Life can sometimes get on top of us.  The day-to-day frenzy of daily life becomes too much or there is an up and coming event that send the stress levels soaring out of control.  Be it the tension of juggling family life with work, planning a wedding or moving house these stresses can’t be avoided but you can learn how to manage stress so that it doesn’t negatively impact your health.  Try to incorporate the following stress busters into your life:

1. Meditation is refuted to be one of the most important therapies you can undertake to ensure your mental, emotional and physical well being.  It is a marvelous way to relax and gives you a chance to put aside the endless chatter of your thought, cares and worries and sit in quiet contemplation.  Meditation helps you to put things into perspective and allows you to take time to switch off and focus on yourself.

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You may not realize it but you are experiencing aromatherapy every day as you run your life.  Take time to consider how you react to that citrus shower gel in the morning or your favourite body lotion with its hint of vanilla or the disinfectant that you always choose because of its fresh, clean floral smell.  Do they change your mood?  Do some fragrances energise you whilst others sooth and relax you after a hard day at work?  This is aromatherapy at play outside of the therapy room.

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When you hear of aromatherapy you usually think of massage but there are many ways to enjoy the benefits of essential oils.

Compresses

Compresses can be used warmed to ease back pain or abdominal pain whereas cold compresses soothe and alleviate headaches, bruises and sprains and swollen joints.  To make a compress add up to 6 drops of essential oil into a large bowl of water.  Stir the water and oil thoroughly and then place a clean face cloth on the surface of the water so that it absorbs the layer of oil floating on the water.  Wring out and apply to the affected area to 10 to 20 minutes.

Inhalations & Facial Steams

Inhalations are very effective for soothing the respiratory tract, easing sore throats and coughs and loosening catarrh.  Facial steams are wonderful for the deep cleaning of pores.

Air Fresheners

To banish insects from a room, freshen the air after cooking simply add a couple of drops of your favourite essential oil to 100 ml of cooled boiled water in a small plant spritzer.  Shake well and spray the room.  Try lavender or lemon grass.

Oil Burners

Another way to scent the room is to use an oil burner. The oil burner tends to have a candle that sits underneath a small bowl of 2 to 4 drops of essential oil added to a small amount of water.  The heat of the candle gently warms the oils and they evaporate scenting the room.

Scent Floors and Work Surfaces

Add 2 drops of essential oil to the water before mopping an area.  You can also use essential oils to disinfect kitchen surfaces.  Try a couple of drops f eucalyptus in 100 ml of water before wiping.  Alternatively try lavender, pine or lemon.

The scent of this beautiful essential oil cannot fail to lift your spirits.  The uplifting qualities of Melissa are very therapeutic and many aromatherapists use it as an anti-depressant oil particularly if a person requires a general tonic to boost and soothe them. 

Both refreshing and calming to the mind and body it is an excellent choice when treating someone for shock, bereavement, anxiety or depression.  Culpeper is quoted as saying:

‘…it causes the heart and mid to become merry…and driveth away all troublesome cares and thoughts.’

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The exotic sounding ylang ylang means the ‘fragrance of all fragrances or ‘flower of all flowers’ in Philippine.  It has been used traditionally in aromatherapy to accentuate the senses and release negative emotions such as anger, fear, jealousy and depression.  In Indonesia its reputation as an aphrodisiac means that it is a tradition to scatter its petals on the bed of newly weds. 

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Tea Tree is a species f the paperbark tree.  This tree is found on the sub-tropical coast of New South Wales and parts of Queensland, Australia where it has long had a history of use as one of nature’s most potent antiseptics.

Aboriginal tribes used poultices of the leaves on wounds and cuts and smoked leaves to clear congestion f the respiratory and nasal tract.  Tea Tree oil remains to this day as one of aromatherapy’s most powerful ingredients when fighting bacteria, fungi, viruses and yeast.

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Peppermint is one of the most refreshing essential oils and is renowned for its cooling properties.  It is widely used in aromatherapy to stimulate mental agility, clear the mind of fuzziness and focus you on the job in hand.  Its calming agents help to cool the skin and reduce irritation, redness and itching. 

There are a wide array of ailments that can be significantly soothed by peppermint – headaches and migraines; congestion of the sinuses or chest and ailments of the digestive system.

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For most people stress is a constant companion.  Its there as we sit in a traffic jam on the way into work, as we brace ourselves to look at the latest gas bill, as your youngest child wakes you in the night with a barking cough.   As a nation we are becoming more stressed out at work and events such as Christmas, weddings and house moving can push us to breaking point!

We all need an element of stress to add zest and excitement to our lives but its long been accepted that too much stress can cause serious health problems impacting sleep, eroding our immune system and causing difficulties in our relationships.  Even heart attacks and cancer are thought more likely to occur in those whose resistance to stress is low.

So how can we protect ourselves?

It’s not necessarily the stress that causes illness, but how we react to it.  By recognising our limitations and being aware of our levels of anxiety and physical exhaustion we can safeguard our health by relaxing and calming the mind and body.

An excellent way to do this is using soothing Aromatherapy Oils that have a calming and sedative effect on the mind.  Of our five senses, smell has been found to have the greatest impact on the emotional centre of the brain.  When inhaled, odour molecules are filtered and warmed within the nose, and the nerve cells are stimulated.  This triggers communication to the limbic section of the brain, which is the area associated with emotions.

Aromatherapy oils can be used as part of a relaxing massage, in an oil burner to infuse your rooms with calming scents or adding to bath to soothe away the stresses of the day.  Here are just some of the aromatherapy oils available to you:

Lavender

Probably one of the most widely used oils is Lavender which has a sedative and calming effect on the mind.  It is perfect for treating insomnia.  It can be used in a massage blend or simply add some drops to your pillow for a sound and refreshing night’s sleep.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass acts as a sedative on the central nervous system and can be used to good effect to counteract mental fatigue.  Lemongrass blends well with Rose and Sandalwood oils, which soften its strong aroma.  It also blends well with Rosemary oil which enhances the fresh, citrus scent.

Orange

Orange is considered a general tonic for anxiety and its uplifting and familiar scent is popular with children.  Used as massage oil it can ease tension in the back.

Marjoram

Excellent for treating insomnia and restoring frayed nerves, Marjoram can be used as an oil dropped in a warm bath or as part of a soothing back massage to promote a good night’s sleep.