A small selection of our magazine published Health and Wellbeing Articles

HEALTH RETREAT BENEFITS

GOOD HEALTH IS A HABIT - GET YOURS (The Psychology of healthy habits)

BEAM WITH HIGH SELF-ESTEEM

OILS AINT OILS-
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ESSENTIAL AND FRAGRANCE OILS

HEALTH RETREAT BENEFITS - by Izabella Siodmak

OPTIONS Magazine

A stay at a health retreat can result in profound healing benefits. The cumulative effects of the various therapies, natural environment and focus time for yourself, presents a rare opportunity to make tremendous progress with your level of health whilst you recharge and relax. With expert guidance and the ability to apply alternative health knowledge, as well as access to a full range of therapies and treatments, a health retreat is the perfect setting to restore balance to our busy, stressful and sometimes chaotic lifestyles.

The health retreat experience is also often a wholistic journey, where balanced attention is provided concurrently to your physical body as well as your emotional, spiritual and mental wellbeing. Whether you participate in a detox, weight loss retreat, women’s, spiritual or relaxation retreat you are bound to return home feeling more healthy and radiant. Below you will find general information about health retreats and their greatest benefits, as well as tips to assist you in choosing the right health retreat for you.

What health benefits can you expect from your health retreat experience? Due to the broad nature of therapies/, workshops and general focus on lifestyle improvement you will find most health retreats assist in:

Increasing your level of motivation to live a healthy, peaceful lifestyle as you experience healthy eating, exercise, stress management, relaxation techniques and therapies like massage styles, yoga and meditation and a natural environment where sensory overload is reduced. When you eliminate all the daily, unnatural busy-ness, your take the burden off your nervous system and your body can heal rather than live in a constantly alert and tense state.
Personal development is often an important focus of most health retreats. This may be offered through various therapies, counselling, life-coaching and workshops on self-esteem, goal setting, overcoming fear and obstacles, sabotage patterns …
Specific diseases, disorders, signs and symptoms may be addressed through treatments - often the fundamental therapy is a naturopathic consultation (using nature’s herbs, nutrients and diet to support the body). A range of other therapies are usually available depending on the practitioners employed at the chosen health retreat. This can range from Traditional Chinese Medicine to Crystal Healing and Chakra healing, so do check what each retreat offers and see whether the therapies are suited for your conditions and tastes.
Chronic conditions. The symptoms of obesity, cardiovascular diseases, food sensitivities/ allergies, arthritis, asthma, hormonal imbalances, migraines/ headaches, chronic stress/ anxiety, chronic fatigue, heavy metal toxicity, cancer, cellulite and many more can be greatly improved through detoxification. There are many ways to detoxify at a health retreat but the most common forms may include juice fasting/ wheatgrass juices, colon cleansing, living, raw food cuisine, vegetarian meals, and various cleansing supplements and procedures. This is also a great opportunity to enjoy healthy, flavoursome and tasty foods without any food preparation or effort on your behalf.

Many diseases start in the digestive tract, where incompletely digested food can lead to infection, ulceration and inflammation. Improper breakdown of foods also means inaccessible nutrients for your body, ultimately resulting in deficiencies and disease. The good news is that the digestive system can repair and renew itself quite quickly if you give it a break from refined, incorrectly balanced foods and at the same time nourish it with natural foods, which are superbly digested and assimilated. Some form of colonic cleansing is also advisable and general detoxification procedures are a fundamental aspect of spring-cleaning the body where chronic health conditions exist. Some retreats may also have organic foods – which is ideal from the point of view of reducing the chemical load that your eliminative organs have to process and breakdown in the first place.

Health retreat staff should be able to assist with a personalised program to aid detoxification and digestive repair – this needs to be individually tailored and supervised because if you detoxify too quickly your eliminative organs may not be able to keep up and you will experience a healing crisis with some undesirable side-effects. This can be minimized if a practitioner can support your body with herbal extracts that assist each of the five eliminative organs to cope. A naturopath or medical herbalist should be able to prescribe this, and most other detox components, for you after a thorough individual consultation. The herbs prescribed will vary from person to person, but such an individual approach will provide you with better results at the end of your detoxification period.

