Aromatherapy: Balancing Yin and Yang - a TCM Approach

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Aromatherapy: Balancing Yin and Yang - a TCM Approach

In this modern world it is easy to become imbalanced with so many responsibilities such as family, work, friends, house duties as well as distractions everywhere - from social media, to gossip, as well as bad news, and social issues. Too much doing (yang), and not enough time being (yin) leads to imbalance (emotionally, mentally and energetically) and physiological stress. On the contrary, too much sitting around (yin) and not enough exercise (yang) also leads to imbalance and lack of energy (to gain energy, you need to use it).

Essential oils affect your body physiologically -  creating change in the mind, emotions, and hormones via the limbic system in the brain as well as making their way into the bloodstream and affecting the different systems in the body such as the respiratory system, digestive system, musculoskeletal system, and so on. However this life force (Qi) that runs through the meridians in the body is also influenced by essential oils. 

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Aromatherapy: Part 3 - Emotions

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Aromatherapy: Part 3 - Emotions

I will now delve into the topic of using essential oils to improve our emotional state. Essential oils are complex and unaltered from nature. Even if scientists try they can never truly be recreated in a laboratory. Their many components create a synergistic value that is in biochemical harmony with our bodies because we too are part of nature. Many aromatherapists, such as myself, like to use essential oils as a tool to help bring our minds and emotions back to a state of balance and harmony. We see aromatherapy as both an art and a science. Most of all, aromatherapy is very enjoyable - it is sensuous and restorative and works on the mind and emotions rapidly.

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Aromatherapy: Part 2 - The Science

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Aromatherapy: Part 2 - The Science

Inhalation of essential oils is the best way to assist with emotional problems such as stress, anxiety and depression as it reaches the limbic system in the brain quickly. The forebrain is the largest portion of the brain and consists of the two cerebral hemispheres (left brain, right brain) and also contains the limbic system. The limbic system consists of many parts. These parts control integration of information from our senses, voluntary movement, higher abstract thought, logic, speech and emotions. The limbic system establishes emotional states (happiness, fear, anger) and links to both conscious responses such as movement, as well as autonomic (unconscious) functions including hormones. It also facilitates memory storage and retrieval. 

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Restoring Calm: Massage for Stress Relief

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Restoring Calm: Massage for Stress Relief

Massage therapy is one of the best treatments for stress. It is important to manage stress, as it can lead to exhaustion, burnout and even to disease in the body. 

The sympathetic nervous system triggers the stress response and it forms part of the autonomic nervous system. The other part of the autonomic nervous system is the parasympathetic nervous system which controls the "relaxation response" otherwise known as "rest and digest". Activating the parasympathetic nervous systems turns off those harmful biochemical reactions so that our heart rate returns to normal, our body can digest properly, our immune system can work well again and our body can relax. So essentially we need to encourage the parasympathetic nervous system to take over as often as possible, and massage therapy is a great way to do this.

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Restoring the Mind-Body Connection during Trauma Recovery

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Restoring the Mind-Body Connection during Trauma Recovery

Dr van der Kolk advises: "The big issue for traumatised people is that they don’t own themselves anymore. Any loud sound, anybody insulting them, hurting them, saying bad things, can hijack them away from themselves. And so what we have learned is that what makes you resilient to trauma is to own yourself fully...." He goes on to say "So trauma treatment starts at the foundation of a body that can sleep, a body that can rest, a body that feels safe, a body that can move." On these discoveries, it is clear that therapies involving the body such as yoga and massage (used in a mindful way and as part of an integrative treatment program) will be beneficial for many traumatised people.

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