The Joy of Reflexology
推 拿 的 喜 悅
My Mission is to Bring out the Joy in Every Touch
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The Joy of Reflexology 推 拿 的 喜 悅
My Mission is to Bring out the Joy in Every Touch
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Taking Care of Your Mind, Body and Soul This website is created and managed by Marcial Designs 2008. Last updated: January 30, 2008
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Aromatherapy
What is Aromatherapy? Aromatherapy is a holistic therapy that uses essential oils to improve one's health and psychological well-being. The healing value of plants have been recognized the herbalists for centuries, and Aromatherapy is the use of therapeutic oils extracted from natural plant matter in order to encourage continued good health and equilibrium. The essential oils that are used in aromatherapy are highly concentrated extracts from the aromatic parts of herbs, flowers, trees and grasses. They have been used for thousands of years, and are holistic in that they can have a powerful and positive effect and influence on the mind, body, and spirit. To use the essential oils well it is necessary to take time to understand the essence oft he person you are choosing them for. Each oil has different chemical makeup according to its plant source. The use of essential oils will benefit the whole family and contribute to a stress-free life and can have wonderful benefits for the skin. Essential oils are extracted form trees, bushes, flowers, and shrubs from all over the world and each oil has its own unique chemical makeup. One of the main uses of essential oils is to alleviate the various symptoms of chronic stress ranging from insomnia to dyspepsia to migraines. They can affect the whole person: their mood, physical makeup, attitude and mood. The oils work on mental, physical and psychological. Essential oils lent themselves to a sensitive and subtle approach for each one has many properties - unlike synthetic drugs. Essential oils are frequently balancing in their effect, able to help the body return form the imbalanced state that caused the illness to a state of balance that represents health and well being. The Origins of Aromatherapy The healing powers of plants has been acknowledged by many cultures for thousands of years, and aromatherapy can be said to stem from the various systems of traditional medicine developed by ancient civilization. Primitive peoples used plans in both either healing traditions as well as religious rituals. India, China, Egypt, Greece, Rome, and even ancient Babylon have used plant-based medicine and has traveled to Europe across the years.. Medicinal plants from India became famous throughout Asia an many found their way into medical Western treatments. Today India's age-old Ayurvedic medical system is increasingly popular in the West as more people become disillusioned with chemical preparations and turn to traditional and holistic forms of healing. Traditional Chinese medicine is an ancient system of healing that has survived into the present. In China herbal medicine has been used for many thousands of years in conjunction to acupuncture (the insertion of very fine needles into specific points, called Chakras, of the body to free its energies. . . Since the time of the pharaohs, essential oils have been used in Egypt and there exists records of trade of essential oils being imported into Egypt as far back as 3500 BC. The Egyptian priestesses were burning resins in temples such as frankincense to clear the mind and as agents in the mummification process. Cedarwood and Myrrh were both used very effectively in the embalming process. (Cedarwood oil contains a strong fixative, and myrrh is an excellent antiseptic and antibacterial oil). Cleopatra is said to have harnessed the power of rose oil in order to blind Mark Antony with her charms! The Greeks gained much of their knowledge from the Egyptians but acknowledged that the aroma of certain flowers could be either uplifting or relaxing. They used olive oil in their effleurage processes. Famous Greek physician Hippocrates (c. 469-399 BC) was revered as the father of medicine, refers to a vast number of medicinal plants in his writings. Many Green physicians were employed by the Romans and through them the use of medicinal plants gradually spread around the ancient world dominated by the Romans. The Roans used essential oils for pleasure - to perfume their hair, bodies and clothes as well as for pain relief, massage. Emperor Nero used rose oil for relief of his headaches indigestion. Romans used Chamomile to cure skin complaints and help in healing of wounds. After the fall of Rome, many physicians fled to Constantinople, taking their knowledge with them Their recipes were translated into Arabic and the knowledge spread throughout the world. Unfortunately during the Dark Ages in Europe (after the fall of Rome,) the widespread persecution of "witches" for their "magical" healing powers using herbs had a switch in using herbal medicine. By the 12th century, the use of aromatherapy had definitely arrived in Europe. During the Crusades, Europeans surgeons worked alongside Arab physicians learning from them the importance of hygiene and the uses of oils. Knights returning from the Crusades brought the herbs and old back to Europe along with the understanding of the steam-distillation process. In Europe perfumers, such as the famous French perfume house at Grasse began to experiment with local plants. By the 15th century with the invention of the printing press - rapid spread of aromatherapy was published as "herbals. Herbs that gave off their volatile oils when walked on were carried in public places to ward of infection. By 1665, during the Great Plague in Britain, people in London burned lavender, Cedarwood, and cypress in the streets to disinfect and used them as insecticides and insect repellents." Aromatherapy Through the Ages Arab physician and alchemist, Abu Ali Ibn Sina, known as Avicenna was the physician-in-chief to the hospital in Baghdad and personal physician to a succession of caliphs. Avicenna invented traction from broken limb and used manipulation of structural abnormalities. He also wrote instructions on massage including techniques for sports massage (that is still accepted today). He discovered the steam-distillation process for aromatherapy In 1928 that French chemist Rene Gattefosse coined the term aromatherapie. His research work was the result of an accident suffered while working the perfumery lab. He badly burned his hand and plunged it into the nearest bowl of liquid, which happened to be lavender oil. The hand healed very quickly and with virtually no scarring. Gattefosse realized that the healing properties of the lavender oil were much greater than those of the synthetic preparations that he had been working on . He then began researching the healing properties of other essential oils, taking into consideration their chemical properties as well as their smells. Aromatherapy combined with massage was invented by Marguerite Maury (1895-1968), a French bio-chemist who became interested in aromatherapy during World War II using the oils as beauty products. She began using it externally instead of internally and combined them with massage. During World War II surgeons found out that essential oils were very effective as a substitute to the usual drugs of the day. Aromatherapy Today In France today, Aromatherapists are exclusively either physicians or beauty therapists. However in the rest of Europe, the United States, Australia and Canada a strand of aromatherapy has developed that is based on a holistic approach, seeking to treat the body as a whole and promote health on all levels. MOODS AND EMOTIONS
Lemon Geranium, Rosewood, Bergamot, Maychang, Orange, Coriander and Petitgrain
Ylang-Ylang, Bergamot, Jasmine, Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Vetiver and Geranium.
Cypress, Mandarin, Cardamon, Lemon, Rose Otto, Patchouli, Cedarwood, Lavender.
Roman Chamomile, Lavender, Clary Sage, Marjoram, Nerolil, Petitgrain, and Vetiver
Peppermint, Rosemary, Pine, Basil, Juniper, Grapefruit, Immortelle and Eucalyptus (radiata)
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"The Paved Highway of Belief through touch and sight leads straightest into the human heart and the precints of the mind."- Lucretius As long as the spirit is strong, the body will follow for the body is forever the slave of your mind and can be willed to achieve great feats. A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug. Brenda Marcial |
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