Lots of people nowadays have some sort of scent in their homes that makes them feel good. Maybe its flowers, or specific dish soap when doing dishes, or that shampoo that you REALLY like the smell of and starts your day right. All of these are forms of aroma therapy, And I don't think either of us will argue that they don't make us feel nice. But do you take advantage of those good feelings through your whole house?
Humidifiers are one of the go-to ways currently to help diffuse essential oils through a room or the whole home. Having your safe space have an extra layer of comfort and recharge, can have amazing benefits towards our consistent, everyday physical and emotional well being. When did this all start? How did we get to our understanding of aromatherapy today, and how does that help us make the most of what we have now?
The use of Aroma therapy can be traced back through many different cultures. Starting out as people learned that burning certain woods, leaves, needles, and plants, released a pleasant smell into the air, It began to become a regular part of human existence. As these practices progressed, we learned that certain things we liked to burn for the smell, had other healing properties as well. Burning things like lavender to fill the air, giving a sense of ease.
Nowadays, we have gotten much father into the molecular science of aroma therapy and essential oils. Taking the specific properties of these plants, and incorporating them into our lives for well being through things like slaves, and balms, roll on oils, and perfumes. Fun Fact, the term perfume is actually derived from the Latin "Per Fumum" which means "through smoke"... right back to our ancestors, burning what they learned, to fill the air with a pleasant smoky smell.
Somewhere along the way, Around 5000 B.C.E some tribes of humans were learning that animal fats could absorb the properties (tastes, smells, and medicinal) of the plants if they were heated up. Maybe something got dropped into the food? Or maybe someone had been experimenting. we started to incorporate these plants into our foods, and found other uses. It made things tastier, it promoted better gut health, more restful nights. We also learned to start using it for external uses, like adding some of these plants to fats and using to heal cuts and burns, or healing, dry cracked skin.
In Modern Times, we are very used to the relief from everyday muscle soreness with things like tiger balm, rub A535, and the like. We love our hand and foot lotions, and our lavender bath balms. All of these are our version of adding different binding structures to make our aromas more potent, more transportable, have a longer shelf life. Take the bath bombs for instance: You get to extend the shelf life of the essential oils (in our example lavender), and add the fun stuff like fizzing to help mix the bath balm into the whole tub. These are essentially the same way our predecessors used fat to soak up to effects of the plants, and would dip some fabric in it, and suddenly who have a bandage that can calm inflammation of a rash, or even just smear the fat right on.
Now, Let's get back to our topic: Let's talk about the use of humidifiers to add a positive boost to your favourite places in your house.
Using a humidifier is a cheap, and efficient way to disperse your favourite essential oils into the air, and spread through a large amount of space. Using just a few drops of oil mixed in the the water, it will act as if it was mixed long enough for the water tank to run out, which solves our first problem, of finding a way to "absorb" the oils and make more efficient use of it! The next problem it solves is also making it more readily available for our bodies to use. It is in the air and in small enough particles over time that over body can register the scent, and have access to the effects of that oil/scent for hours.
The benefits of giving your body access to these essential oils has been covered many times, and extensively. I think the more important stuff to cover, is what kind of benefits can you expect to receive from using a humidifier to perform aromatherapy in your everyday life. The answers to this are as wide as you can create with your own experimentation! Every oil has its benefit, like calming the nerves, anti-microbial agents, waking up the sense, you name it! In fact, there is some research out there that suggests a combination of rosemary, thyme, and a few more potent oils can help fight cancer. More appropriately in the home setting? How about calming the nerves after a long day? you might enjoy lavender, or bergamot. Waking up in the morning is well suited to citrus scents like orange or lemon.
Many lists of different essential oils, their scents, and effects are always available with a simple google search, but now that you know the reasons and benefits on aromatherapy, and how easy it is to do for yourself, Maybe now is the time to give it a try!
list of basic essential oils are their benefits, that have a nice smell and contribute to a healthy house hold:
Lemon - always a main-stay in a kit, the oil helps to relive anxiety, and can be used to treat acne when diffused in a room. I personally use lemon in massage treatments to help people relax (with a combination of others, lavender for example) but not fall asleep!
Lavender - this tends to have help alleviate headaches, as well as promote a healthy sleep. Some reports even report help with menstrual cramps.
Patchouli - while it may be thought of as the smell of the more "free spirited" individuals, Patchouli has strong effects on helping with depression, and assisting with appetite, and skin conditions like acne
Orange - sharing similar properties to other citrus oils, orange oils have a great effect on booting a positive mental state. More specifically, it helps with anxiety, and the exhaustion that follows, which means it has helped those with PTSD
Tea Tree - known very well for those fighting acne, Tee tree has great anti microbial effects, and can help
Sandalwood - It can be on the more expensive side of oils, but sandalwood oil is used to find grounding, and focus on balance in life
With these ideas in had I suggest trying for yourself! whether that means smelling something citrusy a little longer in the kitchen when you cut it open, or if you go and buy some essential oils for your diffuser, There is no wrong way to experiment and find what works best for you, and the benefits a home that helps you feel grounded can do for your life.
