Think about your nose for a second. We think of it mainly for smelling things, but it has another extremely important job: regulating the movement of air into and out of the lungs. Between the two, your nose is an important part of what makes aromatherapy work.
When you inhale a particular scent, millions of smell receptors carry messages about the scent right into the brain. These scent messages move through the brain and trigger emotional responses. These scent messengers also trigger chemical responses.
Scents are often processed in the limbic system — the part of your brain that works the same way a reptile’s brain works. The limbic system controls that fight-or-flight reaction known as adrenaline, and connects directly to the hypothalamus and pituitary gland. Since the hypothalamus and pituitary glands control so much of your body, the effects of smell on your limbic system ends up affecting your whole nervous system, hormones, immune system, and more.
A scent may seem subtle, but it actually ends up having an impact on more than just your nose!
Now let’s think about touch. Touch is an important aspect of interaction, and yet many people don’t get enough. Do you ever feel touch-starved? I do sometimes. Person to person contact creates a sense of comfort and reassurance.
Take that idea of touch a step further and think about massage. Your skin is connected to muscles and your whole nervous system. A massage can help improve circulation, release tension, and improve flexibility. Combine the power of scent with the power of touch and you have an aromatherapy massage.
When thinking about essential oils, think about this: the molecules that make up essential oils are very small. They pass very easily through your skin and into your blood. Absorption can take as little as twenty minutes — about the amount of time you can expect to feel the effects if you take a Tylenol.
Don’t believe me? Kathi Keville, author of Aromatherapy For Dummies, suggests this test: cut a clove of garlic in half and rub it over the bottom of your foot. Put socks on and wait. Within twenty minutes or so, you will be able to taste the garlic you put on your foot! The essence of the garlic has traveled through your skin, into your bloodstream, and all the way up to your mouth.