Also make the most of sessions in a sauna, as the sweating that these encourage, removes with it heavy metals such as lead and mercury, and other toxic substances. Detoxification is critical in removing toxins that may be impeding your optimal physiological functioning. Saunas and living raw foods brimming with enzymes are two of the most powerful tools for successful detox as well as weight loss.

Lifetime benefits are often gained as you become aware of what healthy living means for you. The lessons learned and new tools and resources acquired can often be easily applied to your everyday life once you return home.

How to find the perfect health retreat for you.

Know your objectives: What is it that you would like achieve by the end of your retreat experience? A healthy relaxation break, a super pamper, tools to increase mental and emotional awareness, learning new healthy lifestyle and nutrition habits, a cleansing detoxification, a spiritual experience or all of these? By knowing your general outcome before you go searching you can more easily identify whether a particular retreat caters for your outcomes and if they can tailor something specific for you.
Activities: Consider what you would like to do in your spare time. Are you an active person who would enjoy the thrill of an adventure or the ability to keep up with your regular workouts at the gym? Perhaps you would prefer to have access to some health and wellbeing reading material during your stay? Take the general activities of the health retreat into account before deciding on your perfect retreat experience.
Location: Are you willing to travel a long distance for the right retreat or are you happy to settle for something closer, but perhaps not as ideal? It can be really liberating to actually break-free from the usual surrounds and gain a new perspective by being far away from your normal environment. You may also think about the retreat environment itself. Nature in itself is a powerful healing force. Clean environments, open spaces, mountains, seaside and fresh air and sunshine that can easily boost your spirits and freshen the mind. This is the perfect opportunity to really stop and smell the roses – to be fully immersed in the simple yet profound healing powers of nature, first-hand!
Style and size: What is the overall experience you are seeking? Consider if you are happy to participate in a setting with lots of people or are you into having a really private retreat experience with very little interaction (or interruption) by other people’s presence. You can ask the staff how many people are usually there at one time and also how many staff members are on hand. Also consider the focus of the retreat. It can range from large group silent meditation retreats to small group weight loss retreats to comprehensive one-on-one single residential health retreat programs.
Price and duration: Give some thought to how much time you can dedicate to comfortably participating in your health retreat experience. If you have unavoidable situations that you need to address by interacting with people back at home you may be better off either postponing your program to a time that is not interrupted or perhaps opt for a shorter stay. The prices vary considerably and generally you get what you pay for in regards to accommodation, size of group, type of food, therapies, workshops and activities offered.

The whole is greater than the sum of its part – in other words enjoy the journey as all the individual experiences you have at a health retreat can culminate in some serious emotional and physical breakthroughs that individual sessions alone may not provide. Often the combination of removing stagnating physical waste, reducing the energy spent on the digestive processes, increasing energy for detoxification, nourishing the body with the correct nutrients, enhancing circulation and breathing with gentle exercise, time with mother nature, time to reflect and loving emotional support and counselling from qualified staff, are all catalysts for change.

Izabella Siodmak is a naturopath, nutritionist, herbalist and life coach who is passionate about empowering her clients to live healthier, more meaningful lives through the foundations of natural health, mindful awareness and sustainable lifestyles. For questions or enquiries regarding ‘Health Retreat Benefits’ please contact: reception@naturalattitudes.com or http://www.naturalattitudes.com

GOOD HEALTH IS A HABIT - GET YOURS (The Psychology of healthy habits) - by Izabella Siodmak

Insight Magazine

Good, or bad, habits are easily formed. Initially it is about making a conscious choice, then letting the automatic pilot take over and execute the outcomes. As a naturopath, I happily live by the ‘good health’ principles. In fact, it was my passion and everyday commitment to good health that resulted in me becoming a healthcare professional. You would be forgiven for thinking that eating healthily is boring. But let me tempt you otherwise…

Is it true that nothing has any meaning except the meaning that you attach to it? A world-class athlete, for example, will consider their diet and daily training as a stepping-stone to their ultimate goal and fulfilment. An over-weight couch potato would consider this routine excruciatingly painful and depriving them of their gustatory pleasures. So let me ask you where you stand in relation to your health. If you have a poor relationship with health you will find it harder to attract good health. Like attracts like (in thought as well) so it is important to understand the beliefs that you have about health and how this governs the daily choices you make to support these conscious (or unconscious) beliefs. Please take a few moments now to write down at least five rules that you have about health. I will explore five common ones with you now.

