"Oshadi" is the Indian word used for healing plants. Literally, it means "giver of life" or "carrier of light!' This word perfecdy describes the action of pure essential oils(the essence or life blood of a plant that carries its fragnance and holds its fragnance power).
Formed in plant cells by the action of the sun, essential oils are reservoirs of solar healing power. They are the source of all fragrance in flowers, leafs, spices,fruits, and aromatic woods, and herbs. Described as the "life blood" of the plant, Marcel Lavabre, a French aromatherapist went one step further when he said "essential oils are the ultimate manifestation of a plant's joie de vivre, or enjoyment of life!' Such aromas are invigorating both to body and mind, please the sense, and bring us in touch with nature wherever we encounter them.
Many essential oils are antiseptic and antibacterial.
Some are proving helpful for viral infections by boosting immune function. Others have the potential to stimulate healthy cell renewal and growth. Useful not only to bring health and delidous &agrance to the body, they also have been shown to regulate and restore balance to mental functioning. The healing power of medictnal quality essential oils is, therefore, extensive and profound. Thankfully, today, they are being restored to their rightful place in the pharmacopeia of herbal medicine. In Europe they are rapidly gaining acceptance in conventional medical circles. For example, lavender essential oil is used for severe burns while essential oil of rose is used to treat addictions, depression, and other mental health conditions where a mild tranquilizer is recommended.
Each oil or oil combination has a distinct profile or personality that makes it useful not only for particular conditions, but also personality types.
This makes it interesting &om the point of view of Ayurveda as a particular oil can be suitable to relieve a specific condition as well as the underlying mental state that contributed to the manifestation of a given symptom. For example, clary sage is used both to calm inflamed skin and alleviate mental irritability, anxiety, tension, and fatigue. Thus, this is an excellent oil for a case where increased Pitta due to work pressure has led to the manifestation of a skin rash. Thus clary sage has helped on two levels to balance the Pitta dosha.
As each individual is a unique mixture of Vata, Pitta, and Kapha energy, each will have a proportionately varying ability to "sense"the world around the.m. This inherent sensitivity to specific forms of sensory impression based on constitutional type is the basis for the use of the subtle therapies that utilize aroma, color, gems, fabrics, sound and prayers.The Vedas were written in ancient times when life was not necessarily more harmonious, but certainly more natural. People were in closer contact with the earth and the changes of the seasons. Their experience of the natural world was fuller Today we have traded this type of direct and rich experience for comfon and convenience.
More people now live in cities, spending more of their waking hours in man-made environments. Simple things like light and heat that once ruled our work and sleep patterns have become controllable at the flick of a switch. Foods from all over the world are available to us year round, abolishing seasonal selection. Seemingly, we have more control, but the further we get from natural rhythms, the more stressed our daily living becomes. Why? Because on a fundamental level so many modem conveniences disturb the natural flow of our body energy. Given that we cannot all drop out and get back to nature, what can be done to help restore our own natural balance in modern times?
PATHWAYS AND INFLUENCES OF ESSENTIAL OILS
Essential oils are believed to influence the body and mind through two principle pathways, through the skin and via the sense of smell.
When essential oils are applied to the skin in body oil, perfume oil, lotion, spray mist, or placed in bath water, they easily permeate the skin because their molecular structure is so small. Entering most readily through the hair follicles, pores, and interstitial fluid that is around all skin cells, they reach the fine capillaries of the blood and lymph system. Thus they are carried throughout the entire body to all cells, crossing even the blood-brain barrier to act on the outer portions of the brain.When one smells a fragrance, it is the tiny droplets of airborn essential oils which have triggered a response in the olfactory epithelium or smell sensor in the roof of the nose.
From there it is just one nerve synapse to the limbic system of the brain which regulates motor activities, primary drives, emotions, and memories. Impulses are then transmitted to the hypothalamus which regulates such bodily functions as temperature, thirst, hungelj blood sugar level, growth, sleep and wake patterns, sexual arousal, and the emotions. From there the pituitary is stimulated next, which activates the endocrine system which in turn controls digestion, emotional and sexual behavioulj responses to stress, and all metabolic processes.My personal sense is that there is another level beyond the dramatic influences on the body and mind; a level on which these life essences of plants are able to rally the life force in human beings, becoming an energy and inspiration to seek well being-a spiritual level if you wish.Essential oils take as little as fifteen minutes to influence the entire body, mind, and spirit. Their effect is not cumulative as all traces of their physical presence in the body leaves after two to three hours.
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