Aromatherapy is the practice of using volatile plant oils, including essential oils for physical and psychological well being. If an individual finds him/herself in an anxiety inducing situation or is feeling especially stressful, Aromatherapy alleviates stressful feelings. Simply inhaling lavender, rose, mandarin, lemon balm or clary sage can almost instantly increase an individual’s sense of calm and decrease sense of stress. Another effective way to use aromatherapy to lessen stress is to essential oils while getting a massage. Burning an aromatherapy candle provides even more punch. Both are an excellent way to relieve stress by using aromatherapy. Being massaged with essential oils, works especially well because one is combining the power of massage therapy with aromatherapy.
Aromatherapy is such an effective and powerful way to relieve stress because you don’t have to go to a gym, lie down or pop a pill. There are no side effects, (unless you are allergic, perform a spot test so that you are sure) you can take it with you and instantly make yourself feel better. You can carry around a little lavender in your purse, if you are at work, you can use a diffuser. So you can experience the benefits of aromatherapy from anywhere. It can become your traveling stress buster. Aromatherapy works especially well in helping to cheer us up, feel balanced, become more energized and even to calm us.
And while there are certain aromatherapy scents and oils that are known to promote the reduction of stress, it is really best to go with the scent that calms you. If peppermint does it for you, use peppermint, if geranium does it for you, use geranium. In many cases it comes down to a personal preference, and that is just fine. You do not have to use a certain scent just because others tout its properties. Instead you may want to do a little experimentation and see what reacts best with your body to give you the feelings or state of being that you are looking for. To really multiply the power of aromatherapy to relieve stress, you may want to common essential oils or candles with other relaxing activities. For example, taking a hot bath that has drops of essential oils and while burning an aromatherapy candle will exponentially increase the effectiveness of aromatherapy to relieve stress.
Remember to play around with various scents. You may even want to combine some scents to get a particular scent that you enjoy or you increase the power of its’ properties. If you are unfamiliar with creating essential oil blends, you could take a course or find some good information at your library or over the internet.