Aromatherapy and Palo Santo
Aromatherapy is an ancient practice that uses pleasant-smelling aromatic materials like essential oils and other compounds to help you reduce stress, anxiety and improve sleep.
Anything from bath salts in the tub to massages in professional parlors or even smudging your house with burning incense can be considered aromatherapy.
History
The use of essential oils and pleasant smells for therapeutic, spiritual, hygienic and ritualistic purposes goes back to ancient civilizations including India, China, Egypt, Greece and Rome, who used them in cosmetics, perfumes and drugs.
For Orthodox Christians, we can find frankincense and other sweet smelling resins being used by priests in churches. Recently, frankincense has been categorized as a psychoactive antidepressant.
In the ancient world, oils were an important part of daily life, especially for the rich. Sometimes they were even used as forms of payment since they were considered a luxury item.
Egyptians used oils for embalming their deadÂč. And the Romans had different ways of improving the taste of wine by adding various sorts of plant extracts.
Hippocrates named the âfather of medicineâ used fragrant smoke to take advantage of the many benefits of plants.
In the Roman Empire, Dioscorides wrote a book called âDe Materia Medicaâ where he lists the medicinal properties of over 500 plants and how to distill aromatic water from them, rather than oils.
Avicenna, a Persian inventor, used steam distillation to isolate oils from plants in the eleventh century, revolutionizing the practice.
In the 12th century, Hildegard grew and distilled lavender for his medicines and in the 13th century, the pharmaceutical industry started using essential oils in their products.
In the 14th century, during the Black Death, millions of people lost their lives, but the importance of plants grew in the eyes of society.
Remember the plague doctors? They used to stuff the inside of those long beaks with dried, pleasant-smelling plants to avoid contracting diseases. Or course, it was more likely that the masks themselves acted as a filter and protected them from the plague rather than the plants but the association between plants, essential oils and health had already begun to settle.
Starting with the 15th century, more and more plants were being used to distill oils, including frankincense, rose, juniper, sage and rosemary. Paracelsus, an alchemist, first uses the term âessenceâ for the oils he studied.
By the 16th century, anyone could buy essential oils from the pharmacy and in the 17th century, perfumes were considered to be an art form, separating from the usual medicinal uses.
The perfume industry is still booming and profitable today!
During the 19th century, perfume producers employed jewelers, glass and crystal artisans, chemists and a long list of other specialists to create and design both the perfume itself and the beautiful bottle to hold it in.
As modern medicine emerged, aromatherapy lost some of its importance but studies into its benefits still had interest.
In 1928, Maurice GattefossĂ©, a French chemist, publishes âAromathĂ©rapie: Les Huiles essentielles hormones vĂ©gĂ©talesâ which is translated to English and still read worldwide even todayÂČ.
Some other notable aromatherapists of the 20th century were Jean ValnetÂł, Madam Marguerite MauryâŽ, and Robert B. Tisserandâ”, who studied and developed new techniques for their trade.
Nowadays, with the choking, stressful life in urban areas, interest in natural products has risen again. While aromatherapy is still somewhat looked down upon, it has a rich history in our collective cultures.
How does it work?
Mostly, aromatherapy acts through your sense of smell and can be absorbed through your skin.
Some examples are:
- Diffusers
- Spritzers/sprays
- Inhalers
- Bath salts/gels
- Body oils/creams/lotions
- Facial steamers and masks
- Compresses (hot or cold)
- Incense or sticks of wood that can be burned
If you like using essential oils, always make sure they are from a reputable producer and that they are correctly regulated. Whatever scent you want depends entirely on your personal preference. There are a lot of popular ones like; cypress, eucalyptus, fennel, geranium, ginger, lavender, lemon, lemongrass, mandarin, peppermint, chamomile, rose, rosemary, tea tree, ylang-ylang and many others.
They arenât the only way to get a nice feeling though, sometimes just having flowers in your house is enough.
Safety and reliability
Aromatherapy has been seen as âalternativeâ medicine for many years, and while the benefits of smelling nice things and feeling clean can easily be proven, there has also been a lot of misuse and misinformation about what this practice can do. Either by naĂŻve believers who think some essential oils can cure any ailment or those looking only for profit who made false claims, aromatherapy has gained something of a bad reputation.
Most of the essential oils on the market arenât regulated, so always be careful what you buy and how you apply it. Using them topically can potentially irritate the skin or provoke allergic reactions.
Just like any other tool used to make us feel better, aromatherapy is not a miracle worker and it should be used as an added benefit to your daily life.
A healthy diet, working out and having a regular sleep schedule are essential to feeling happy.
Getting a fragrant massage or burning a piece of Palo Santo wood in your home will brighten your day – which is important, but wonât cure any underlying medical problems. As always, we recommend consulting your medical professional for any serious issue.
That being said, aromatherapy is still an effective way to make ourselves feel better and more at ease.
Bubble baths, scented candles, incense, essential oil massages – they all contribute to your general state of well-being. Who doesnât like a long soak in hot water that smells like flowers?
Palo Santo â the Holy Wood
Weâve discovered that the scent of Palo Santo is pleasant and unobtrusive, especially for people like us who canât stand strong, persistent smells.
It can cover up unpleasant smells, like tobacco and doesnât irritate your airways.
The Palo Santo wood comes from South America, and reportedly dates back to the Inca era.
Spanish monks got a whiff of the stuff and named the tree âHoly Woodâ or the âWood of the Saintsâ. The scientific name of the tree is Bursera Graveolens which means âa bag of oilâ.
Little sticks of the tree are burned as incense all over the world. With many users attesting to the pleasant smell and peaceful disposition it instills.
It has a rich history in native South American cultures and itâs associated with the connection between divinity and the sub-conscious mind. Often used in rituals and as a means to ward off insects during hot summers.
Oil can also be extracted from it and used in massages or it can be chopped into tiny pieces and made into tea.
Try it out yourself with our selection of burnable sticks here!
References:
[1] Manniche, Lise. Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy & Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt, 1999
[2] GattefossĂ©, RenĂ©-Maurice. GattefossĂ©’s Aromatherapy, 1993
[3] Valnet, Jean. Aromatherapy : the treatment of ailments by Plant Essences, 1964
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