1. EATING HEALTHILY IS QUITE BORING
It is very convenient to race down to the local take-away for dinner. And yes, healthy eating requires more creativity, thought and preparation. You can learn to enjoy these qualities. Anyone can get addicted to the sensory delights of heavily infested flavours, artificial colours, sugars and salts in take-aways but just wait until you train your taste-buds to taste the wholesome, earthy and natural flavours of healthy food. The reason these foods can taste bland is because we are so used to the intensely stimulating processed foods. As you eat more healthily your taste actually become more refined and can discriminate the natural flavours more readily, thus adding to the invigorating experience of healthy eating.

2. EATING HEALTHILY MEANS THAT I AM LIMITED TO SALADS AND FRUITS AND WILL HAVE CONSTANT CRAVINGS
Nature has an abundance of foods, enough to tempt and stimulate you in a myriad of ways. Creativity is the key. Laziness is the sin. Healthy food encompasses combinations of beans, pastas, cereals, flours, nuts, seeds, juices, herbal teas, fruits, vegetables, herbs. If you experience cravings it may be as a result of some nutritional imbalance, usually resulting from too much junk food, sugar or heavily refined foods. Have your diet assessed and necessary adjustments made.

3. I DON’T WANT TO STICK TO A DIET FOREVER ANYWAY
Firstly, let us all eradicate the typical meaning of the word ‘diet’. Healthy eating is a permanent and enjoyable lifestyle that usually translates into envious amounts of energy, great health and harmony. When you experience the pleasurable rewards you will understand why you are no longer tempted by unhealthy habits. You’ll want to do even more of what is good for you. Occasional deviations and hiccoughs will occur, but your finely tuned body will be able to handle this.

4. EVERYTHING IN MODERATION IS GOOD FOR ME
(including that cheesecake, bottle of wine and packet of lollies)
Processed food was never a natural part of our ancestor’s diet. In fact, 8 out of the top 10 killer diseases in the western world today are related to diet. The increase in dietary-related diseases can only be a reflection of the dramatic adulteration and processing of many so-called “foods” on the market today. A more appropriate adage would be “everything that is natural in moderation”. Back to basics as nature knows best.

5. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT I EAT BECAUSE I AM NOT GETTING SICK
Fortunately for us the human body is quite resilient, so evidence of full-blow malnourishment can take years to accumulate. However, there is a world of difference between being “disease-free’ and totally happy and healthy. You may have become so accustomed to low-energy, fatigue etc that you don’t may not know exactly where you stand with your health.

Many symptoms that are classed as part of medical conditions can be dramatically minimized and even treated, with dietary changes. In a sea of plenty, most Australians actually have deficiencies they are not aware of. These inevitably result in some compromise in the level of functioning in the body, usually leading to a variety of symptoms. Your daily dietary habits are the key to prevention and treatment. You are what you eat, so don’t be fooled by the lack of immediate correlation to your health. It takes time for your body to assimilate and deplete its stores of nutrients. But you can keep your levels of nutrients saturated by making healthy eating choices everyday.

The experience of eating healthily is a more satisfying habit than most would imagine, the advantages making it hard to revert to an unhealthy lifestyle. The effect goes beyond just the physical body, enhancing your energy and vibrancy in a manner that no artificial stimulant can replicate, a glow that no synthetic cream or make-up can mimic and a happiness and contentment that no drug can elicit.

Taking the time and making the effort to create good health is also a reflection of your self-worth. You are, in essence, affirming that you are worthy of only the best within, and for yourself.

Let us now synthesize your incentives and rewards for attaining great health. Be clear and concise in your statements, for example: “great health means that I will be more toned and look better and so feel better within myself and be more sociable”. Comment on your vitality, energy and all the things you will be able to accomplish with your new-found health. Think present moment as well as long-term benefits. Now let’s turn these statements into your daily affirmation. Start each affirmation with “I am…” and insert the statements you have written above. Recite these at least five times upon waking up, and another five times just before retiring each night. Start off by writing them on a small card to be read off, until you are totally familiar with them. This exercise is very powerful. Many successful and famous people have utilized these techniques of consciously focusing on their results and their feelings for greater benefits.

