USE OF AROMATIC OILS IN ANCIENT TIMES IN INDIA

India has been practicing and using AROMATHERAPY for over 10,000 years. and infact in a lot of small towns and villages they are still using Aromatherapy without knowing it.

SANDALWOOD has been used in temples to calm a person down and ground them. a lot of beauty preparations, like cooling FACE PACKS and BODY SCRUBS are made of Sandalwood pastes and Holy pastes to anoint the Kings and High Priests

To rejuvenate skin there was an ointment known as URGUJJA that contained SANDALWOOD, ALOES. ROSE AND JASMINE essential oils were used which counterats the effect of the sun. It is still used to maintain youth.

ALOE VERA GEL mixed with JASMINE essential oil was used regularly by women to preserve vitality and renew the reproductive system.

Women washed hair daily with ALOE VERA GEL or SHIKAKAI and aromatic herbs and oiled their hair with COCONUT or SESAME oil mixed with SANDALWOOD, JASMINE, ROSE or YLANG YLANG . They dried their hair with AROMATIC INCENSE.

Massage with oils of COCONUT and SESAME perfumed with AROMATIC herbs and woods was popular and WOMEN drank milk decocotions with little SAFFRON and SHATAVARI to bring a glow to their complexion.

CHRISTMA MEMORIES

When Christmas comes around I remember the Christmas spent when I was a child - with Christmas Trees, Pine Cones, Lights, Sweets, Presents, Holy Miselto, Decorations, Home made Cakes and Milled Wines. But most of all I remember the Aromas of Christmas - Pine, Orange, Spices, Sandalwood, Cypress, Frankincense and Myrrh suffused the house with a warm, hospitable glow - we used to have "Chimney Fires" burning and woods was used.

I remember us as kids making Christmas logo for the fire - for that we would add one drop of essential oil of Sandalwood or Cedarwood to a log of wood (any old wood). Surprisingly one aromatic log of wood was enough per fire to give the ambience. The other highlight of Christmas was the cooking in which we all had a hand, we would sit around this huge wooden table in the kitchen making Christmas Cakes, Mince Pies and Chocolates and Puddings that contains spices. My mother used essential oil of Orange Lemon in the Mince Pie and no one could keep away from the kitchen. To release the aroma of the Christmas Cakes, Puddings she used a drop of Ginger essential oil.

Making Mulled Wines for Christmas was another speciality of my mother. I remember when we all used to come in after a walk or after shopping the most amazing and welcoming drink.

Here is the recipe that I would like to share with you all - Take a litre of Red Wine (not expensive) and put in a non metalic pan with 2 sticks of Cinnamon and 2-3 Cloves, 1 piece each of dried Orange,Ginger with 2 tablespoons of honey to which 2 drops each of Orange essential oil, Mandarin essential oil, has been added. Put the pan on the heat and stir. When the wine starts to bubble take off from the heat and serve.

Christmas is not complete without Christmas Candles. I love the aroma and warm glow of candle light. I remember we used to make Christmas Candles at home. We used powder tins as moulds and to amke them aromatic we used to put essential oils of Pine, Cinnamon, Gerenium and Orange. So now I make my candles aromatic by lighting the candle and when it melts I put out the flame and add a few drops of essential oil to the warm wax and re-light the candle. I also use Diffusers a lot.

The other thing I do is spray the Christmas Tree with pine essential oil - Take 250 ml. of water in a spray bottle and add 6 drops Pine essential oil in it.

To bring the aroma of Christmas at home I also spray the whole house with essential oils of Cinnamon, Clove and Pine. Take 250 ml. of water and add 6 drops each of Cinnamon, Clove and pine. This also keeps the colds and flue at bay because they are antiseptic and anti viral.

The Pine cones that we get in the market don't smell like Pine - So I put them in a large plastic bags with few cotton balls to which Pine essential oil is added. Tie up the bag and leave it over night. Mandrin, Orange and Gerenium essential oils put people in good mood. Cinnamon essential oil appaludes.

A HEALTHY AURA.

A healthy AURA is like a filter, that allows only good to get to us. But when the Aura is weakened it gives rise to mental and physical tensions that can result in illness, Since Aura is a thought emanation whenever I am afraid or feel negative about life I TAKE A FEW DROPS OF LAVENDER and rub it between my palms, bring my palms to my nose, close my eyes and inhale and as I inhale I imagine myself centered within a sphere of white light, that also permeates my body. I feel myself protected with this sphere of light and the ENERGY around me is unbroken, especially over my head.

Another way to psychically cleanse your Aura is to put a drop or two of LAVENDER essential oil in your palms rub them together and brush them all over your AURA starting from your head to your feet., this is very effective after being in a crowded place.

AROMATHERAPY HELPS ECZEMA

When my friends asked me to blogg something about ECZEMA, I was surprised as I had just finished consulting with two clients who had Eczema, one was an infant of 9 months and the other a young adult of 14 years old. Eczema resembles a skin disease caused by allergy like contact dermatitis, the skin is inflamed and there is burning ,itching and redness. In fact it is an allergic disease because in most cases we normally find that in the family there are cases of asthma, hayfever and hives.

Since Eczema is an allergic condition it is often difficult to cure but it can be helped to stay in remission and to relieve the patient of discomfort, reduce inflammation and prevent secondary infections.

