How to Get Started with Aromatherapy
Imagine yourself seated in the warm sand on a soft, beautiful beach. The wind caresses your hair, making a gentle rustling sound that calms you at once. The sun is bright and warm overhead, but your eyes are closed, as you take in the sounds and sensations of the shoreline. You smell the salty water on the air and take a moment just to breathe in and out, feeling joy and appreciation for the world in which we live. You open your eyes and…you’re in your bedroom? A diffuser with a pale blue light rests atop your night table, diffused steam from a spectacular fragrance oil lazily spiraling away from the top of the device, filling the room with the scents of the ocean. For a moment there, you were whisked away by the feeling that this slightly tropical aroma brought to mind. For just a few minutes, you were transported. So keep reading on how to get started with aromatherapy.
That is the magic of aromatherapy.
Stock Up on Supplies
Getting started with aromatherapy is easy, and does not require a large financial investment. You’ll want an essential oil diffuser (regular fragrance oils are a fine substitute for essential oils) or a wax warmer, along with whatever oils or wax melts you decide to purchase. Scented candles can be used as well, but you’ll need to make sure that no children and animals are present, and that you extinguish your candles as soon as you are finished with your therapeutic activities.
Choose fragrances that naturally attract you, whether it’s a sweet mix of tropical coconut or the comforting aroma of freshly baked sugar cookies. Those who like floral scents will find a vast array to choose from, whether you enjoy the elegant and refined bouquet of roses or prefer something sweeter, like fresh-cut honeysuckle. For aromatherapy, you’ll likely want familiar scents that bring to mind a favorite vacation or memory. Think of the happiest, most peaceful times you’ve had in your life, and opt for fragrances that bring those moments or experiences to life.
Allow Yourself to Drift Away
While you definitely don’t have to meditate to enjoy the benefits of aromatherapy, you can experience another whole level of relaxation if you do. Aromatherapy can be experienced just by being in a room where there is a lovely fragrance – you’ll feel more relaxed with the fresh musky scent of a rain forest than you will without. But adding meditation will take your aromatherapy practice to another level entirely.
To meditate, you must only focus on one thing. Let the world melt away as you concentrate on your breathing, keeping it strong and regular while visualizing your breaths as they drift in and out of your lungs. Our sense of smell is finely attuned and linked to relaxation and memory, and the experience of meditating while practicing aromatherapy is a soothing and delightful one.
Conclusion
Aromatherapy is a wonderful way to take a moment and simply relax, so I hope these tips on how to get started with aromatherapy will help you get started. Hopefully being surrounded by the aromatic bouquet of your favorite fragrance, you’ll be able to take a deep breath and enjoy some respite from the stresses of the day.
