Aromatherapy
Aromatherapy is the ancient practice of diffusing distilled aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering mood and assisting psychological health through our olfactory senses. These airborne particles also act to disinfect a room because of their anti bacterial and antiseptic properties. Aroma therapy is often offered as a complementary medicine, used in addition to other treatment regimes.
It would be hard to date the use of aroma therapy in history. The ancients coveted the hygienic, therapeutic and ritualistic benefits of this practice. Aromatherapy was widely used as an antiseptic agent in hospitals for the treatment of battlefield wounds and immunological conditions last century, solidifying the use of aroma therapy by the modern medical industry.
Historically, plant based aromatic compounds have been employed as medicines since the invention of distillation in the eleventh century and their use as cosmetics, perfumes and drugs was widely accepted.
In current times, due the advent of updated methods of distillation the use of aromatic compounds has increased dramatically and in some cases replaced the use of their equivalent pharmaceutical counterparts, as in the case of Lavender being widely prescribed for relaxation as opposed to valerian based tablets.
This is because essential oils are now produced in greater volumes and variety making different grades and qualities readily available in the marketplace. Aromatic compounds can now be used for internal and topical applications.
Massage Aromatherapy
This modality is also referred to as aroma touch by many practitioners and combines massage with the use of Aromatherapy. The combination of these healing modalities is considered to be extremely effective.
