Recently an article was published that reviewed a number of studies that were done to find out whether aromatherapy would be helpful in easing depression.As you might be aware Aromatherapy can be used in many different ways. All these studies looked at the effect of essential oils when they were used as massage oils.
Remember: essential oils must never be used straight from the bottle, they are very powerful and can be toxic – for massage they must always be mixed with a carrier oil. If you want more information on Aromatherapy in general we recommend you go and get yourself this free book in which we wrote an article about aromatherapy: http://stretchyourmindandbody.com/blog/wonderful-law-of-attraction-in-action
When somebody suffers from depression, the symptoms include depressed mood, loss of interest in everything, appetite and weight start to fluctuate, generally they simply can’t enjoy life. Depression can be more debilitating than heart disease, diabetes or some other chronic illnesses. The individual simply can’t function properly any more and their relationships with family and society as a whole suffer greatly.
Depression is very common – if affects anywhere between 10-15% of the elderly in Western countries. It affects other age groups too – but the high percentage in the older age group is due to a number of factors. Chronic illnesses that are common in elderly people can lead to depression.
In over 50% of cases, people who suffer from depression are using some sort of alternative therapy like meditation, yoga, aromatherapy and massage to – name just a few – in addition to their medication. Often the results they are getting from their medication are not as good as they had hoped or they dislike some of the side effects.
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils from plants which then affects the body in various ways – either directly through the sense of smell or by being absorbed through the skin. Essential oils are what gives the plant its particular flavour or fragrance (just think about peppermint, for example)
The article goes on to say that all the studies used Swedish Massage (which is a gentle but firm form of massage with soothing strokes). After the oils are applied to the skin they get absorbed into the blood stream. (this is just an aside: whatever you put on your skin ends up in your blood stream – be very selective about what cosmetics you are using!)
Once the oils were in the blood stream they had a significant effect on how the person felt. Especially feelings of depression and anxiety improved markedly in some cases.
Oils that stood out were: Lavender, lemon, jasmine, bergamot and rose. Rose was particularly beneficial for easing the symptoms of anxiety.
Another study showed that chamomile, lavender, spiced apple, eucalyptus, and geranium oil helped to improve moods and decrease anxiety. Chamomile, spiced apple and eucalyptus also had a beneficial effect. One blend that was used in another study consisted of sweet orange, geranium and basil.
The problems that researchers have is the fact that feelings can’t really be measured properly. People might say that they feel better but to capture the level of improvement in scientific terms is really difficult.
Some physical evidence showed that lavender oil relaxed smooth muscles (the ones that are not under our control), can reduce blood pressure and affects the way the signals are passed around the nervous system.
A lot more research needs to be done, but this shouldn’t stop us to enjoy the beneficial effects of the oils in the meantime. They can enhance any other therapy you are receiving and they are a pleasure to use.
Put some oils in a vapouriser while doing your yoga practice or meditation. Use them when you have trouble sleeping or when stress is mounting,
I found that they simply seem to take the “edge” of things and the world starts to look a little bit brighter.
For those of you who want to go to the source, here is the reference:
THE JOURNAL OF ALTERNATIVE AND COMPLEMENTARY MEDICINE
Volume 15, Number 2, 2009, pp. 187-195
© Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089/acm.2008.0333
A Review on the Effects of Aromatherapy for Patients
with Depressive Symptoms
V.W.C. Yim, M.Sc., Adelina K.Y. Ng, M.Sc., Hector W.H. Tsang, Ph.D., and Ada Y. Leung, M.A.
Till next time,
Connie
Your Yoga Partner
From
http://www.yogainahurry.com
