Scents of relaxation

By Connie Midey
Arizona Republic

Aromatherapy — using oils extracted from plants such as rose, lavender and chamomile to improve physical and emotional health — can help alleviate stress, anxiety and fatigue, believers say. Some oils, however, can elevate blood pressure or affect the nervous system. Photo illustration by Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

Oils extracted from citrus may have a calming effect and won't make you sleepy. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

The ancient practice of aromatherapy — using oils extracted from plants such as rose, lavender and chamomile to improve physical and emotional health — has opened new avenues of relief for many of the conditions of modern life, including stress, anxiety and fatigue.

"Lavender really is wonderful for relaxation," says Katrina Gaines of Glendale, Ariz., a certified natural-health consultant specializing in aromatherapy, "and citrus oils are very uplifting and calming at the same time."

Although lavender and many other oils are safe, she says, some can elevate blood pressure or act on the central nervous system and should not be used by pregnant women or people with high blood pressure or seizure disorders.

Experts also suggest consulting with a professional before using the oils with children. Any kind of oil can smell good, Gaines says, "but therapeutic benefits can only be achieved by using essential oils extracted from plants, not from synthetic re-creations."

That's because essential oils are more potent and volatile, able to vaporize quickly and be absorbed into the body, where they trigger chemical reactions.

Helps with pain

At Banner Desert Medical Center in Mesa, Ariz., registered nurses certified in clinical aromatherapy use essential oils at bedside, helping patients with everything from depression to inflammation.

"Aromatherapy helps women relax during labor, and it's excellent for pain management," says Julie Kesteloot, the hospital's manager of integrative therapy.

Treatment is by inhalation of the scents or by light-touch massage, she says.

Inhaled from a cotton ball or room diffuser, the evaporating oil goes through the olfactory bulb and hits the lower part of the brain, eliciting the desired physiological response.

Mixed with a "carrier" oil and applied to the skin, the essential oil is absorbed into the blood stream and travels throughout the body as a drug would.

"Smell is one of the strongest of our senses," says Patty Seneski, a Banner registered nurse and aromatherapy clinician. "It goes to a very ancient part of our brain, and it evokes so many memories, hopefully good ones like apple pie."

That essential oils from plants can bestow medical benefits is not so hard to accept, she says, when you consider all the medicines that are made from plants — aspirin from birch bark, for example, and digitalis from foxglove.

Headache relief

Jessica Hovland of Surprise, Ariz., who works as a senior office assistant, turned to aromatherapy for relief from frequent headaches.

"At one point I was taking Advil or aspirin every day," she says. "I really wanted to get away from using medication, and I haven't needed any since I started using the oils."

She mixes lavender and peppermint in a massage oil and applies it to her skin along the hairline and temples.

"In about 20 minutes, I feel better," Hovland says. "This has been such a great relief for me."

Gaines, a member of the American Herbalists Guild, the American Herb Association and the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy, teaches her workshop students the reported benefits of various oils and the precautions to take in using them.

"With essential oils you can smell good and have a house that smells good," she says, "and at the same time you can enjoy the therapeutic benefits. But it's so important to ask questions and educate yourself first."

"Some of the relaxation that we get from aromatherapy is just taking the time to breathe and to slow down for a little bit," Seneski says, "or allowing somebody to do something for us. We're all so busy that we forget we need that sometimes."

Learning to use aromatherapy

A little research will help you use aromatherapy effectively and safely.

• Consult with a professional before using essential oils with children, pregnant women or people with high blood pressure or seizure disorders.
• Use pure essential oils extracted from plants. They can be found in places such as health-food stores and herbariums.
• For light-touch aromatherapy massage, mix the oil with vegetable oil, aloe vera gel, almond oil or a good quality massage oil blend.
• Learn more through classes and books. Three books for beginners: "The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy", by Valerie Ann Worwood (New World Library, 1991, $19.95 paperback); "Aromatherapy for Body, Mind and Spirit", by Larissa Jones (Evergreen Aromatherapy, 2002, $29.95 paperback); and "Illustrated Elements of Essential Oils", by Julia Lawless (Element Books, 2002, $12.95).

When to use essential oils

Aromatherapy practitioners say essential oils from plants can help relieve stress in specific ways.

DURING THE DAY

Citrus oils — mandarin orange, lemon, grapefruit (especially pink grapefruit) and bergamot, for example — calm anxiety without making you too sleepy to get through work, chores or homework.

AT NIGHT

Roman chamomile, rose, lavender (consider lavender- or rose-scented linens or bath water) relax and help you get a good night's sleep.