It is said that a habit is formed after 21 consecutive days of performing the action (or thinking the thought). Thus the above affirmations you have synthesized must also become a habit through repetition over the same time. Within this time your brain will visualize these statements as fact and conspire to create the carbon-copy version in your daily reality. You do not need to concern yourself with the hows and whens, just rest assured that this works for you in a way that you will be compelled and motivated to easily and effortlessly be guided to achieving your healthy habits.

Once you have mastered your health habits you can apply the same process to all other facets of your life: relationships, career, finances…Use the three step process I have taken you through:
STEP 1. write down your beliefs about the topic and explore each point fully by writing whatever comes to mind.
STEP 2. write down all the incentives and rewards of achieving the desired goal in this area and
STEP 3. create and recite for 21days affirmations based on the incentives from step 2.

Be open to any ideas and changes occurring in your life, as this is a sign that shifts are occurring to bring about your desired goals. It is important to note that sometimes ‘unpleasant’ shifts can be happening, but this is only a ‘clearing’ process that will actually become a positive experience over-all. Other areas may also require you to do research through books, other people and asking your unconscious direct questions. Always be intuitively receptive to your inner answers. Faith will become an indispensable asset to your journey.

Questions to ask yourself may include:
what is my understanding of this event (disorder, feeling, symptom) ?
How does this event relate to me and why do I think it is present in my life (eg: depression, hives, no energy)?

Write everything that comes to mind then elaborate on each idea. What are all the benefits of not having this challenge anymore? More energy, confidence, happiness, success, accomplishment, better relationships, more security, financial improvements, social life/

Within a short time you’ll experience health differently through the motivation of pleasure and benefits. Without going into the details of neuro-associative conditioning, it will become the norm for you to deserve and experience your desired results. In fact, at times, it will be painful not to do these things, making it less attractive to repeat the undesired event.

In summary, these practices link to your beliefs, which, fortunately, you have the choice to control. There are no opportunities lost, if you don’t take the opportunity, someone (something) else will. If you don’t take charge of your thoughts then society’s ideals can seep into your daily routine. When you explore your beliefs about health you may find that the basis of many are the motives of persons who have everything but your health in their mind!

Do you really want to adopt the “average” thought and therefore the “average” result? Do you really want to eat the “average’ diet of take-aways laden with fat, cholesterol, sugar and salt and devoid of enzymes, liveliness and energy? And if so be prepared for the dire consequences. It is not too late to take charge and discover your potential today, by making good health a habit that is yours forever.

BEAM WITH HIGH SELF-ESTEEM - By Izabella Siodmak

Living Now Magazine

“I’m not good enough for that job” or “He won’t like me the way I am” may sound familiar to you. Regardless of your job, social class, looks or education everyone is susceptible to a bout of low self-esteem. Indeed, for some people it may be a constant struggle, partly shaped by deeply engrained beliefs and unrealistic social expectations.Self-esteem, or how well you regard yourself, is important to your psychological well-being. People with a poor self-esteem are constantly judging and rejecting certain aspects of themselves. Sometimes this may be a way of avoiding issues that are too painful to deal with. Often this leads to taking less chances in your social, academic or career roles. It also makes it that little bit harder to make friends, go for a job interview or persevere with a long-term goal.Poor self-esteem often leads to other psychological problems. Eating disorders, depression, alcoholism and substance abuse, child abuse and even domestic violence can stem from a feeling of low self-worth. Being aware of your level of self-esteem is an important step in deciding whether you need to work on improving your self-esteem. Below are some of the most important indicators of a poor self-esteem, and how to improve on these points.

The pathological critic - This term was coined by Eugene Sagan, a psychologist, and describes the negative inner voice that we all have as part of our internal monologue. The pathological critic harasses and judges you, directly diminishing your self-worth. The critic survives through negative reinforcement, as it becomes a regular method of negating or lessening psychological pain. A person with low self-esteem has a more attacking and destructive critic.

