Aromatherapy is a personalized treatment and is done through scents or fragrances. An aroma that works for you might not work for everybody else and similarly, an aroma that works on your friend might not work on you. Aromatherapy can tell which aroma benefits your health and which scent can work wonders for you. People often practice the “trial and error” method to find out which scent works best on them.
True that the “trial and error” method sounds like a long and challenging process, but do not give up yet as Ayurveda has tricks to identify the fragrance you can benefit from. Ayurveda, over the years, has developed unique and various ways to recognize the essential oils that best suits people, and this depends on certain factors about people, especially their type of mind and body.
Aromatherapy: The Basics
Aromatherapy is an integral part of Ayurvedic practices, and over time, it has been believed that essential oils have the ability to bring mystical ecstasy and awareness through their scents. Be it through worship in a religious place or gathering or in the meditation room, certain fragrances have proved to calm the mind, soothe the body, and bring spiritual stability.
This is how aromatherapy, in Ayurveda, emerged. Certain fragrances were found to benefit the human body and mind and essential oils came into being. These beneficial oils include basil, cinnamon, sandalwood, rose, jasmine, lavender, rosemary, angelica, frankincense, and many more. Ancient Ayurvedic studies have recommended the use of essential oils to balance, strengthen, energize, and revitalize the seven chakras present in the human body:
1. Jasmine and ylang-ylang for the base or the root chakra
2. Vertivert for the hara
3. Rosemary and lemon for the solar plexus chakra
4. Neroli for the heart chakra
5. Benzoin for the throat chakra
6. Sandalwood for the third eye chakra
7. Rose for the crown chakra
For instance, it has been observed that sandalwood oil is blended with any carrier oil and rubbed between the brows, where it is believed that the third eye chakra is positioned, and this is believed to bring psychic enfoldment. This is mainly because of the presence of the pituitary gland present in that area of the forehead in humans.
Types Of Bodies According To Ayurveda
The human body has been classified into three basic types by Ayurveda: the vata, the pitta, and the kapha. According to these body types, Ayurveda has found which essential oils and their scents benefit people.
The Vata Type
The vata type of body is generally prone to get headaches, dry skin, constipation and also, suffer from hypersensitivity, insomnia, and nervous anxiety. People with the vata type of bodies must avoid sharp or strongly perfumed essential oils. These people get benefited from warm and energizing oils such as camphor, cinnamon, and cypress when any of them are combined with calming and stabilizing oils such as sandalwood, jasmine, or rose and blended in sesame oil. Here, sesame oil is the carrier oil that is known for its amazing ability to penetrate into the skin.
The Pitta Type
The pitta type of body is generally prone to ulcers, acidity, fever, inflammatory skin, anger, and agitation. People with pitta type of bodies benefit from cooling and calming oils that have flowery fragrances such as jasmine, rose, mint, gardenia, and sandalwood, and any one of them must be blended with a cooling carrier oil like coconut oil to reap all the benefits.
The Kapha Type
Those people who are predisposed to respiratory ailments are the ones who have the kapha type of bodies. The kapha type of bodies benefit greatly from sharp and stimulating aromas. These people benefit from the usage of light, warm, and stimulating oils such as basil, cedar, pine, sage, myrrh, etc. when any of them is blended with a light carrier oil.
Check which of the health issues make you uneasy and use the essential oils accordingly to benefit your health and prevent yourself from diseases, helping you stay calm and stable.
