Toshali Sands

Aromatherapy: Medicinal Scents
The rising popularity of alternative or holistic therapy can be gauged from the fact that today sense of smell is also being used as a therapy to treat an amassing variety of ailments including stress. Flowers, plants, herbs and spices, everyday items in our gardens or even our food, are natural antidotes to a variety of ailments. Preventive treatments like aromatherapy are using a combination of modern science and ancient wisdom to produce curatives which also double as cosmetic aids. In fact, the recuperative and soothing effects of clovers, plants and herbs have been known for centuries. Rose petals were considered the secret of Empress Noor Jehan’s fabled beauty. Incense used in religious rituals also possessed the properties to soothe the mind, as did Indian myrrh and dhup made from juniper shurbs, used extensively in temples. All thee performed a dual role-religious and therapeutic. Now, with a growing demand for natural cures and remedies, aromatherapy is flowering again, this tie packaged in attractive tubes and bottles and promising to curve everything from rheumatism to diabetes psychological problems.

Aromatherapya is a holistic healing process for the body and mind. The basis lies in the essential oils contained in plant materials. These can be found in leaves, flowers, roots, seeds, bark and resin. These oils are highly concentrated and when extracted can either be used in a pure from or diluted/ blended with other oils to produce the required strength. Essential oils are medicinal and fragrantle and travel through the bloodstream reaching with hormones and enzymes physiology, the oil sedate or stimulate the system. When the fragrance is inhaled, the nerve-ends in the nose transmit pleasurable signals to the brain which reacts to the positive power of the fragrant aroma inducing pleasant memories, restoring emotional balance and encouraging relaxation and energisation. Many of these fragrant oils have antiseptic and antitoxic qualities and often act as an antidote to viral infections, to inflammation, achees and pains. In India, Ayurveda embraced herbs and aromatics as an important part of the philosophy of healing, using fresh herbs, dried herbs such as tea or herbs compounded into a powder and often band rolled into pills, using fresh plant juices. In early times essential oil extraction involved pounding and grinding of fresh or dried herb, and subsequent extraction of the essential oil. The cart of steam distillation, using ceramic or pottery stills was perfected three to four thousand years ago and is still in use today. Trade and wars brought many new herbs to India from the Far Eas, the Middle East, Egypt and Africa. Distillation expertise from Arabia followed for the marking of attars, using a codistilaltion method in which a very light violate essential component, such as jasmine, could be distilled with a very heavy essential oil component like sandalwood, where the heavier component trapped the light flowery aroma. Today essential oil production continues to be an important industry in many small village where distillation apparatus designs have not changed for 3,000 years Aromatherapy has regained popularity only two decades back. Various products based on essential oils and natural ingredients are available designed to alter to enhance moods and treat a range of ailments form migraine to hypertension and, arthritis.