What is Aromatherapy? 

  The word "Aromatherapy" conjures up images of people magically alleviating their depression or insecurities with wonderful scents. Aromatherapy is much more than that. Incorporating aromatherapy into your life enhances your overall health, beauty, and psychological well being. Aromatherapy can reduce stress, enhance your complexion, treat an annoying skin irritation, and eliminate a stomachache.

  A healing art which uses the essential oils of aromatic plants, trees and flowers to promote health of body and serenity of mind. 

  It's the essential oils within plants that give them their characteristic smell and flavor. When we smell the delightful fragrance of jasmine flowers in the early evening, open a cedar wood box and inhale its woody smell or add the zest of a lemon to a drink, it's the essential oil that we are enjoying.

  Essential oils may be found in different parts of the plant in the petals (rose), leaves (eucalyptus), roots of grass (vetiver), bark (cinnamon), heartwood (sandalwood), citrus rind (lemon), seeds (caraway), bulbs (garlic), the avail or top parts of the plant (marjoram) or resin (frankincense) and sometimes in the more than one part of the plant for e.g. the orange tree produces 3 different smelling essences with different medicinal properties - neroli from the flowers petitgrain from the leaves and orange oil from the rind of the fruit. 



  History and Origin
The use of essential oils goes back to ancient civilization almost 3000 years BC where they were used not only for their wonderful aroma and beauty care, but also for their preservative and healing properties and for their immediate connection with higher spiritual beings, in prayer and as offerings to god. 

• The survival of the Egyptian mummies bears witness to the extraordinary preservative powers of plant essences. When Tutankhamun's tomb was opened in 1922, the air was permeated with essential oils.
• Aromatics were also used in ancient skin care regimes and Cleopatra was known to add many different oils to her bath to preserve her beauty.
• The revival of interest in essential oils began in 1930's when a French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse badly burned his hand and plunged it immediately into a bowl of lavender oil which was the nearest liquid at hand, not only did his would heal quickly but there was no scarring either. His interest was sparked and he started research on the therapeutic uses (the healing powers) of essential oils and was the first person to use the term 'Aromatherapy'.
• The idea of combining essential oils with massage is credited to the Austrian born Cosmetologist, Marguerite Maury, who also devised the 'individual prescription' essences, which were chosen according to the physical and emotional needs of the recipient.