Essential oils are the reduced extracts from plant life whichare extensively used in today's culture for aromatherapy. However if youstudy the record of essential oils you will discover that they have been in use for thousands of years for therapeutic and personal reasons.
The Egyptians used essential oils to a large extent. There is proof that they not only used them for aromatherapy and aromatic herbs, but also for use in their faith, makeup, and curative purposes. In this same time the Chinese were also using herbs and fragrant flora for both personal and therapeutic reasons. Actually, the use of herbs and essential oils, in Chinese culture, have constantly been in use. Unlike our Western society.
The medicinal knowledge of the Egyptians was adopted by the ancient Greeks - and the most well-known doctor of that time, Hippocrates (c.460 - 377 BC) was a firm believer of treating the patient holistically and included aromatherapy massage as a treatment.
When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they realized the benefits of the Greeks medical system and quickly adopted the use of essential oils into their society. They were great believers in hygiene to promote health but also the use of aromatherapy and the power of fragrances.
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Dark Ages, society largely neglected the knowledge of any of the previous societies. Except for the Arabian empire which saw the value of this knowledge and incorporated it into their society. They not only drew on the Greek and Roman teachings, but also the medicinal teachings of China and India.
It is the Persian physician Avicenna (980 - 1,037 AD) that is being credited with perfecting the refinement of essential oils, which is still used in today's process.
In western culture it was the monks who tended after the sick and kept some herbal curative wisdom alive. At the same time when herbal medicine was practiced by a village herbalist it would lead to their persecution as witches.
The Church deemed bathing as wicked, so the use of essential oils was mainly to mask the odor of a people who only bathed once or twice a year. Today's researchers are starting to wonder if the oils used had anti-bacterial and anti-pesticide properties, which didn't stop disease, but may have slowed its progress.
The Renaissance saw a swing back to the holistic treatment of illness and the most noteworthy of physicians was Paracelsus (Phillipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim 1493 - 1541). It was Paracelsus who pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. He is the creator of laudanum, an opiate which was widely used for pain until the 19th century. It was his belief that there was wisdom in folk medicine, much to the disgust of his colleagues, yet he was one of the few physicians of his age who had success in curing leprosy.
Still into the 19th and early twentieth centuries, any medical doctor who thought essential oils were of enormous curative value was deemed a quack. In 1930, Dr Edward Bach a consulting medical doctor and a educated pathologist and bacteriologist became disappointed with conventional medicine and developed a method for treating disorders with the essence of flora. Many of his methods are still in use in our day.
Aromatherapy, as we know it, was first used in 1937 by the French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse. He was not a natural health believer but was interested in the properties that essential oils exhibited.
In 1910, he burnt his hand badly. As there was nothing else handy he treated it with undiluted lavender oil. He was amazed when the pain was immediately eased and the hand healed without any infection and only a minor scar. This accidental discovery led him to do further research, where he discovered that small amounts of essential oils were absorbed into the skin and interacted with the body.
As a consequence of Gattefosse's experiments, Dr. Jean Valet used essential oils to treat wounded soldiers in the second world war with enormous success.
In the 1950's Marguerite Maury started mixing essential oils in vegetable oil and massaging it onto the skin. She was the first known person to use essential oils based on each individuals needs.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's the use of essential oils and aromatherapy became a major part of alternative and holistic health systems.
In the 1990's, the use of aromatherapy has become extensively used for stress relief and relaxation.
In today's time, there is a reappearance of holistic medicine as people begin to examine whether cures may be found in plants. It is remarkable that as our awareness of the benefits of essential oils develop, we are actually using a lost remedy into our daily lives.
The Egyptians used essential oils to a large extent. There is proof that they not only used them for aromatherapy and aromatic herbs, but also for use in their faith, makeup, and curative purposes. In this same time the Chinese were also using herbs and fragrant flora for both personal and therapeutic reasons. Actually, the use of herbs and essential oils, in Chinese culture, have constantly been in use. Unlike our Western society.
The medicinal knowledge of the Egyptians was adopted by the ancient Greeks - and the most well-known doctor of that time, Hippocrates (c.460 - 377 BC) was a firm believer of treating the patient holistically and included aromatherapy massage as a treatment.
When the Romans conquered the Greeks, they realized the benefits of the Greeks medical system and quickly adopted the use of essential oils into their society. They were great believers in hygiene to promote health but also the use of aromatherapy and the power of fragrances.
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the emergence of the Dark Ages, society largely neglected the knowledge of any of the previous societies. Except for the Arabian empire which saw the value of this knowledge and incorporated it into their society. They not only drew on the Greek and Roman teachings, but also the medicinal teachings of China and India.
It is the Persian physician Avicenna (980 - 1,037 AD) that is being credited with perfecting the refinement of essential oils, which is still used in today's process.
In western culture it was the monks who tended after the sick and kept some herbal curative wisdom alive. At the same time when herbal medicine was practiced by a village herbalist it would lead to their persecution as witches.
The Church deemed bathing as wicked, so the use of essential oils was mainly to mask the odor of a people who only bathed once or twice a year. Today's researchers are starting to wonder if the oils used had anti-bacterial and anti-pesticide properties, which didn't stop disease, but may have slowed its progress.
The Renaissance saw a swing back to the holistic treatment of illness and the most noteworthy of physicians was Paracelsus (Phillipus Aureolus Theophrastus Bombastus von Hohenheim 1493 - 1541). It was Paracelsus who pioneered the use of chemicals and minerals in medicine. He is the creator of laudanum, an opiate which was widely used for pain until the 19th century. It was his belief that there was wisdom in folk medicine, much to the disgust of his colleagues, yet he was one of the few physicians of his age who had success in curing leprosy.
Still into the 19th and early twentieth centuries, any medical doctor who thought essential oils were of enormous curative value was deemed a quack. In 1930, Dr Edward Bach a consulting medical doctor and a educated pathologist and bacteriologist became disappointed with conventional medicine and developed a method for treating disorders with the essence of flora. Many of his methods are still in use in our day.
Aromatherapy, as we know it, was first used in 1937 by the French chemist Rene Maurice Gattefosse. He was not a natural health believer but was interested in the properties that essential oils exhibited.
In 1910, he burnt his hand badly. As there was nothing else handy he treated it with undiluted lavender oil. He was amazed when the pain was immediately eased and the hand healed without any infection and only a minor scar. This accidental discovery led him to do further research, where he discovered that small amounts of essential oils were absorbed into the skin and interacted with the body.
As a consequence of Gattefosse's experiments, Dr. Jean Valet used essential oils to treat wounded soldiers in the second world war with enormous success.
In the 1950's Marguerite Maury started mixing essential oils in vegetable oil and massaging it onto the skin. She was the first known person to use essential oils based on each individuals needs.
In the late 1970's and early 1980's the use of essential oils and aromatherapy became a major part of alternative and holistic health systems.
In the 1990's, the use of aromatherapy has become extensively used for stress relief and relaxation.
In today's time, there is a reappearance of holistic medicine as people begin to examine whether cures may be found in plants. It is remarkable that as our awareness of the benefits of essential oils develop, we are actually using a lost remedy into our daily lives.
SHARE
