Aromatherapy, Astrology, Astrological Signs, Candles, Crystals and Gemstones, Earth Celebrations, Heavenly Bodies, The Five Elements, Chakras, Medicine Wheels, Energy, Essential Oils, Flower Essences, Healing Herbs, Incense, Smudging, Music, Runes, Tarot, Alternative Parenting, Spiritual Guides and Teachers, Sacred Sexuality
Essential Oils
Essential Oils are the highly concentrated essences of aromatic plants. Aromatherapy is the art of using these oils to promote healing of the Body, Mind and Spirit.
Each of the essential oils can be used either alone or in combinations to create a desired effect. Before using essential oils as part of an Aromatherapy treatment, it is important to understand the effect that the oils have, and how they work.
The oils are found in different parts of the plant such as the flowers, twigs, leaves and bark, or in the rind of fruit. For example, in roses it is found in the flowers, in basil it is in the leaves, in sandalwood in the heartwood, and so on.
The methods used to extract the oil are time consuming and expensive and require a high degree of expertise. Given that it take s in excess of 220 pounds of rose petals to produce only 4 or 5 teaspoonfuls of oil. Rose Oil (attar) from India sells on the market today (2003) for $262.68 per ounce and that adds up to $3,594.51 for 16 oz.
Due to the large quantity of plant material required, Pure Essential Oils are expensive, but they are also highly effective-only a few drops at a time may be required to achieve the desired effect. Synthetic oils are available at a lesser price, but they simply do not have the healing power of the more natural expensive oils.
Essential Oils have an immediate impact on our sense of smell, also known as Âolfaction.Ø When Essential Oils are inhaled, olfactory receptor cells are stimulated and the impulse is transmitted to the emotional center of the brain, or Âlimbic system.Ø
The limbic system is connected to areas of the brain linked to memory, breathing, and blood circulation, as well as the endocrine glands which regulate hormone levels in the body. The properties of the oil, the fragrance and its effects, determine stimulation of these systems.
When used in massage, Essential Oils are not only inhaled, but absorbed through the skin as well. They penetrate the tissues and find their way into the bloodstream where they are transported to the organs and systems of the body. Wow! Essential Oils have differing rates of absorption, generally between 20 minutes and 2 hours, so it is probably best not to bathe or shower directly following a massage to ensure maximum effectiveness.
When you start using them or if you already have been using Essential Oils, you will notice that if you apply one in the morning it will change itØs mood through the day, itØs fragrance, itØs aroma... a total interaction with your own body chemistry. I find it not only interesting but exciting and Love to experiment with different combinations and blends to suit my emotional, mental, physical and even spiritual inclinations and moods.
There are hundred’s of books written about Aromatherapy and Essential Oils and they all have their merits. Below you will find a few titles that we use as reference and a daily referral to help us with this most remarkable and totally beautiful Art-the Art of Fragrance.
Please Visit our Herbal Favorites Bookstore and our Essential Oil Section of our store.
Also Music to soothe the Heart and Spirit.
Blessings
-LionHeart & SunInMoon-
A Few Essential Oils and Their Qualities
Lavender
For sensitive and mentally active people, drawn to development of their spiritual lives and to practices such as meditation and healing. It acts to calm the mind, to relax the body and to balance sensitivity with groundedness, thereby enabling the stillness required for meditation and inner calm.
Peppermint
For those of us who feel sluggish, lethargic, and mentally cloudy or apathetic. Often related to digestive or metabolic imbalances. It improves digestion and frees energy, keeping the mind alert and clear for higher purposes.
Sage
For those of us who see our lives as ill-fated and ill-deserved, and are unable to perceive their meaning or higher purpose. It helps you to gain the wisdom from the experience of the years so that you can teach and counsel others.
Rose
For those of who feel lacking in enthusiasm and warmth towards others. It restores joy in life and the ability to throw yourself wholeheartedly into whatever you are doing. It invokes memory of romance and sensuality and inspiration for being in Love.
Of course these are but a few..we will be adding more as 'thyme' goes by.
You can purchase our -Natural & Essential Oils in our store, very concentrated and very High.
60s & Further Brand Natural & Essential Oils
Nag Champa Oils-Click Above To View
"Flowers have I seen and honey have I tasted and heard the CuckooØs song through to the end. Now in this world or in the next, dear friend, I shall forever know life was not wasted."
-17th Century Japanese Poem-
How Pure Are 'Pure' Essential Oils?
by Mindy Green
"The essence of aromatherapy is to beautify and heal, to balance both our minds and our bodies by means of rich and wonderful substances called "essential oils." These pure and natural oils are extracted from the seeds, roots, fruits, leaves or petals of plants. Profound medicinal properties are attributed to many of them. Because some oils have such small and simple molecular structures, when they are applied directly to the skin they actually penetrate its epidermal layers. It's this absorbability that is, in part, responsible for the various medicinal activities they perform.
When aromatically dispersed through the air, the fragrances of some essential oils stimulate our limbic systems by means of the olfactory bulbs in our noses, and have remarkable effects on our memories and emotions.
The effects of these pure and natural oils are more known than the exact nature and relationships of their ingredients. Aromatherapists only know that they do what they do when they are pure. Are they as effective when they are blended, even from other natural sources? Some say No. Is their absorbability diminished? Can they still be called "pure" and "natural" if they have been altered or tampered with? Some say they shouldn't.
