Lisa Richardson from Whole Body Studio explains why aromatherapy can be effective. Basically, it is the use of essential, plant, and volatile oils to calm, heal, and relax the body and mind. The combination of the correct scents can be used to treat a v

Video Transcription

Nicole Tomlinson: Lavender, Citronella, eucalyptus what are they? Those are just some of the popular plant oils used in aromatherapy. Aromatherapy essential oil or snake oil, we'll find out in this episode of Zen Living. This is Lisa Richardson owner of Whole Body Studio. And she's here to tell us about Aromatherapy. Hey Lisa! Lisa Richardson: Hi how are you? Nicole Tomlinson: I am great. Thank you so much for having us here. I am very interested to know what is Aromatherapy because I just thought it was something that was in candles and bath salts. Lisa Richardson: Aromatherapy is simply the use of plant essential oils and volatile oils to improve mental and physical well-being. Nicole Tomlinson: So it's more than smelling nice and being pleasant there is actually benefits to Aromatherapy. Lisa Richardson: There are a lot of really wonderful studies that have been done about Aromatherapy. There are studies that show that Lavender which is really relaxing oil can actually increase the output waves in your brain which gives you a sense of calmness. There are some studies that show that aromatherapy can increase the white blood cell count which increases your defenses. Nicole Tomlinson: Can there ever be any harm with using essential oils? Lisa Richardson: Essential oils are really strong. The oil is misleading, they actually come from the leaves and the buds and the bark. They are little scent sacks that plants have. When we distill them down they are 75-100 times stronger than on the plant. So they can be irritating to the skin. When we use them they are using about 2% ratio. May be 2% oil to carrier oil. Nicole Tomlinson: What's a carrier oil? Lisa Richardson: Carrier oil is an unscented oil that is usually used in massage almond oil or another oil that it is mixed with and it is used in the massage spread over the skin. Nicole Tomlinson: Before I came here we had a little talk about some oils that might be helpful for me and is that what we have here? Lisa Richardson: We put together a recipe for you. So the recipe I put together is addresses allergies and addresses may be some of the hecticness going on in your life. So there are four essential oils that I have put in here. The first one I put in is mint. Mint can help with headaches and it's energizing. The other one I put in your recipe is a Ylang. Ylang Ylang is again a very ancient plant. It's like Ylang Ylang and Lavender are kind of thorozine of the aromatherapy world to me. Nicole Tomlinson: Say that word again, Thorozine, what's that? Lisa Richardson: It's a really strong sedative that they give people when they are just essentially out of control. Trust me. It will calm anyone down. But this isn't that strong or that fast. The interesting thing about Ylang Ylang, what a lot of people don't know it's the top note in Chanel No. 5. Nicole Tomlinson: Oh! Lisa Richardson: So if you smell it you can smell that it's there. Nicole Tomlinson: It's very popular scent; we have a lot of very serene folks out there. Lisa Richardson: The next essential oil that I put in with rosemary oil. Rosemary is a decongestant, it is calming and it has some antibacterial properties to it. Nicole Tomlinson: I love rosemary in cooking. Lisa Richardson: We all are at the front door. Nicole Tomlinson: I can't imagine not loving it in aromatherapy. Such a great smell. Lisa Richardson: The last thing we put in this Lavender. I think people are really familiar with Lavender. It has so many tranquilizing effects; it does so many good things to help people relax. People don't -- very few people dislike it so it's easy to use at a lot of places. Nicole Tomlinson: Once we mix all these together what do we get? Lisa Richardson: What we have done with this, this is going to be used in a massage. You can use it on your skin or in a massage, or you can put drops, the drops in bathwater. Like I said earlier you can put it in a cup of boiling water and it will make the house smell good. So if you put it in a carrier oil like this and it's put on your body this actually is absorbed into your system. And if you smell it, it's absorbed in a different way. Nicole Tomlinson: Are there some people who shouldn't use aromatherapy? Lisa Richardson: Well, most can use some form of aromatherapy. There are some conditions where you wouldn't want to use it. If you have broken skin or a rash you wouldn't want to use it topically. People that have a compromised immune system, or ill or may be undergoing chemotherapy should talk to their physician first. You wouldn't use it in the first trimester of pregnancy, just because it's such an important time and there are so many unknowns. Nicole Tomlinson: How would you feel about the second or third trimester? It would probably be really good than for a pregnant person. Lisa Richardson: Usually you use a little bit lower concentrate and there are some oils that are great. Ginger helps with morning sickness and mint helps with nausea, it gives you a little energy. Lavender is calming, pregnant women love aromatherapy with their massage. Nicole Tomlinson: Are there any other risks involved? Is there anything I should be concerned about? Lisa Richardson: Just like anything, you want to use it with caution, and you want to use it with common sense. You don't put the oils directly on your skin. They are some things that are sensitizing. Nicole Tomlinson: Are there any certain oils that we don't have that you want to talk about? Lisa Richardson: We don't have sandalwood out today. And sandalwood is a wonderful calming scent that a lot of men use. Geranium is also relaxing and tranquilizing. So there are different oils that everyone responds to in a different way. Nicole Tomlinson: Well they certainly smell wonderful, and it's good to know they can be effective at treating certain ailments. So the next time that you reach for that bug-spray that could have DEET or other strong chemicals. Why don't you consider citronella or other essential oils? They are totally natural and can be just as effective. Many thanks to you Lisa for all of your wonderful oils. Lisa Richardson: Welcome, and thank you for letting us talk about this. Nicole Tomlinson: I am Nicole Tomlinson and from all of us at Zen Living thank you so much for watching and we will see you next time. Peace! Speaker: All original shows fall in HD from onnetworks.com.