The holistic treatment of aromatherapy
Taking care of your body with aromatherapy is a pleasant and effective way of treating digestive ailments. Creating a peaceful atmosphere and making time for yourself may help you relieve daily tensions and stress.
+ When treating digestive disorders, soothing the pain or the symptoms is not always enough. Enhancing the environment with different fragrances and aromas, may also be helpful to promote general well-being. Essential oils can affect the mood, alleviate ailments, reduce anxiety and promote relaxation. When inhaled, these aromas work on the nervous system and stimulate digestive organs.
∎ Healing aromas
Essential oils are the most pure form of botanical oils you can use, although essential oils can be used therapeutically with incense and aromatherapy candles. For incense the best essentials are juniper and eucalyptus; for candles, lemon and lavender. However, if you are using a clay pot for heating aromatherapy oils, angelica or basil is best.
To treat or prevent digestive ailments it's fundamental to concentrate on the abdomen. Oriental philosophies consider the abdomen as the energy center called the solar plexus chakra . Breathing focusing on this chakra can also have therapeutic effects.
∎ Massages with essential oils
Receive or give yourself a massage on the abdomen region using essential oils indicated for digestive problems (see Essential oils from A to Z box, on page 35). Essential oils will make the massage feel even better, improving the results and leaving lasting effects thanks to the aromas released and incorporated into your skin.
∎ Intense baths
All of the other therapeutic methods can be replaced by immersing yourself in a tepid bath adding 4 to 6 drops. While you soak your ailment away, the oils will work on your skin and the aroma will affect your circulation. The effects are as direct as with a massage, while at the same time leaving an aroma in the air and loosening up your body. Add a few drops of milk to the bath to make sure the oil distributes evenly in the water.
EFFECTIVE MASSAGE
Give yourself a gentle massage using ylang ylang oil to calm stomachaches and for slight cases of food poisoning.
PLEASURE AND RELIEF
The following baths are ideal to calm specific ailments in the digestive system.
- • For gastric pain. Draw a bath with angelica, yarrow and neroli oils.
- • For nausea. Add marjoram, bergamot and lemon balm.
- • For constipation. The best essences to use are juniper and geranium.
- • For diarrhea. Take a bath with marjoram, Roman camomile and yarrow.
- • When you overeat or drink too much. Nothing works better than a soaking bath with geranium, lavender, neroli and lemon.
- • To revitalize your body when digestive problems appear. Add a few drops of juniper mixed with lemon herb to a bath.
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