Who, for that matter, is monitoring the quality of the essential oils you buy at your favorite store? How can you determine whether these oils are truly "quality" oils and therefore suitable for aromatherapy?
"Quality," "natural" and "pure" have been bantered about the natural products industry since its inception. For many people, the distinction between them has been lost. "Learn more about Mindy Green Here
(We will continue Mindy Green's article as we expand this section of the Tao--please keep checking back)
What You Should Know About Essential Oils
Unfortunately not all essential oils are created equal. In fact
many, if not all the oils on the market are what is
called "perfume quality" or "4th & 5th quality oils. These
are over-processed, chemical laden, highly adulterated &
de-natured products that, in reality, are little more than
cheap perfume made from various odorous plants. This includes
oils found in health food stores. Many people think that when
they buy an oil that is labeled as "100% pure" they are getting
good oils. This is far from true.
Pure unadulterated essential oil is very hard to come by & can
be very expensive. One reason for this is because it can take
as many as 500 to 2,000 pounds or more of raw plant material
to produce just a pound of pure essential oil.
To maintain all of the therapeutic qualities, it must be
extracted by steam distillation using extremely low pressure &
low heat so as not to defile the quality of the oil.
There are 4 grades of essential oils:
PURE - This means the oil was not diluted with a lesser
quality essential oil. For example: lavender oil is often
cut with lavendin, which has very little therapeutic
quality. "Pure" does not mean it has no chemicals added to
it. It could be 75% vegetable oil & 25% essentialoil &still be labeled "100% Pure."
NATURAL - This means the oil was not adulterated with
vegetable oils, propylene glycol, SD Alcohol 40 or other chemicals.
COMPLETE - This means the oil was distilled at low heat & low
pressure so that all the therapeutic properties are there.
They have not been rectified or purified (which means
stripped or redistilled.)
Essential oils are often redistilled to make a small amount
of oil go farther. They can make more profit that way. The
problem is, when you redistill the oil you lose the
therapeutic properties. It's like using a tea bag over & over
again. An example: France is the number one producer of
lavender oil. In 1997 they produced 25 tons of lavender
and 67 tons were shipped to the U.S.
Melissa oil is another example. It is very hard to produce.
Out of 52 pounds of pure melissa oil, 1000 pounds were exported.
What is wrong with this picture?
** There are anywhere from 200 - 800 chemical constituents that
make up a single essential oil. When the oil is not
distilled properly, you will be left with as few as 10.
Some of the most powerful healing constituents are at the end of the process.
GENUINE or GRADE A - These are the cream of the crop. Great
care is taken at every step of the process. Seeds- not
from hybrids, soil- organic soil that never has chemicals put
on it. Chemicals are never used on the plants in the field.
Distillation by steam at low pressure & low temperature in
upright containers & no chemicals are ever used in the
process. Must have clarity of definition (one plant could
have 200 species.) The time in the distiller is also
important- cypress oil needs to be distilled for 24 hours.
Many companies will distill at higher temperature for a
shorter time. This will destroy the quality of the oil. The
distiller must be no more than 50 miles away from the sight
where the plants were harvested, must have Gas Chromatograph
readings with an embossed seal that does not come from
their own lab. Then & only then can they have the
words "Grade A" on the label.
Young Living's oils are GRADE A oils. They are one of the few
companies in the world that grows plants from seed, distills &
bottles their essential oils. Young Living is the largest
grower of essential oil plants in the world.
Please investigate these great authors and musicians if you have a passion to learn more about Essential Oils and visit our Herbal Favorites Bookstore. Also, if you have any questions about Essential Oils please Email Us.
New Age Music Store
Books & Music
The World of Aromatherapy: An Anthology of Aromatic History, Ideas, Concepts and Case Histories by Jeanne Rose
The Scented Veil: Using Scent to Awaken the Soul by Carly Wall.
A must read for those interested in the research of Edgar Cayce or simply a more esoteric approach to Aromatherapy.
Magical Aromatherapy:The Power of Scent by Scott Cunningham and Robert Tisserand.
Meditations and Rituals Using Aromatherapy Oils by Gil Farrer-Halls.
Mountain Mysteries by Bruce Kurnow
SunInMoon had this Cd and have been listening to it for three years now, over and over again..it's quite beautiful. is a powerful musical portrayal of nature's spectacular peaks. Blended with sounds of the wilderness, his inspired original melodies and textures for keyboards, harp and harmonica create a stirring environmental experience. Highly Recommended!
The Ladies of the Canyon by Joni Mitchell.
Need a new copy, replace your worn cassette? This has His/Herstory! Man do we have stories....great to listen to and garden in Spring and Summer and remember.
To Our Children's Children's Children by the Moody Blues
Cristofiori's Dream by David Lanz.
 |
 |
 |
Flower Power!
 |
|
|
All Bookstores | 60s Music Store | T-Shirt Review | Jewelry Review | Incense Store | Imported Soaps
Lovers Market | Art Stores | Wearable Art-Clothing Review 1 | Store Specials
Tarot & Oracle Cards | Runes | Tapestries | Tibetan Prayer Flags
Essential Oils | Backpacks | Greeting & Altar Cards | Ritual Candles | Cool Stickers | Windchimes