Learning to listen to your critic is not easy, as you may be so used to the constant negative statements that you are barely aware of them. The following are some of the ways your inner critic may attack you:

blames you for things that go wrong
sets standards of perfection that are impossible to attain
compares your skills and achievements with everyone around you
criticizes you for the most smallest and insignificant mistakes
keeps reminding you of your past failures
tells you what you “should” be doing, at the detriment of what you really need
makes you feel guilty and worthless if you disobey the “shoulds”
tells you you’re nothing unless you’re the best
labels you with words like “stupid”, “ugly” or “incompetent”
mind-reads others’ thoughts, for example, tells you that your friend is bored/ disappointed/ ashamed of you
exaggerates your weak points by stating that you “never find a decent job” or “always forget things”

If you can relate to most of the above points chances are that your self-esteem could do with a boost. Although it is hard not to believe the critic when it strikes, you must keep in mind that listening to it reinforces its power. The more powerful it becomes, the worse you feel about yourself. Listen to your self-talk when you interact with people, when you feel hurt or rejected and in other emotional situations. This is when your critic often strikes.Exercise 1: A useful exercise to try is to write down all the critical thoughts you have during one whole day. Then think about how each makes you feels and how it makes you react. What is each statement trying to help you avoid feeling? You may start to see a pattern, or a particular theme may be emerging. Next you need to learn to talk back to the critic when he is being critical. You might choose statements like:

This is nonsense! Stop this rubbish! Shut up! To hell with this! or No more lies! You can make up your own, as long as it means something to you.After you have immobilized the critic you need to replace the negative message with a positive affirmation. Respond with statements like: “I am alive and aware and trying my best, therefore I am a worthy and good person” or “Struggling to make things work is something we all must do to survive. I am just trying to live my life and do the best, like everyone else”. Whichever statement you construct, it is important to believe it. Use the affirmation whenever the critic attacks. Alternatively you may make-up different affirmations for each critical theme you are dealing with, for example: “We all make mistakes and this one does not hurt me. It happened so I can learn form it. I am still alive and happy and life goes on” or “I don’t need to be the best at everything. As long as I’ve tried my best, I have succeeded”.2. Self-perception - People with low self-esteem don’t see themselves clearly. They tend to exaggerate their negatives aspects and minimize their assets. In order to see themselves in perspective they need to look at their worth in a more realistic manner.Exercise 2: Write down as many words and statements to describe yourself. Make references to all aspects including your physical appearance, personality, how you interact with others, how you think others see you, your work, studies and daily performance, your mental functioning and your sexuality. When you have finished the list, rate each statement as either positive, negative or neither. This exercise should show you that we all have both positive and negative qualities. Most people will have a similar ratio of positive to negative qualities. When the critic strikes, read your positive list and be thankful for the good qualities that you possess.

Distorted thoughts - Distorted thinking warps your sense of reality, as well as preventing you the chance to evaluate a situation rationally. You may fall into a pattern of negative thinking, which further depletes your self-esteem. There are several tell-tale signs that may suggest this problem:
Overgeneralization- out of one event you stereotype all other related events as being the same. This is a constricting attitude, where one failure may result in labeling yourself as totally incompetent in that field. If this relates to you, you may find yourself using words like everyone, every, all, always and never.
Mind-reading - You assume that you know what someone is thinking, and this is usually something negative about yourself. In reality, no-one has the power to know what others are thinking.
Filtering - you see or hear only a fraction of what has occurred. You often focus on the negative aspects, and ignore the compliments someone may have given you. Words which creep into your thoughts may include: stupid, loss, unfair and hurt.
Universal labeling - you apply stereotyped labels to a whole group of people, behaviours, items or experiences. This practice may inhibit you learning and growing as a human being. You tend to put yourself down with regard to your looks, relationships, intelligence and performance.
Polarized thoughts - You divide all your experiences into either this or that. There are no shades of grey in your life, just black and white. The problem with this is that no-one can be perfect all the time, and when you do the ‘wrong’ thing instead of the ‘right’ thing, your self-esteem suffers. An example of this may occur when you decide that you will get an A+ on the assignment, or otherwise you are a complete fool.
Blame - You blame yourself for everything, whether it is your fault or not. This often manifests itself in constantly apologizing to others for things out of your control.
Emotional reasoning - You assume that the world around you changes in accordance with your changing feelings. A classic example may be when you feel fat so you assume that you are fat.
Control issues - you may feel you are responsible for all around you (over-controlling) or otherwise you feel that you have no control (under-control).

