Aromatherapy for Stress Relief: Your Escape

by Michelle Howard

My early experiences with aromatherapy weren't much more than lighting a cheap candle in the living room and relaxing in front of the tv with a bowl of ice cream.  This may sound funny to some but it really just shows how little I knew about aromatherapy and it's true benefits.  Of course, I'm a lot wiser now (smile).  I feel that being a business owner obligates you to keep yourself educated about the field you working, in this case, using aromatherapy for stress relief.  I've always been quite interested in learning more about natural remedies and cures.  Aromatherapy is just one area that I've chosen to learn more about.  Now I'm going to share some of my learnings about aromatherapy for stress relief.

Contrary to popular belief, aromatherapy is not just about sitting around sniffing on sweet smelling stuff.  It's so much more than that. While aromatherapy is a holistic form of therapy administered through your sense of smell, it actually works by releasing the scents from essential oils.  Essential oils are derived from plants and have many benefits including the ability to relieve stress.  The composition of essential oils is what makes them therapeutic aromatherapy can be a little costly if you start buying an array of various essential oils.  To create a small amount of essential oil, it takes the use of a lot of herbs in their natural state.

Aromatherapy for stress relief can be done right at home.  You can administer it topically or by inhaling.  You can massage essential oils directly on to your skin, add a few drops of essential oilsto you bath water or shower gel.  Another easier way is to use products that are already formulated with essential oils such as Dead Sea Salts.  If you want to practice aromatherapy by just inhaling, an aromatherapy diffuser is a great device.  It gently reaks up the molecules in the essential oils without destroying the potency.  The scent from the oils are then released into the air.  There are many types of aroma diffusers but  the best ones are the multi-functional aroma diffusers.  With these aroma diffusers, you get more bang for your buck.

An effective way to use aromatherapy for stress relief is to combine a couple of different essential oils, creating what's called a blend.  Some of the most common essential oils are Lavender, Peppermint, Jasmine, Ylang ylang, Bergamot, Lemongrass, Neroli, and Rose Geranium.  Each of these essential oils has the power to relieve stress when inhaled through the senses.  By simply a absorbing these precious oils into the nervous system through the skin or by inhaling for a few moments, a full day's worth of stress and tension can melt away.  Other essential oils can be used in aromatherapy for stress relief such as Frankincense, Tea Tree, Sandalwood, Eucalyptus, and Chamomile are good antiseptics.

Note: Pregnant women and nursing mothers should consult a doctor before practicing aromatherapy with certain essential oils.