This time of year, we're often on the lookout for those extra touches that can make the season special. The unique decorations, flowers, wreaths, and candles all add a little something to our lives and the lives of our family. How far we go in creating the right space can have a significant impact on the overall enjoyment and shared gratitude of our loved ones. So what little something could you use this year that's simple, inexpensive and would go a long way to creating a special space? Real aromatherapy using pure essential oils is a wonderful way to do it that might just have the side effect of promoting your family's health and wellness, too.
Natural aromatics have been used as mood lifters and to create warm and comfortable atmospheres for many years. Thousands, even. The methods are tried and true. Our olfactory sense and our psyche have an affinity for things that smell nice. Science says they even make us healthier - essential oils have been shown to lower stress levels, blood pressure, help us get better rest and even make us stop fighting - well, they've been shown to stop rats from fighting, anyway. We can hope for the best when using them in our own homes!
Getting started with aromatherapy is a very simple process - you'll need just a bottle of essential oil (single or blended - we'll get to some suggestions in a moment) and a means to diffuse the aroma into your living space. Many great 'seasonal' essential oils are available at local health food stores or over the internet. Essential oil diffusers are often found at the same stores, with a wide selection of prices and style to suit your needs.
Warming diffusers do just that - warm the essential oils either from a cotton pad, or evaporate them from the surface of small bowl of water using a candle. These are inexpensive, easy to use, and make a smaller space smell wonderful. For a little larger area, a fan diffuser passes air over the oils and evaporates them more effectively. A little bit fancier still is an ultrasonic nebulizing diffuser, which is really a small humidifier specially made to make a mist of essential oils along with water. These are nice in dry areas or in homes with forced-air heat. Top-of-the-line are the cold-air nebulizing diffusers which make a mist of the pure essential oils themselves. Cold-air nebulizers can diffuse oils into a very large open area or at high concentrations if your therapeutic needs are such in the future.
As for the essential oils - it's especially delightful that the scents of the season have several timely qualities. Perhaps the most popular are the 'evergreen' oils like Balsam Fir, Spruce and Juniper Berry. These are all uplifting, bright aromatics that also have grounding, calming properties. Balsam Fir may be the favorite, with its complex, sweet, balsamic and woody scent; Black Spruce follows a close second, and Juniper Berry, when of fine quality, is also very well-loved. Pine needle is also a wonderful aroma, coming in the more common Scots Pine, with its simple 'piney' brilliance, and the more complex and exotic Pinus kessia. A fantastic feature of the evergreen oils is that they blend together so nicely. You may chose any two or more of the above, and blend them at almost any ratio and come out with something smelling really good.
If you're wishing to bring a little more exotic scents into your home, the oils of Frankincense, Myrrh and Sandalwood are perfect choices - aromas that have been used extensively for both their psychological and physiological health benefits for ages. These are grounding oils, one's that are known for bringing peace and stillness. Frankincense is both bright and earthy at the same time, with its citrus and woody notes. Myrrh is more hypnotic and mysterious, useful in small amounts. Sandalwood is a classic favorite with both sweet and woody notes, with lovely varieties coming from India, Australia and the South Pacific. These oils can be blended together, or added in small amounts to one or more of the evergreen oils for a pleasant combination.
If you really want to get creative, there are many brilliant aromatics from which to choose. Lavender is well-known for its calming scent; citrus oils like Bergamot, Orange and Grapefruit are lively can easily brighten your space. Spice oils can be added to blends or used on their own in small amounts (they can be potent, and should be used cautiously)...these include Cinnamon, Clove, Peppermint, Cardamom and the like. If you're not familiar with blending, try using these oils singly, or in combinations of two or three at most. Or get enough to make small batches to test your formula, then a just as your nose desires.
You really only need a small amount of pure essential oil to make your home a happy, healthy and comfortable space. One small bottle and a diffuser will do wonders. If you're feeling more adventurous, you can mix and match as your olfactory sense desires, seeing how you and your family respond to the tried-and-true effects of pure essential oils. Almost certainly, they're bound to have a positive effect on your holiday season.
