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You will need to be very physically fit, alert, excellent with communication and able to get along with diverse types of people, patient, compassionate and intelligent.

As massage is part of the therapy, you should possess strong hands and not tire too easily. A basic knowledge of anatomy is essential. Aromatherapy might just have been invented when a Frenchman, Gattefosse, working in his laboratory early this century, burned his hand during an experiment. He yelled, plunged the wounded hand into a dish which contained lavender oil and was subsequently amazed at the speed with which it healed. He was the first person to coin the phrase `aromatherapy' in the first book on the subject in 1928. In 1938, another Frenchman, M. Goddissart from Los Angeles, reported excellent results in the treatment of skin cancer, gangrene and wound healing with essential oils.

 

The last known person to complete this chain of development of this remarkable form of medicine was Mme Maury, a biochemist who extended the subject to cosmetology and rejuvenation.

The essences extracted from plants are complex natural oils that contain esters, alcohol, aldehydes, ketones and terpenes. No-one really knows how or why they work but that is not so surprising - the common aspirin is a good example of something that works but which was used extensively before physicians and chemists really understood its properties.

The contraceptive pill, derived from Mexican yams, is probably the best known and most widely used of these natural plant extracts in the West.

In plants, essential oils act as pesticides, fungicides and bactericides and may even have some hormone-like properties. Aromatic oils are used in toiletries, foods and pharmaceuticals. Lemon and orange are the most popular ones used in food, toiletries and cosmetics while clove oil, for toothache and eucalyptus inhalations are familiar to any mother.

The oils are found as components of hair oils, tonics, inhalants and many other patent medicines. (It takes 2,000 lbs of rose petals to make 1lb of rose oil!)

When Tutenkhamun's tomb was opened in 1922, many scent pots were found which showed that frankincense and myrrh were widely used by the rich of the time.

Oil of melissa and rosemary, for example, are sedative or stimulating depending upon the dose. In 1963, a Japanese team found that fennel, peppermint, cardamon and other oils had an antispasmodic activity in the intestine of mice. Calamus reduces blood pressure and some oils given orally help improve the peripheral circulation.

The plant sarsaparilla contains the male sex hormone testosterone; hops, fennel and aniseed contain oestrogens and vitex agnus castus contains progesterone-like substances.

There are various ways of applying aromatic oils. Some are used orally, some are massaged into the skin, some are inhaled and some therapists use a combination of all these methods.

People on the whole have become very tired and suspicious of expensive medicines which often ruin their bank balances and do nothing spectacular to their health problems and they are looking for a more economical method of being treated or of treating themselves. Much of what is considered to be healing starts in the mind of a patient and medical miracles are often brought about by a change of attitude.


Aromatherapy Thymes: Orange and Ginger - The Energizing Duo Of ... - EmpowHer


Aromatherapy Thymes: Orange and Ginger - The Energizing Duo Of ...
EmpowHer, AZ - Dec 2, 2008
Aromatherapists consider orange essential oil to be an antidepressant oil and recommend it for anxiety and depression. Orange is one of the key oils for ...

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The 9 people you meet at Thanksgiving - Duke Chronicle


The 9 people you meet at Thanksgiving
Duke Chronicle, NC - Nov 25, 2008
The Do-Gooder, most likely, is just back from spending a year in Kenya helping Aromatherapists Without Borders, conducting field research on the Malaysian ...

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Nurses bring their dreams for natural skin care line to reality in ... - The State


Nurses bring their dreams for natural skin care line to reality in ...
The State, SC - Dec 1, 2008
Bogden and Brown had trained not only as nurses but also as certified aromatherapists. They knew the healing power found in nature. ...

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Restaurant review: AA Gill at Westfield - Times Online


Restaurant review: AA Gill at Westfield
Times Online, UK - Nov 29, 2008
Gyms fall into two types: sergeant majors or aromatherapists. Mine has more scented candles than broken noses. It’s mostly used by resting Ukrainian ...

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Organic range a success - Where I Live - News Limited Community Newspapers


Where I Live - News Limited Community Newspapers

Organic range a success
Where I Live - News Limited Community Newspapers, Australia - Nov 16, 2008
With aromatherapists, naturopaths and herbalists on staff, the company’s emphasis is on maintaining its organic certification. Ms Field said the 2.83ha farm ...

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