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Lavender Aromatherapy
Lavender is considered the most useful of all essential oils. Lavender
is known to help relieve headaches, insomnia, tension and stress. Its
therapeutic properties have been well chronicled all over the world.
Originally an inhabitant of the Mediterranean countries, this perennial
herb has long been recognized for its exotic perfume and medicinal
properties. Used in past by the ancient Romans for its healing and
antiseptic qualities, the name itself comes from the Latin
“lavare” or “to wash”. Tibetans
still make an edible lavender butter to use as part of a traditional
treatment for nervous disorders. Today, the essential oil of lavender
is widely used across Europe and North America for a number of illness
and medical problems.
Lavender is just a beautiful herb in your garden. It has gray-green,
pointing leaves that grow in a bushy, spreading manner. It is crowned
with tall spikes of beautiful pale violet flowers during summer. As an
ornamental flower, lavender is unique, sporting exotic fragrance,
beauty and a rich harvest of sweet smelling blooms. Old
English Lavender, a popular inhabitant of a cottage garden, can grow up
to two to three feet high, producing fragrant grayish leaves and
blue/purple flowers. The more compact variety Hidcote, has darker blue
flowers, grows to around a foot high and is very pretty in any flower
or herb garden. The easiest way to propagate lavender is to cut
softwood cuttings in the spring. However, as lavender benefits from a
light pruning in early autumn, these clippings make excellent new
plants too, as long as you protect them from frosts and winter bite.
With its flowery fragrance Lavender is the most versatile and useful
oil. If you are a newbie to essential oils, you may need to start here
by using lavender oil. Called the “Swiss army knife of
essential oils”, because of its versatility, lavender is very
soothing to sun burnt skin and is used to cleanse cuts and skin
irritations.
Essential oil of lavender is used in aromatherapy practices to get rid
of depression, fight tiredness and get relaxation. It has strong
disinfectant properties and was even used on the wars to prevent
infection and relieve pain. A drop of lavender oil mixed with a
teaspoon of carrier oil, such as grape seed and massaged into the
temples and back of the neck will drive away headaches. Mixed with any
massage oil, it also helps relieve the pain of arthritis or aching
muscles. Occasionally, just a small cotton ball with droplets of
lavender near your pillow can help you drift off to a deep sleep.
Lavender essential oil can help reduce anger and frustration, while
improving your self esteem. Lavender is found to elicit the emotion of
happiness. Lavender has a property of calming and sedating effects. You
can also use lavender, by scenting a relaxing and antiseptic bath by
slowly adding lavender droplets and letting the bath water run over it
as it fills the bath. Fresh lavender flowers are excellent for bath too.
Dried lavender is a tool to experience the sheer aromatic properties in
a relaxed ambience. To dry your lavender, strip the leaves or the just
opening flowers from the stalk and spread out in a warm place, before
using in potpourris to fragrance your rooms. Around your home, dried
lavender stalks can be burned like incense sticks or burned on the fire
for their wonderful fragrance.
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