What are essential oils
If you have ever enjoyed the scent of a rose, you’ve experienced the aromatic qualities of essential oils. These naturally occurring, volatile aromatic compounds are found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants. They can be both beautifully and powerfully fragrant. Essential oils give plants their distinctive smells, essential oils protect plants and play a role in plant pollination. In addition to plant benefits, essential oils extracted from plants can be enjoyed for their beautiful fragrance and are used in beauty products for that reason and some of them are even suitable as a food flavouring.
But what exactly is a volatile aromatic compound? In short, these compounds are small organic molecules that tend to change quickly from their solid or liquid state to a gas at room temperature. They are called volatile because they change state quickly. When you first open a bottle of essential oil, you instantly notice that the aroma is potent and you can smell it typically even from some distance. The physical and chemical properties of the volatile aromatic compounds that compose essential oils allow them to quickly move through the air and directly interact with the olfactory sensors in the nose or, when applied topically, they enter the skin and the blood stream. Such unique properties make essential oils ideal for applications in aromatherapy – using these compounds from plants to help maintain a healthy body and mind – as well as other applications. The type of volatile aromatic compounds present in an essential oil determines both the oil’s aroma and the benefits it offers.
Over 3,000 varieties of volatile aromatic compounds have been identified to date. The nature of an essential oil varies from plant to plant, within botanical families, and from species to species. The delicate ratio of aromatic constituents found in any given essential oil are what make it unique and give it specific benefits. Even with pure essential oils the composition of the oil can vary depending on the time of day, season, geographic location, method and duration of distillation, year grown, and the weather, making every step of the production process a critical determinant of the overall quality of the essential oil product.
Essential oils can be used for a wide range of emotional and physical wellness applications. They can be used as single essential oils or in complex essential oil blends depending on user experience and desired benefit.
At my practice I use essential oils in the Aroma Touch Technique or, if appropriate and/or desired by the client, as part of a Reiki healing.
What is the Aroma Touch Technique?
The Aroma Touch Technique is a specialised Aroma Therapy treatment designed to bring the body back into balance and harmony with the aid of certified pure therapeutic grade essential oils. It is a simple yet powerful technique that provides individuals with a deeply relaxing and uplifting experience. Each of the eight essential oils used during the Aroma Touch Technique was carefully selected by doTERRA for its powerful aromatic properties and its powerful effect on the body and mind when combined in this way. When receiving the Aroma Touch Technique, the client is lying undressed from the waist up and face down on a comfortable massage table while the oils are applied to the meridians and visceral contact points of the back and feet. The application takes about 45 minutes and is followed by a short resting period to give the oils a chance to begin to work their magic. The essential oils from doTERRA have changed my life and enriched my life in a way I could never have imagined and I simply cannot imagine my life without them. Let’s bring this magic into your life too!