Eczema first occurs in any one of these three periods - Infancy, childhood and young adulthood. I have found that the Eczema defers from one age group to another. In my infant client of 9 months old the eczema was on the face , arms, scalp and legs as it is with most babies of two months to 2 years. There was itching and the skin was exuding moisture after which crusts formed. In childhood eczema (between the ages of 5 and 10) lesions, pimples and plaques appear on the hands and legs. My 14 year old client's eczema was mainly on the sides of the neck arms and legs his skin was dry,scaly and pigmented. He was following the pattern of young adult eczema.

All those suffering from ECZEMA should follow a few DO's and DON'Ts:-
NO CONTACT WITH :- Domestic pets.woolen clothing,blankets and rugs.
LOOK into the diet and contact a dietcian. Avoid foods such as Wheat, Orange juice, chocolate, fish etc.
DON'T use soap and HOT WATER when bathing ,
DON'T use detergents to wash the clothers. Use a mild soap and throughly rinse after washing .
AVOID physical exertion and emotional stress,.
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TREATMENT;-
Daily a tepid bath to which two tablespoons of corn starch and 2 drops of LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL has been added.
They could soak in the bath for as long as they like.
Dilute in 1 tablespoon of refracted COCONUT oil 1 drop CHAMOMILE and 2 drops LAVENDER essential oil - apply this to the skin and the affected areas, two to three times a day.
To help to relieve itching apply a cool CHAMOMILE compress - 2 drops CHAMOMILE essential oil to a cup of cool water.
To help oozing and relieve discomfort - 1 drop LAVENDER essential oil in a teaspoon of coconut oil.

GOLDEN CHAMPA (Michelia Champaca)

Last week I was in Chennai to give a few workshops on ear candling,aromatherapy facials and Hair Spa treatments. What struck me was the beautiful long hair of the women and the fresh Champa flowers worn as hair ornaments, allowing their body heat to cause the flowers to open into scented blossoms as the evening progresses. Champa has sweet,exotic and deep floral top notes with delicate sensual,roselike and woody undertones. Champa is a gentle aphrodisiac apart from the other good qualities that the aroma of this exotic flower posseses.

In South India this tree grows abundantly, and Pushpalata a friend of mine from Chennai told me a few tribal folk tales about this beautiful flower. It is believed that the Golden Champa is a reincarnation of Lakshmi the Godess of Wealth. There is another folk tale that there was a Minister of court who had a very virtuous daughter and she was transformed into a Champa tree that bore flowers of Solid Gold. These champa trees are found growing in the vinicity of the temples and these exotic flowers are offered to the Gods at Hindu temples. Yesterday was
a festival there and these were the flowers that were offered by thousands .

A drop of essential oil applied to the temples relieves vertigo.
This oil is also good during Summers as it relieves the burning sensation of the skin especially of the feet and the palms of the hands.
Next time you feel like boosting your confidence or self esteem use a drop or two on your wrists and ears as you would use a perfume. Believe you me it works wonders. No wonder the ladies of the south are so full of self confidence!!!!!!!!

CARNATIONS FOR ENERGY, LOVE AND HEALTH

We are swamped with carnations (Dianthus carophyllus) . they pop up everywhere in the brightest colours. unfortunately when I smelt them at the florists they were virtually scentless with exception of the red ones but even here the spiciness was less than the carnations that my mother used to grow in her garden. The reason for this lack of scent is because the carnation like the rose has been hybridized to produce bright big blooms with long stems, and the scent has been forgotten.

The best way I found to rectify this problem is to grow your own. I grow the short - stemmed red varieties with the heaviest fragrances, because I use the rich aroma of the fresh carnation flowers as genuine Carnation Essential Oil is not available. If you find it difficult to grow your own carnations then use the red carnations because they have an aroma.

I love giving CARNATIONS to my friends when they are ill with a cold, flue or any other minor illness and even I love having carnations around me when I am ill. It works like magic to just inhale the odor and visualize your self HEALTHY AND HEALED. Try it!!!!

Another wonderful way this aroma could be used is TO BRING A SPICY LOVE INTO YOUR LIFE.

COLOUR & AROMATHERAPY A SYNERGY

The Last evening while I was walking in the gardens of our Spa - Ishwar Blossom Kochhar - I was struck how colour and perfume are drawn together out of the haze of twilight and the spiritual qualities of flowers are highlighted at sunset.

I often wondered why our senses are heightened and our subtle vibrations are increased
at dusk? The reason for this is because the air is charged with positive ions making it a time of stillness and contempletion. As night approached the flowers that were light coloured took on a special translucency in the moonlight. The air was filled with the sweet heady aromas of Jasmine,Champa and Datura(moonflowers). It inspired me and filled me with love,sensuality,peace,purity and healing and spirutial vibrations. To take the healing aromatic and colour vibrations of these beautiful flowers back home I decided on a colour and aroma bath which I will share with you.

In your bath water add 3 to 5 drops of Jasmine
Colour the water with 2 tablespoons of Beetroot juice which will produce a lovely pink bath.
Add a handful of rose petals.
Light pink and white candles. Candles are very good for providing soft and nourishing light and the colour of the glowing candles increase the colour vibrabratrions that enhances the action of the bath oils.

Our ancient Indian system of healing with colour and aroma not only heals our body but our heart and soul as well!!!!












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