Programs > Aromatherapy

Aromatherapy

True Aromatherapy, the safe, effective and meaningful incorporation of essential oils for therapeutic benefit, is a highly rewarding and lucrative adjunct to any professional bodywork practice. This intensive program is designed for the practicing massage therapist who wishes to achieve a high level of underpinning knowledge and competence in the direct use of essential oils as an addition to their existing or proposed professional practice.

Students in this course will purchase and study thirty essential oils and one aromatic hydrolat in detail. Major indications, contraindications, cautions, and precautions are presented with specific reference for sale and effective inclusion in bodywork therapy.

Successful completion will prepare therapists to sit for the national Aromatherapy Registration Council (ARC) examination leading to a Registered Aromatherapist (RA) designation.

Prerequisites and Admission

This course is intended for the bodywork professional who wants to incorporate the beneficial effects of aromatherapy into their current business. Applicants are required to have graduated from a bodywork program or have 400 hours of bodywork training and be currently performing a minimum of eight client sessions per week. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

General Objectives

Students successfully completing the Aromatherapy Program shall:

Demonstrate critical thinking in order to create effective aromatherapy sessions that are appropriate to the conditions presented by the client.
Demonstrate underpinning technical knowledge and understanding for the administration of an assortment of essential oils in conjunction with various bodywork therapies for a range of recipients.
Establish and maintain safe, efficient and professional working practices by demonstrating high standards in personal appearance, personal health, and professional and educational development.
Practice correct hygiene and safety precautions concerning maintenance of quality control with regard to essential oils, supporting materials and equipment, facilities, and resources.
Provide accurate information on services and administrations using essential oils with or without massage therapy or other bodywork treatments.
Have knowledge of essential business practices including record keeping, marketing and advertising, and pertinent laws.
Have knowledge of basic professional practices including client interviews, session documentation, client/therapist relationship, and appropriate scope of practice.

What Are Essential Oils?

Essential oils are the subtle, aromatic and volatile liquids extracted from the flowers, seeds, leaves, stems, bark and roots of herbs, bushes, shrubs and trees, through distillation. According to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics and Chinese manuscripts, priests and physicians were using essential oils thousands of years before Christ to heal the sick. They are the oldest form of medicine and cosmetic known to man and were considered more valuable than gold. There are 188 references to oils in the Bible. Some of the precious oils, which have been used since antiquity for anointing and healing the sick, are frankincense, myrrh, galbanum, hyssop, cassia, cinnamon and spikenard. Clinical research now shows that frankincense oil contains very high immune stimulating properties. Science is only now beginning to investigate the incredible healing substances found in essential oils.

The aromatic constituents of essential oils (i.e., terpenes, monoterpenes, phenols, aldehydes, etc.) are chemical compounds constructed from long chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms, which have a predominantly ring-like chemical structure. Links of carbon atoms form the backbone of these chains, with oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and other carbon atoms attached at various points of the chain.

There are 3 main grades or categories of essential oil. Food grade oils are used for flavoring by the food industry and are considered safe for human consumption. The production process does not preserve many of the therapeutic chemical qualities of the oil, however. Cosmetic grade oils are used in perfumes, creams and lotions. These aromatic oils, due to the manufacturing process, lose most of the chemical constituents that provide therapeutic impact. Therapeutic grade oils, by virtue of their manufacturing process, retain most of the chemical structure that provides therapeutic impact in the body. It is estimated that less than 5% of all essential oils processed in the world today are therapeutic grade.

The Properties of Essential Oils

In the human body, essential oils stimulate the secretion of antibodies, neurotransmitters, endorphins, hormones, and enzymes. They increase the uptake of oxygen and ATP (adenosine triphosphate), the fuel for individual cells. European scientists have studied the ability of essential oils to work as natural chelators, binding with heavy metals and petrochemicals and ferrying them out of the body.

Today approximately 300 essential oils are distilled or extracted, with several thousand chemical constituents and aromatic molecules identified. The quantity, quality, and type of these aromatic compounds will vary depending on climate, temperature, and distillation factors.

Because essential oils are composites of hundreds of different chemicals, they can exert many different effects on the body. For example, lavender oil has been used for burns, insect bites, headaches, PMS, insomnia, stress, and hair growth.

Essential oils do not disturb the body's natural balance or homeostasis: if one constituent exerts too strong an effect, another constituent may block or counteract it. Synthetic chemicals, in contrast, usually have only one action and often disrupt the body's homeostasis.

Pure Essential Oils Have Very High Frequency

The effectiveness of essential oils cannot be fully understood without some discussion of frequency. Frequency is the measurable rate of electrical energy flow that is constant between any two points. Everything has frequency. Dr. Robert O. Becker in his book The Body Electric establishes that the human body has an electrical frequency and that much about a person's health can be determined by its frequency.

In 1992, Bruce Tainio of Tainio Technology, an independent division of Eastern State University in Cheny, Washington, built the first frequency monitor in the world. Tainio has determined that the average frequency of the human body during the daytime is 62-68 Hz. (A healthy body frequency is 62-72 Hz.). When the frequency drops, the immune system is compromised. If the frequency drops to 58 Hz, cold and flu symptoms appear; at 55 Hz, diseases like candida take hold; at 52 Hz, Epstein - Barr and at 42 Hz, cancer.