Exrecise 3: Write down all the statements your inner critic says throughout one day. Beside each one, decide which distortion from above pertains to each statement. Then make up a rebuttal for each statement. For example: The thought might be “I will not get the job. He will see how incompetent and nervous I am”. The distortion here is mind-reading. An appropriate rebuttal may be “I cannot know what he is thinking. He will make up his own mind about me”. This technique will help you focus one seeing the positive side of a situation. You may choose to write some specific rebuttals for themes that are recurring, for example, if you often feel incompetent at work, or think that all men are liars.Improving your self-esteem requires a conscientious effort on your behalf. Although the above exercises are great for getting started, remember that there are many more things that you can do to help you along the way. Each of you will have unique circumstances that have shaped who you are, so you need to explore what techniques work best for you.Another technique that may be beneficial is visualization. Visualization can be a powerful tool that allows you to link into your subconscious mind. Since your mind cannot differentiate between reality and what you visualize, you can trick your mind into believing what you imagine, or visualize. You often find yourself behaving as though what you have imagined is true.The person with low self-esteem is already applying the technique of visualization, but in reverse. They concentrate on the negative side of a situation, and soon enough this belief becomes deeply engrained in their minds. Try seeing yourself as confident, attractive, happy and so on, instead of fueling the critic’s path of destruction. With a little awareness, you can start to change those negative patterns that lead to social isolation, lack of confidence or non-assertiveness. And as you beam with high self-esteem you will notice yourself becoming more confident, satisfied and willing to take the risks to enjoy life and live life to the fullest.

OILS AINT OILS- THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ESSENTIAL AND FRAGRANCE OILS - by Izabella Siodmak

Wellbeing Magazine

Do you know the difference between essential oils and fragrant oils? Although the word ‘aromatherapy’ was coined by Gattefosse, a chemist, early last century, many of us are still confused about what these essential oils are and what they do. Let’s have a closer look at how to use essential oils to obtain therapeutic benefits and why synthetic fragrance oils can never compare in therapeutic benefit.

Gattefosse, a chemist, discovered aromatherapy purely by accident. Whilst working in his laboratory, he suffered a burn, which left him with no choice but to plunge his arm in the nearest cold liquid. This liquid happened to be that of lavender extract. With time, he became intrigued at his skin’s rapid rate of healing, with no scar tissue formation. From such humble beginnings, aromatherapy began. And lavender oil, to this day, is still recognized as one of the most exceptional rejuvenating and healing oils for the skin .

So what are these superb essential oils? They are concentrated extracts obtained form a plant species which has a high volatile oil content. Each essential oil is a unique blend of many natural chemicals, each possessing a different action. The synergy between these compounds explains why one essential oil can act upon several different symptoms.

When a synthetic fragrance oil is manufactured, only one or a few of the many chemicals found naturally, is synthesized. This is usually the compound that gives rise to the specific aroma. Hence we may be fooled into thinking that it smells like the real thing. We may like the aroma but these cheap versions offer no therapeutic benefit.

Essential oils, on the other hand, have several things in common. They are antiseptic, they can act on the central nervous system to either stimulate or sedate and they increase the number of circulating white blood cells (increase our resistance to disease). Each oil has different chemical components so will exert its own unique effects.

Admittedly most quality essential oils are more expensive than the synthetic versions. This price is only a reflection of the extraction and importation costs. When you consider that it takes 100kg of rose petals to make just 250ml of rose essential oil, you can justify this seemingly high cost. Some species are also imported from other countries, whilst some plants require expensive equipment to extract the essences.

The high cost of manufacture has lead to the synthetic and cheap production of fragrance oils. Some manufacturers even charge the same price for the synthetic version, making a substantial profit. Others mix a small quantity of essential oil with a vegetable carrier oil and sell this as one hundred percent pure. This cut essential oil, although natural, has a fraction of the potency of a pure essential oil.

There are a few telltale signs to help distinguish these impostors. Obviously if the oil smells fake or is too overpowering, it is best to avoid that brand. If the bottle does not contain a botanical name of the extracted species and directions on use this may also indicate an unreliable source. You can also place a few drops on a brown paper bag, and if a high amount of fat soaks into the bag, chances are that the oil has been cut with a vegetable carrier oil. Although essential oils are so named, they are not in fact oils.

