotions, feel better, and gain a more optimistic view of life. Every time we inhale a heavenly smelling perfume or essential oil, we benefit from the experience. The sense of smell is more important than people are aware of, and while ancient civilizations appear to have known this and made use of its benefits, modern medicine does not seem to acknowledge this. Happily, the age-old practice of aromatherapy can address this omission. The best way to improve well-being if you are feeling low is to choose any of the oils that appeal to you the most.
Clary sage: Used in a burner to scent the air, this oil can lift depression, calm the emotions, and enhance feelings of well-being.
Bergamot: This oil has an antidepressant effect and helps to uplift the mood. Use a few drops in a hot diffuser. A candle or electricity heats the oil and water prevents overheating.
Aroma Helpers: Antidepressants basil, cedarwood, and lemongrass
The Lymphatic System
This system contains lymph, a watery fluid that originates in the spaces between cells. Lymph drains into networks of tiny capillaries in tissue spaces that unite to form larger vessels called lymphatics. This important network is part of the immune system. It is the main way that the body is protected from microorganisms, and keeping the lymphatic fluids healthy will go a long way toward preventing illness. Unlike the heart, which pumps blood throughout the body, this system does not have such a mechanism, and it can often become congested and sluggish. It is important to keep the watery fluid of the lymphatics moving, clearing toxic wastes. Regular skin brushing and the use of decongesting oils are ways to get the lymphatic fluids moving throughout the body in order to eliminate toxic wastes.
Peppermint oil: This anti-inflammatory oil cleanses the lymphatic system. In a massage blend, add five drops of peppermint oil to 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of a blending oil of your choice. Make sure that a body massage with this oil uses well-diluted peppermint, as the smell is strong. Other than these cautions, an invigorating shower with this cooling oil will help aid waste removal. Sprinkle a few drops on a flannel or a washcloth. Do not use if skin is sensitive or in concentrations over 3 percent.
Caution Not suitable for young children.
Aroma Helpers: Stimulators to Aid Circulation juniper, ginger, and rosemary
The Musculoskeletal System
The muscular system forms the flesh of the body and provides the means by which we carry out all forms of movement. The skeletal system, made up of bone, supports and protects the body, giving it shape.
Activity Injuries Certain activities, vigorous sports, for example, can put a strain on the joints. The essential oils of lavender, rosemary, marjoram, and vetiver help relieve the pain and tenderness of torn or damaged ligaments. But do not massage a sprain as this could make it worse. Use a cold compress with any one of these oils and keep the joint rested. You can also add two drops of the oil of your choice to 2 teaspoons (10 ml) fragrance-free lotion and apply to the area when the pain and swelling in the joint has reduced.
Back Pain This is a very common ailment and thousands of days are taken off because of it. Back pain can become very severe and chronic. There are a number of aromatherapy oils that can help this debilitating condition. These are soothing chamomile, warming black pepper, relaxing lavender, and sweet marjoram, useful for aching back muscles. You can take a warm bath in which you have put a few drops of essential oil or make a warm compress. A back massage is very therapeutic at this time and may ease the pain.
Preventing Muscular Aches Warming massage balm using a carrier oil containing soothing lavender and penetrating black pepper oil can be used as a muscle rub before any type of exercise to help prevent muscle strain.
Muscular Aches If you still experience general aches and muscular pains after exercise, or any other muscle pain, the essential oils of basil for its restorative properties, warming, relaxing marjoram, and toning rosemary can be used to soothe your aching muscles. Make up a massage blend with 2 teaspoons (10 ml) of a carrier oil and a few drops of the essential oil of your choice—or a mixture, for example: one drop of basil, two drops of rosemary, and two drops of marjoram. Massage the area daily with this potent blend of healing oils until the aches or pains are relieved. If you prefer, these oils can be used individually.
Osteoarthritis This painful degenerative joint disease is the most common form of arthritis, affecting many middle-aged and elderly people. Women are twice as likely to suffer from it as men. Sedentary lifestyles can be a contributing factor. Many people suffer from painful osteoarthritis of the knee, necessitating surgery for knee replacements; unfortunately, these are not always successful.
The painful joints due to wear and tear can be gently massaged around the sore areas using a carrier oil with essential oils of eucalyptus, rosemary, and juniper.
Osteoporosis This is a loss of bone tissue. The bones become increasingly porous and brittle and can fracture very easily. This condition is more common in women. Oils that may help bone repair are cypress, frankincense, and rosewood. These can be used in a therapeutic massage treatment and applied topically. Gently massage the painful areas, being careful not to exert too much pressure.
Both osteoarthritis and osteoporosis benefit from the use of oils with analgesic and vasodilatory qualities such as lavender, juniper, ginger, and
marjoram. A few drops of your chosen oil, blended with a carrier, in a warm bath will help detoxify the system and ease aches and pains.
Aroma Helpers: Sedatives clary sage, chamomile, orange, bergamot
The Nervous System
The brain and spinal cord form the central nervous system. This system provides the means by which we can respond to stimuli, and it controls muscles, endocrine glands, and so on. It is a complicated structure that is prone to tension, stress, and anxiety. Long-term stress can unbalance this delicate system, resulting in physical disease, high blood pressure, skin problems, and mood disorders. Luckily, aromatherapy can come to the rescue. Geranium oil helps to restore emotional harmony when nerves are frayed. Other oils have therapeutic value in treating conditions related to the central nervous system, such as soothing, cooling chamomile, with its ability to calm irritability and nervousness, and mandarin, a comforting oil that gently calms the nerves.
Essential Oils & Aromatherapy Page 9