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The Benefits Of Lavender Aromatherapy
from: Lorna FindlayLavender is considered the most useful of all essential oils.
Lavender is known to help relieve headaches, insomnia, tension
and stress. Its therapeutic properties have been well chronicled
all over the world.
Originally an inhabitant of the Mediterranean countries, this
perennial herb has long been recognized for its exotic perfume
and medicinal properties. Used in past by the ancient Romans for
its healing and antiseptic qualities, the name itself comes from
the Latin "lavare" or "to wash". Tibetans still make an edible
lavender butter to use as part of a traditional treatment for
nervous disorders. Today, the essential oil of lavender is
widely used across Europe and North America for a number of
illness and medical problems.
Lavender is just a beautiful herb in your garden. It has
gray-green, pointing leaves that grow in a bushy, spreading
manner. It is crowned with tall spikes of beautiful pale violet
flowers during summer. As an ornamental flower, lavender is
unique, sporting exotic fragrance, beauty and a rich harvest of
sweet smelling blooms. Old English Lavender, a popular
inhabitant of a cottage garden, can grow up to two to three feet
high, producing fragrant grayish leaves and blue/purple flowers.
The more compact variety Hidcote, has darker blue flowers, grows
to around a foot high and is very pretty in any flower or herb
garden. The easiest way to propagate lavender is to cut softwood
cuttings in the spring. However, as lavender benefits from a
light pruning in early autumn, these clippings make excellent
new plants too, as long as you protect them from frosts and
winter bite.
With its flowery fragrance Lavender is the most versatile and
useful oil. If you are a newbie to essential oils, you may need
to start here by using lavender oil. Called the "Swiss army
knife of essential oils", because of its versatility, lavender
is very soothing to sun burnt skin and is used to cleanse cuts
and skin irritations.
Essential oil of lavender is used in aromatherapy practices to
get rid of depression, fight tiredness and get relaxation. It
has strong disinfectant properties and was even used on the wars
to prevent infection and relieve pain. A drop of lavender oil
mixed with a teaspoon of carrier oil, such as grape seed and
massaged into the temples and back of the neck will drive away
headaches. Mixed with any massage oil, it also helps relieve the
pain of arthritis or aching muscles. Occasionally, just a small
cotton ball with droplets of lavender near your pillow can help
you drift off to a deep sleep.
Lavender essential oil can help reduce anger and frustration,
while improving your self esteem. Lavender is found to elicit
the emotion of happiness. Lavender has a property of calming and
sedating effects. You can also use lavender, by scenting a
relaxing and antiseptic bath by slowly adding lavender droplets
and letting the bath water run over it as it fills the bath.
Fresh lavender flowers are excellent for bath too.
Dried lavender is a tool to experience the sheer aromatic
properties in a relaxed ambience. To dry your lavender, strip
the leaves or the just opening flowers from the stalk and spread
out in a warm place, before using in pot pourris to fragrance
your rooms. Around your home, dried lavender stalks can be
burned like incense sticks or burned on the fire for their
wonderful fragrance.
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Find more great aromatherapy information at
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