Beautify and Relax Yourself With an Aromatherapy Massage

Essential oils are powerfully aromatic oils derived from natural botanical matter like plants and herbs.

The practice of Aromatherapy uses pure essential oils to promote physical and mental wellbeing through the power of the beautifully scented oils.

Aromatherapy oils and Massage have been used for more than 6000 years. Aromatherapy derives from two words: aroma - fragrance or smell and therapy - treatment. The Egyptians are given credit for being the first to take use of essential oils and aromatherapy. They were first used as gifts to the gods, then for embalming. The oils were found for medicinal and cosmetic uses and the Greeks began to use them for Massage, ointments, perfumes and other methods of treatment to pamper and Relax themselves.

The Romans adopted Greek medicine and improved it for personal use in the bath and Massage. With time, Arabic and East Indian oils were adopted as the Romans spread in their conquest of the world.

The crusades brought essential oils to the Far East and Arabia. Avicenna was the first to distill the plants (980 A.D - 1037 A.D.). The Chinese started to use aromatics as burnt offerings to please their gods. Ayurveda, traditional Indian medicine over 3000 years old, uses Massage with oil as part of the treatment. American Indians also used aromatics.

It wasn't until around the early 1900's that Western civilizations began to find the curative and restorative powers of essential oils. French doctors and botanists were amongst the first to publish books and sell oils for Massage. Their production techniques are now used world-wide.

Each aromatherapy oil brings its own unique benefit. For example, the health benefits of lavender oil include its ability to remove nervous tension, relieve pain, disinfect scalp and skin, enhance blood circulation and treat respiratory problems. Lavender smells lovely, it has the Latin name Lavare, which means "to wash", due to its aroma that gives the feeling of a clean aroma.

Lavender oil is extracted mostly from the flowers of lavender plant, primarily through steam distillation. The flowers of lavender are beautifully fragrant in nature and have been used for making potpourris for many years.

Lavender essential oil has also for a long time been traditionally used in making perfumes. The oil is very useful in aromatherapy and many aromatic preparations are made using lavender oil. Lavender oil blends well with a lot of other oils including cedarwood, pine, clary sage, geranium, and nutmeg. Today, lavender oil is used in various forms including aromatherapy oil, gels.

Essential oils can be purchase from health stores or online.