Jewell Touch Natural Therapies

Wholistic Essential Oil and Flower Essence Therapy

Aromatherapy essential oils can be incorporated into your  session, or tailor-made in products  eg creams, balms, roll ons and perfumes. As some essential oils can interact with medications you may be taking, these will be cross checked and note taken of any oils to avoid. A product or blend tailored to your needs can be made and is also available for home use.

Aromatherapy is also known as Essential Oil therapy. 

Essential Oil therapy utilizes knowledge of the chemical properties, energetic and subtle vibrational effects of the the oils.  Aspects of your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health may benefit from the use of essential oils specially selected for specific conditions or purposes.

The following excerpt explains how essential oils are used in therapy.

The therapist works with the client to achieve a result. The aim is to treat the whole person, body, mind and spirit, not just the symptoms, so that a sense of wellbeing and responsibility for one’s health can be achieved.

Fragrance researchers have noted that odours can and do influence mood, evoke emotions, counteract stress and reduce high blood pressure. They can also have an influence on hormonal response and can influence the cortical areas of the brain that are associated with memory and learning. Aromatherapy is in use in hospitals, nursing homes, day spas the beauty industry and natural therapies to name a few.

Source: The Complete Guide to Aromatherapy Salvatore Battaglia, 2nd Edition, 2003

Spirit of Woman Australian Wild Flower Essences

Flower essences are the vibrational life force of the plant and , like essential oils, have been used throughout history.  Dr. Edward Bach revived the art in the 1930s and today essences are widely used.

Annie Meredith, author and internationally acclaimed Energy Medicine Teacher,  has developed the Spirit of Woman Wild Flower Essences range at Mt Nebo in South East Queensland.  She advises that essences work by adding a moderating energy vibration to the body's energy system, which cancels the energy frequency of imbalance in the body and emotions.  This creates a new energy wave in the body, which eventually replaces the imbalance.

You may be interested in how essential oils are obtained from plants.  If so, there is information below.

What are Essences and Essential Oils

Essential oils and essences may be found in the roots, bark, stems, leaf, flower, fruit or peel of plants. The essence may be stored in the same cell in which it is made or it may pass into a storage sac or duct. In some plants the cells are just below the surface of the leaf, in others, minute hairs on the leaf contain storage ducts. Just brushing against or crushing the leaf can release the aroma. In some woody plants and trees, the essence is stored in ducts in the fibrous parts of the wood or bark and needs to be crushed and broken down to extract the essence. In citrus fruits, the essence can be found in large storage sacs in the peel.

Essences can be extracted by pressure, for example from the peel of citrus fruits. They may be extracted by steam distillation, in which case they are called essential oils, an example being lavender. Some are produced by solvent extraction and are called absolutes including flowers such as jasmine, neroli and tuberose. The more oil glands or ducts present in the plant, the higher the yield of essential oil and therefore the lower the cost of the oil. Essential oil is commonly used as a general term for essences, essential oils and absolutes.

How is an essential oil formed?

Plant essences are very chemically complex structures. Using energy obtained from sunlight, the plant combines the chemical elements such as carbon, oxygen and hydrogen found in the air, soil and water around it and, from these atoms, constructs hundreds of different aromatic molecules. It is the unique combination of molecules found in each plant that gives it its characteristic perfume and therapeutic properties.

The many constituents in the oils blend together and balance each other’s effects. When two or more oils are blended together, the chemicals making up each oil recombine with each other and such blends are sometimes more active than any of the oils used singly. This is known as synergy. Lavender is known to increase the activity of other oils when included in a blend.

Source: Aromatherapy an A to Z , Patricia Davis 2002

If you are interested in the fascinating history of essential oil usage from ancient Egyptian times to the present day, there is information below.

History and Use of Essential Oils and Essences.

What we now know as Aromatherapy has its origins in ancient healing practices.

Egypt used aromatic substances and incense was burned for national celebrations and various ceremonies. Kyphi was one of the best known perfumes and was burnt in the temples. Plutarch reputedly said that kyphi had the ability to relieve anxiety, brighten dreams and heal the soul.

Greece is noted for the first treatise on scent, the study "Concerning Odours" by Theoprastus. Dioscorides wrote a treatise on herbal medicine. Known aromatics include myrrh, juniper, marjoram and cypress.

Roman armies helped spread the knowledge of Mediterranean healing plants as they travelled around Europe. Rose was well loved by the Romans.

India is known for cardamom, Tulsi basil, jasmine, champaka, lotus, sandalwood, vetiver and patchouli amongst others.

China gave us the citrus species and camphor tree.

Middle East   When Europe went through the Dark Ages, the use of aromatics was widespread in the Middle East. The art of distillation was perfected by the Persians, including glassware that could withstand the heat of distilling. Attar of rose was popular. The Malay Peninsula provided nutmeg, mace and cloves.

Middle Ages    With the decline of the Roman Empire, most knowledge of aromatics was lost for some time. Foul odours were thought to be the cause of most diseases. Strongly aromatic herbs were used to mask them and were thought to be useful in both preventing and curing disease. Cloves, cinnamon and other aromatic herbs were used.

Modern Medicine

Paracelsus laid the foundations of both modern and alternative medicine. Modern medicine began to become more interested in the active constituents and chemicals rather than the entire plant. In the 17th century, English herbalists used essential oils. Until the end of the 19th century, both doctors and herbalists used essential oils. Dosages had been ascertained as well as the need for safety around internal use. Over time the medical fraternity moved away from using the whole plant and toward using the active constituents which could also be made synthetically.

France

In the late 1800s, the antimicrobial properties of essential oils were noted. In the flower growing areas of France, the people who processed the flowers and herbs were noted to have a lower incidence of tuberculosis which was a common disease of the time. It was thought that the essential oils in the plants were responsible. In 1887 the first recorded laboratory test on the antibacterial properties of the essential oil was performed. In the 1880s the micro-organisms of glandular and yellow fevers were shown, in published studies, to be easily killed by essential oils. Some of the oils studied were oregano, Chinese cinnamon, angelica and geranium.

During World War One, Gattefosse used essential oils in military hospitals for the treatment of wounded soldiers. His background as a chemist and perfumer enabled him to understand both the chemistry and psychotherapeutic benefits of essential oils. In the 1930s, Gattefosse, developed aromatherapie as a medically based therapy using essential oils whose properties were researched and proven and were seen as equal to conventional drugs of the time.

In 1939, Albert Couvreur published a book on the medicinal properties of essential oils. In the Indochina war of 1948-1959, Dr Jean Valnet, an army surgeon, began to use essential oils with success as antiseptics in the treatment of war wounds After the war he continued using essential oils in his practice and in 1964 published a text Aromatherapie. Another doctor, Belauche, developed a scientifically based medical application of essential oils based on scientific research.

Margaret Maury, a French biochemist and beautician created a link between aromatherapy and the beauty industry. In 1959 at a beauty therapy conference, she and Micheline Arcier met and Micheline subsequently trained with her and Dr. Jean Valnet and later developed an aromatherapy massage technique which also incorporates Swedish massage, neuromuscular massage, lymphatic massage, reflexology, acupressure and polarity therapy.

England

In 1977, Robert Tisserand, expert in aromatherapy and essential oil research, combined the medical application with a wholistic, esoteric view. He wrote the first aromatherapy book in the English language.

Today

Five percent of all essential oil produced today is used in aromatherapy. The other uses are in the food flavouring, perfume, pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing industries.