According to Dr. Royal R. Rife, every disease has a frequency. He found that certain frequencies can prevent the development of disease and that others would destroy disease. Substances with higher frequency will destroy diseases of a lower frequency. The study of frequencies raises an important question, concerning the frequencies of substances we eat, breathe and absorb. Many pollutants lower healthy frequency. Processed/canned food has a frequency of zero. Fresh produce has up to 15 Hz, dried herbs from 12 to 22 Hz and fresh herbs from 20 to 27 Hz. Essential oils start at 52 Hz and go as high as 320 Hz, which is the frequency of rose oil. Clinical research shows that therapeutic grade essential oils have the highest frequency of any natural substance known to man, creating an environment in which disease, bacteria, virus, fungus, etc., cannot live.

American inventor Nikola Tesla (1856 – 1943), a pioneer of electrical technology, said that if you could eliminate certain outside frequencies that interfered in our bodies, we would have greater resistance toward disease.

Every essential oil has a frequency and each of our organs and body parts have a frequency. The frequency of an oil will attract a like frequency in the body. Lower frequencies become a sponge for negative energy. The frequency is what stays in the body to maintain the longer lasting effects of the oil. Low frequencies make physical changes in the body. Middle frequencies make emotional changes in the body. High frequencies make spiritual changes in the body. Spiritual frequencies range from 92 to 360 Hz. (Bone frequency is 38-43; neck and down frequency is 62-68).

Essential Oils Penetrate

The penetrating characteristic of essential oils greatly enhances their ability to be effective. Essential oils will penetrate into the body when applied to the skin. Placed on the foot they will be distributed to every cell in the body in 21 minutes. They will even penetrate a finger or toenail to treat fungus underneath.

Essential oils last 20 minutes in the body. The effects and frequency are cumulative when the mental attitude changes. We must have a desire to change and work at it or the old programming will keep coming back. Oils are a precursor to set up stage for action and a catalyst to do the work. Oils go where the need is present and are activated in that area. Testing on thyroid, heart and pancreas showed that the oils reached these organs in 3 seconds. When layered, one oil applied over another, it is faster. The body absorbs the oils fastest through inhalation and second fastest by applying to the feet or ears. Essential oils containing sesquiterpens have been scientifically shown to cross the blood brain barrier. All the essential oils deliver cell wall penetrating oxygen and it is the unhealthy cells that need the oxygen for the road back to health. When the cell wall thickens, oxygen cannot get in (life expectancy of a cell is 120 days or 4 months). Cells divide making 2 duplicate cells and if it is diseased it will make 2 new diseased cells. When we stop the mutation of the cells (create healthy cells) we stop the disease. Essential oils can restore cells to normal in 7 seconds. Lab studies reveal essential oils are 60% more powerful than pycnogenol.

Essential Oils are Aromatic

Essential oils are highly aromatic and therefore, many of the benefits can be obtained by simply inhaling them. This can be done by breathing in the fragrance from the bottle, or they can be diffused into the room. When diffusing, to preserve the therapeutic constituents of the oil, they should not be heated at all. Rather, a cold air nebulizing diffuser should be used. Essential oils, when diffused, can provide the best air filtration system in the world. They will:

Purify, by removing metallic particles and toxins from the air.
Increase atmospheric oxygen.
Increase ozone and negative ions in the house, which inhibits bacteria growth.
Destroy odors from mold, cigarettes and animals.
Fill the air with a fresh, herbal aromatic scent.

How to Use Essential Oils

Depending upon the chemical make-up of the oil, pure therapeutic grade oils may be applied to the skin, ingested or inhaled. According to a major essential oil manufacturer, these are some common sense preventative precautions to take when using essential oils, especially for the first time:

Read the complete label before using essential oils.
Keep lids securely fastened and out of the reach of children. If a child swallows an essential oil, administer milk, honey, or another safe, oil-soluble liquid.
Therapeutic grade essential oils are normally used at full strength. However, because of differences, it is wise to test a small amount of an oil the first time on the soft, underside of your arm to see if you are allergic. If an oil starts to irritate, rub the area with vegetable oil. Water will not work. If irritation persists, discontinue the use of that particular oil.
Keep all oils out of your eyes, ears, and away from mucous membranes. If you get oil in your eye, soothe with a drop of vegetable oil. Washing the eye with water does not help.
Be aware that citrus oils cause an increased reaction to the sun. Avoid prolonged sunbathing or exposure to the sun after applying pure citrus oils or some blends containing citrus oils to the skin.
Research shows that many oils are safe to take internally as supplements. Some oils however, are for external use only. Consult with an essential oils expert or printed resource if there are any questions.
Do not use essential oils when pregnant without the supervision of a health professional.

To Learn More

Dr. Gary Young, Naturopath and founder of Young Living Essential OilsÔ produces Grade A therapeutic essential oils distilled from organic, pesticide free plant materials cultivated and harvested on certified organic farmland. Information about the company, their oils and other natural products it produces, and results people have attained through use of the oils can be reviewed by clicking the Web site link below:

You may also purchase any of their products through this link.

Information on the use of specific essential oils and oil blends to use for common health concerns may be obtained by consulting books such as the Essential Oils Desk Reference published by Essential Sciences Publishing. These books are available through our retail store or from the Essential Science Publishing website.

Study the testimonials and notice the different essential oils that are used and the results obtained. Young Living Products, with their code numbers and prices, are listed alphabetically for convenience. Enroll either as a preferred customer or, to earn commissions, as a distributor.

Do not wait until you have the "right" essential oil before administering to a symptom. You can not be doing it wrong if you use any of the oils for any symptom! When an oil causes discomfort it is because it is pulling toxins, chemicals, heavy metals, poison, parasites and mucus from the system. Either stop taking the oils for a short time, to make sure your body isn't eliminating too fast, or dilute the oils with V-6 Mixing Oil or any pure vegetable oil until the body catches up with the releasing. These toxins go back into the system if they cannot be released. If a person does not like the smell of an oil, it is usually because of an acidic condition.