Your Simple Guide to Aromatherapy by Dr. R.J. Peters & Tamar Goldstein - HTML preview

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Introduction- A Quick History

Like acupuncture, aromatherapy, the use of Essential Oils for healing, has been in use

 

for more than 6,000 years. Its origins aren't completely documented, but there is

 

enough evidence to show that aromatic essences have been used for healing over

 

many centuries.

 

It's possible it all began in Australia with the aborigines over 40,000 years ago, but they

 

weren't known for keeping records. Much of their history has been passed along

 

orally from generation to generation, much like that of the native tribes everywhere,

 

including the native North American Indians, whose history also is rich with the use of

 

fragrant oils for religious and therapeutic purposes.

 

However, the Egyptians, with their use of stone tablets inscribed with stories of their

 

culture, are generally credited with being the first to establish the use of aromatic or

 

essential oils. Later, the Greeks learned from the Egyptians, and still later, the Romans

 

learned from the Greeks. At the same time, fragrant oils and plant essences were being

 

explored in ancient China. Meanwhile in India, the traditional practice of medicine, known as Ayurveda practiced

 

for more than 3,000 years, also used essential oils in their therapeutic massage.

 

By the first century A.D., fragrances were used in religion, health, beauty, “hygiene” and

 

entertainment. Hygiene in those days consisted of bathing in perfume or slathering

 

one’s body with fragrant oils. Much later, even Queen Elizabeth I is said to have used

 

such fragrances in her annual bath, “whether she needed it or no.”

 

While it may have been the Egyptians who popularized the uses of fragrances and

 

essences, other cultures were by then using them also.

 

Two major changes took place in the late 19th century:

 

First, the use of fragrances split into two camps: 1. perfumery and cosmetics, and

 

2. pharmaceuticals.

 

Second, essential oils suffered a huge setback in understanding as well as acceptance

 

and use, because of the discovery of the ability to formulate synthetic copies of almost

 

any chemical. A copied molecule of a vitamin is not the vitamin. Similarly, a copy of a

 

plant oil is not the same as that plant’s essence. No longer, then, could perfumes be

 

used medicinally. Synthetic copies are mere shadows of the original and usually are weaker and

 

ineffective, or even worse, they can be toxic. Unfortunately, this reputation has flowed

 

on to the authentic essential oils in the modern medical community and so they are

 

regarded as ineffective and inferior to accepted medical formulations, or drugs.

 

Ironically, however, many of today’s drugs were originally derived from plant sources.

 

It wasn’t until the 20th century that the use of essential oils began its re-entry into the

 

world of therapeutics. The term “aromatherapy” was coined by French chemist Rene

 

Maurice Gattefoss somewhere between the 1920s and ‘30s. His interest is reputed to

 

have begun when he burned himself in a laboratory explosion at the family perfumery

 

and he reflexively plunged his arm into a handy vat of lavender oil for relief. Later, he

 

was so amazed at his painless recovery, with no scarring, that he did further

 

experiments with the oil.

 

Currently, aromatherapy is mostly used by massage therapists as well as

 

alternative health disciplines. Its modern use derives from methods developed in the

 

1950s by Marguerite (Margaret) Maury, a French biochemist, and an associate,

 

Micheline Arcier (or Archer) who collaborated with Maury as she established clinics in

 

Europe for the use of oils as treatment for specific ailments. Much research was done in

 

Europe before aromatherapy was brought to America.

 

Aromatherapy was finally introduced in America in the 1980s in California, where it was embraced by health food outlets and alternative health practitioners.

Aromatherapy Disclaimer

The oils derived from plants and used for therapeutic purposes can have amazing,

 

as well as devastating effects, though most results occupy a wide spectrum somewhere

 

between these extremes. There even is a movement to create licensing and standards

 

for aromatherapy practitioners because a proper education in the use of these oils is

 

essential to protect users and those who dispense and recommend them.

 

It’s important to exercise caution and discretion in the use of true aromatic oils and

 

essences, as they have the potential to cause complications due to their complex

 

chemical natures and because they are extremely concentrated and volatile. Always

 

consult with a qualified practitioner and follow accepted safety guidelines. 00001.jpgTwo well-known essences