The most powerful medicine lies within us and within the garden and can be tapped into through aromatherapy sessions.
Traditional aromatherapy is the use of pure essential oils which are the 'essence' of the plant. They are the liquids distilled from the stems, leaves, roots, and flowers. With a little care, you can personalize your session with flowers and herbs from your garden.
To make your own essential oils for aromatherapy sessions you will need the following:
- One cup of freshly cut flowers (You will use 4 cups total)
- Plastic zip-lock bags.
- A wooden kitchen mallet.
- Cheesecloth
- Funnel
- Two mason jars with rubber rings. (Metal will corrode and ruin the oil)
- Cobalt or Amber glass rubber stoppered bottles.
- 1/2 cup of sweet almond oil.
Allow four days to create your own essential oils. Each day, fill a zip-lock bag with one cup of flowers. Once sealed, gently pummel the bag with the kitchen mallet to release the plant oils.
Once sufficiently bruised, pour the flowers into the jar and add the sweet almond oil. Shake to mix and saturate. Leave the jar in a warm place. During mild summers, let it warm in your garden.
Use the cheesecloth as a strainer and squeeze the cloth to transfer the oil from one jar to another each day. Discard the used flowers that collect in the cheesecloth.
Repeat for three days. Funnel the collected oils into the colored glass bottles and store in a cool, dark place until you are ready to enjoy their therapeutic benefits.
To release the aromas of your essential oils, boil two cups of water, adding no more than 10 drops of oil. The essence will soon fill the room as the steam rises. A quicker,more intense method is to add 3-4 drops to a tissue or cloth. Keep it near you and inhale its healing vapors.
A word of caution, should you forgo making your own and buy your essential oils, be sure to use a carrier oil like sweet almond oil as it can be an irritant.
You can use essential oils in aromatherapy sessions to aid in just about anything; from treating depression and calming anxieties to alleviating menstrual cramps. Now that you know how to make your own essential oils, here are a few ideas:
To treat depression through aromatherapy, try the essential oils of rose, sandalwood or bergamot. They can be used alone with 3 to 5 drops or blended. Should you choose to blend, for this recipe use one drop of bergamot, one drop of rose, and three drops of sandalwood.
Calm anxieties with lavender and chamomile. Use peppermint and jasmine to ease menstrual cramps as well as combat exhaustion. These are also effective oils for relaxation. Add a few drops to your bath and soothe your psyche as you heal your body.
Self healing is possible through the power of intention combined with the power of plant essences. Consult 'The Art of Aromatherapy' and 'the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy and Herbalism' to grow your aromatherapy sessions into an art that is richly complex and yet simple to execute.
Whether you indulge in homemade aromatherapy sessions or with a professional, it is time well spent with the Self. All that's needed to complete thse aromatherapy sessions is a connection to Spirit and a positive intention.
