How To Use Aromatherapy at Home
Does the question seem strange – how to use aromatherapy at home? The smells of home … no matter what it may be, the smell of roast meat, the spices of a good curry or the smoke from a wood fire, some smells target the brain like laser guided arrows and evoke those sights and sounds that make us long to be there with our loved ones.
But what if we can do things the other way around, and build new memories around amazing new odors using essential oils? What we need o know first, is what sort of feelings certain oils invoke – and that’s where this article comes in.
This information on how to use aromatherapy at home, extracted from mindbodygreen.com (full accreditation below) puts things the other way around and invites us to choose the odors with which we infuse our homes, making the memories even more powerful and evocative.
Aromatherapy for the Home (mindbodygreen.com)
My memories of our childhood home was always strewn with fresh-cut flowers and plants, and our garden ripe with heady herbs and spices — until mom used them in the kitchen.
Those scents are integral to many of our fondest childhood experiences. The powerful connection between scent and memory means smelling those fragrances can take us back to that time and place. Aromatherapy at home, beyond simply fostering this general sense of well-being and warmth, can also be effective in treating maladies from anxiety and depression to PTSD.
Most people don’t know exactly what smells have what effects, and this can vary from person to person. Generally though, we just know we like them. To help you choose the best scents for aromatherapy at home, and show you how to use essential oils effectively, here’s an aromatherapy primer on four of our favorites (and all the ways you can use them).
Lavender is wonderful for relaxation, and really easy to grow.
How to use it: Place essential oil on your bedside table and smell it when you’re getting ready for bed, or rub it on your temples.
Rosemary is a deliciously edible way to introduce a calming scent influence into your evening routine.
How to use it: Roast a chicken with a handful of rosemary sprigs played on top. The smell is mouthwatering, but also known for its tension-taming abilities.
Wild orange is my newest discovery. It helps with digestion and has purifying properties.
How to use it: Use wild orange oil in a diffuser to create a warm, inviting home environment. You can use it as an organic household disinfectant.
Citrus oils like grapefruit, lemon, and lime (plus peppermint!) are great for perking up non-morning people like me.
How to use them: These make delicious additions to a household as essential oils, or to the breakfast table.
Whatever our current points of stress, — work deadlines, school projects, relationship difficulties — creating an in-home oasis makes a huge difference. Combining fresh flowers, plants, and essential oils helps enormously in providing that calm, safe space to escape from it all.
Article Accreditation
Thanks to mindbodygreen.com for this excellent insight into using aromatherapy at home to create lasting memories.
