The Art of Aromatherapy

Can you remember some smell from your childhood? How about the smell of the homemade chocolate chip cookies that your mother used to make? Or maybe, the scent of your very first love’s perfume or cologne? Isn’t it funny that these scents instantly bring back memories from your childhood? Have you ever wondered why that is? Scent is the most enduring of all of our senses. It has the power to heal our bodies and transform our emotions. One of the most powerful ways to stimulate your sense of smell is through the art of aromatherapy. In order to understand how this ancient art works, it is important to know its history and the many uses that it has today.
With origins dating back 5,000 years, aromatherapy is one of the oldest forms of healing. It began with the Egyptians, who used a method called infusion to extract the oils from aromatic plants. These oils were used for medicinal and cosmetic purposes, as well as for embalming their dead. At a similar time, the Chinese were...