Aromatherapy

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Some people performing-or receiving-massage prefer to use some form of lubricant, although this is not an essential part of massage. Recently massage with aromatherapy oils became extremely popular, and aromatherapy generally became associated with relaxation and the removal of the effects of stress as well as with natural healing and alternative medicine. Aromatherapy is a kind of holistic therapy that uses essential oils.

It aims not only to achieve relaxation and healing but also to achieve and maintain physical and mental equilibrium. The use of aromatic oils in healing is an ancient one. They were used in ancient Egypt almost 3000 years before Christ for medicinal as well as cosmetic purposes and for embalming their dead.

The Greeks also made use of plants and herbs in medicine, as did the Arab physicians later. Knights who had taken part in the Crusades brought back from the East to Europe perfumes and the knowledge of how to distil them. The Europeans did not have many of the aromatic, gum-yielding trees that were common in the East, but they used the aromatic shrubs that were native to the Mediterranean, such as lavender, rosemary and thyme, together with other herbs and plants.

Many forms of plant medicine were used in Europe throughout the Middle Ages and during the Tudor era. By the 17th century, however, chemical compounds were beginning to replace the use of plants in medicine, although many of the active ingredients of medicinal plants, such as quinine, morphine and atropine, found a place in the new medicine. The plant-based substances, especially in the 20th century, began to be replaced by synthetic drugs.

Then, in the last few decades, there came a movement towards natural things generally and a movement towards natural things in medicine in particular. There was a reaction against formal medicine, and various forms of alternative medicine began to be popular. These included acupuncture, homoeopathy, herbal medicine, hypnosis, and so on, and particular attention was placed on holistic medicine, to treating the body and the mind as a whole.

As part of the movement towards natural, non-drug-based forms of medicine, aromatherapy has become very popular, and the essential oils have become generally available, although these tend to vary in quality.

Not everyone uses aromatherapy to cure or relieve medical disorders. Others use it because it gives them a sense of wellbeing, and many use it for purposes of relaxation. It is now common for people to combine massage and aromatherapy to help them relax by having a massage with essential oils either from a friend or family member or from a professional masseur or masseuse.

When combined with base oils to dilute them, the essential oils are very readily absorbed through the skin, and so they make the ideal massage oil. The person applying the massage will choose a blend of oils to suit the particular client, and a great deal of skill is required to get this right. Essential oils should not be used neat.

People who regularly have massage sessions with a blend of oils especially designed to relax them often indicate that they are left after the massage sessions with a great sense of calm and peace, which is an excellent frame of mind for exploring one's deeper self.

The essential oils, however, need not be used just as a massage lubricant to achieve relaxation. Many people use a few drops of essential oils in a bath to rid themselves of stress and become more relaxed. Others prefer to use them as an inhalation. In both these cases, as with massage, it is important to find out about the properties and uses of the various essential oils because by no means all of them make you feel relaxed, some having the effect of stimulating you.

As has been indicated above, the extent to which relaxation helps people to explore their inner selves depends to a great extent on the degree of relaxation achieved. The deeper the degree of relaxation, the more likely it is that you will be able to get more in touch with yourself. See also Aromatherapy.