Plants themselves use essential oils for their own survival, employing then to aid in growth and production of certain chemicals. The essential oils also repel certain pests whilst attracting other insects. Most importantly, though, the plants use the essential oils to protect themselves from disease. You can see that by applying these essences of nature for ourselves, we can obtain the same therapeutic benefits.

Essential oils work in two ways. One is through our sense of smell, which is closely linked to our emotions via the limbic part of our brain. The second way that they work is via absorption through the skin. This method allows essential oils to then enter the circulatory system, which will disperse the oils to specific organs and systems. So you can see that not only do they work on the physical level but also on the emotional and psychological.

Therapeutically, essential oils are used for relieving a variety of symptoms and for general well-being. They benefit conditions ranging from depression to hyperactivity, sunburn, exhaustion, stress and headaches. The list is endless and many of the benefits are now being scientifically proven.

Essential oils must be diluted because of their highly concentrated nature. Hence they are not to be used internally without instructions from a qualified aromatherapist or naturopath. As a general rule the essential oils needed to be diluted to about 5%. This equates to half the number of drops of the volume of carrier oil used, for example, 15 drops total in 30ml carrier oil.

Essential oils can be used in several ways. The easiest is to use them in an oil burner (vaporizer). Incidentally, you only have to use the burner for one to two hours and the effects last of up to eight hours. It’s an easy way to create a particular mood, say for a party, or an intimate night or to sedate hyperactive kids. And, even though they can be reasonably expensive, they last a long time because only a few drops are used at a time.

.It is a good idea to use from two to five oils mixed together. Not only does this enhances their synergistic effect, but lets you create a personal aroma. You may chose to mix essential oils that are all stimulating prior to commencing study. Alternatively, you may choose ones that are sedating before retiring to bed. You have the freedom to derive your own medicaments for your personal use.

Another method of using essential oils is through massage. To use essential oils externally they must be diluted with a base carrier oil in the manner mentioned above. The carrier oil also helps the skin absorb the essential oil. In his research, Gattefosse, the founder of aromatherapy, discovered that essential oils can take from 30 minutes to 12 hours to be absorbed totally by the body.

The dilution with a base carrier oil is important to consider. You can chose from a variety of these oils, for example: Macadamia oil, Grapeseed oil, Avocado oil etc. Each has its own benefits and should be chosen according to skin condition and desired effect. For example, Evening Primrose oil helps retain moisture and keeps the skin smooth. This may be suitable for aged and dry skin. Grapeseed oil , on the other hand, is perfect for adolescent skin. It has cleansing and purifying effects upon blemished and unclear skin.

Essential oils can be used in a bath or even a foot-bath. This method is doubly effective because you are involving the sense of smell and the absorption of the essences via the skin. Remember to dilute the essential oils with the carrier oil or, alternatively, you can use full-cream milk. Both have the same action of dispersing the essential oil.

Facial steams can also incorporate essential oils. This is particularly useful for catarrhal states, flus and colds. Antiseptic and mucolytic essential oils like Eucalyptus and Peppermint are recommended for this purpose. The left over water and essential oils can then perhaps be used as a compress on the chest area.

Other ideas to consider are: natural pesticides, placing a few drops on handkerchief to inhale for runny noses, making your own creams and lotions, essential floral waters, antiseptic gargle/ mouthwash, air-freshener , facial mists, shampoos and other beauty products , placing a few drops in a pot pouri bowl, a few drops of a sedating essential oil on pillow prior to sleep or in with the laundry to make the clothes smell extra-fresh…..

Here are some suggested blends:

Clear Thinking Blend Party Time Blend
Basil, Lemon, Peppermint, Rosemary Orange, Lemon, Frankincense

Relaxing Blend Loving Blend
Chamomile, Lavender, Marjoram Clary Sage, Ylang Ylang, Neroli

Provided that you follow safety instructions, essential oils are safe and free of side-effects. They have the added advantage that they are natural. Aromatherapy doesn’t offer you a synthetic product, pill, powder, golden panacea or magic cure. It does, however, utilize the perfect essence of nature, to capture her potent synergy and therapeutic benefits for us to use.

The principle of aromatherapy is simple, yet agreeable. From its moment of birth, when Gattefosse immersed his burning arm in lavender oil, the evolution of aromatherapy was purposeful, justifiable and most importantly therapeutically beneficial for a wide range of emotional, spiritual and physical imbalances..

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