Natural aromatics have been used as mood lifters and to create warm and comfortable atmospheres for many years. Thousands, even. The methods are tried and true. Our olfactory sense and our psyche have an affinity for things that smell nice. Science says they even make us healthier - essential oils have been shown to lower stress levels, blood pressure, help us get better rest and even make us stop fighting - well, they've been shown to stop rats from fighting, anyway. We can hope for the best when using them in our own homes!
Getting started with aromatherapy is a very simple process - you'll need just a bottle of essential oil (single or blended - we'll get to some suggestions in a moment) and a means to diffuse the aroma into your living space. Many great 'seasonal' essential oils are available at local health food stores or over the internet. Essential oil diffusers are often found at the same stores, with a wide selection of prices and style to suit your needs.
Warming diffusers do just that - warm the essential oils either from a cotton pad, or evaporate them from the surface of small bowl of water using a candle. These are inexpensive, easy to use, and make a smaller space smell wonderful. For a little larger area, a fan diffuser passes air over the oils and evaporates them more effectively. A little bit fancier still is an ultrasonic nebulizing diffuser, which is really a small humidifier specially made to make a mist of essential oils along with water. These are nice in dry areas or in homes with forced-air heat. Top-of-the-line are the cold-air nebulizing diffusers which make a mist of the pure essential oils themselves. Cold-air nebulizers can diffuse oils into a very large open area or at high concentrations if your therapeutic needs are such in the future.
As for the essential oils - it's especially delightful that the scents of the season have several timely qualities. Perhaps the most popular are the 'evergreen' oils like Balsam Fir, Spruce and Juniper Berry. These are all uplifting, bright aromatics that also have grounding, calming properties. Balsam Fir may be the favorite, with its complex, sweet, balsamic and woody scent; Black Spruce follows a close second, and Juniper Berry, when of fine quality, is also very well-loved. Pine needle is also a wonderful aroma, coming in the more common Scots Pine, with its simple 'piney' brilliance, and the more complex and exotic Pinus kessia. A fantastic feature of the evergreen oils is that they blend together so nicely. You may chose any two or more of the above, and blend them at almost any ratio and come out with something smelling really good.
If you're wishing to bring a little more exotic scents into your home, the oils of Frankincense, Myrrh and Sandalwood are perfect choices - aromas that have been used extensively for both their psychological and physiological health benefits for ages. These are grounding oils, one's that are known for bringing peace and stillness. Frankincense is both bright and earthy at the same time, with its citrus and woody notes. Myrrh is more hypnotic and mysterious, useful in small amounts. Sandalwood is a classic favorite with both sweet and woody notes, with lovely varieties coming from India, Australia and the South Pacific. These oils can be blended together, or added in small amounts to one or more of the evergreen oils for a pleasant combination.
If you really want to get creative, there are many brilliant aromatics from which to choose. Lavender is well-known for its calming scent; citrus oils like Bergamot, Orange and Grapefruit are lively can easily brighten your space. Spice oils can be added to blends or used on their own in small amounts (they can be potent, and should be used cautiously)...these include Cinnamon, Clove, Peppermint, Cardamom and the like. If you're not familiar with blending, try using these oils singly, or in combinations of two or three at most. Or get enough to make small batches to test your formula, then a just as your nose desires.
You really only need a small amount of pure essential oil to make your home a happy, healthy and comfortable space. One small bottle and a diffuser will do wonders. If you're feeling more adventurous, you can mix and match as your olfactory sense desires, seeing how you and your family respond to the tried-and-true effects of pure essential oils. Almost certainly, they're bound to have a positive effect on your holiday season.
About the Author:
The author utilizes pure essential oils for aromatherapy. More information is available through The Ananda Apothecary at www.anandaapothecary.com.
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