The question is will using essential oils help someone with autism?

Essential oils contain powerful constituents that can clean out receptor sites that contain agents that block the body from performing natural hormonal functions. These constituents can help detox the body and regulate proper signals to and from the brain and various organs.

In addition, stimulation of the limbic brain through inhalation of essential oils may help to open up the emotional and hormonal centers in the brain, leading to clearer thinking and greater concentration.

In my practice I have found that using essential oils in combination with massage are very beneficial for autism as well as other neurological disabilities.  Essential oils induce emotional responses through their ability to directly access  the limbic brain, as well as their vibrational frequencies that work energetically on the whole being.  This is a potent combination that can sooth, relax, restore self love and self confidence.

People with autism can tend to be touch adverse, but when you present an oil for them to smell or hold this creates an atmosphere of trust and playfulness. From this base of trust you can then introduce touch, very gently by massaging the feet or hands.  I put the oil in the persons hand and then take their hand and have them rub it on their feet.  The feet carry the oil through the body providing a wonderful therapeutic effect. 

Emotional factors are very evident in people with autism and other disabilities. Working with essential oils that can deliver emotionally healing properties as a lead in to whatever other work you would like to do is not only rewarding for the practitioner, but can be life changing for the recipient as well.

The essential oils used must always be pure, unadulterated, unaltered, therapeutic-grade. Please see my past posts for more information.

Warmly,

Maria

Green is not just about the car you drive, reusing your shopping bags or deciding whether or not to buy organic food.  Green is about the products you use, what goes into making them and the well being of those who produce what you use.

What is green when it comes to the products you use?

So, how green are the essential oils you use?  Are they free of chemical pollutants? Are they produced in such a way that the earth and environment are honored in the production process?  Are they direct from nature or manipulated to mimic nature? Does the company who grows, distills, bottles, and sells the oils give their employees, whether they are in the field or the corporate office, a working wage, decent working conditions, and respect?

Do not be afraid to ask these questions to any company whose products you use.  You have a right to know…and the company has an obligation to tell you.

I would appreciate your feedback on the answers you have received from the companies you use….I don’t want to hear from the company spokesperson….I would love to hear from some therapists and see the response you have received.

Here’s to living and working green. The essential oils I use pass the test. Do yours?

Maria

When you look at the historic roots of aromatherapy it is the use of pure, undiluted, unaltered, essential oils for healing the body, mind, and spirit. After all, the father of modern day aromatherapy, Rene Gattefosse, put his hand in a vat of undiluted lavender oil and his severe burns were healed.  

So how did this wonderful modality that can do everything from heal burns, repair tissues, and clean out receptor sites turn into such a watered down offering? Let’s take a look at how aromatherapy is taught, presented, and represented.

We are taught you must dilute 95% with carrier oils so the oils will do no harm (and this is because….?), you can’t use wintergreen (because synthetic methyl salicylate will kill you), and many other precautions. I agree that precautions are necessary, but it is as if we progressed to a place where before you can go out of the house you have to dilute the air by putting a bubble around you because you might catch a cold, or you might get sunburn, or it might smell bad.

So what would it be like to never feel the sun on your skin - and the vitamin D it delivers - to never smell the pure ocean air -  and the healing negative ions you would breathe in - to never experience the healing benefits of air because you are so afraid of perceived negative side effects of breathing pure air?

Aromatherapy is an ancient healing art that was used by the Egyptians thousands of years ago, by the Biblical peoples, and even further back in Ayurvedic practice in India. Today, undiluted use of pure therapeutic-grade essential oils (see my last post) is being practiced around the world with wonderful results.

The grade of the essential oil that you use is MORE important than which particular oil (lavender, basil, etc.)  you are choosing to use. The first question to ask when choosing an essential oil is: does the oil have the ability to deliver the full content of the plants underlying benefits?

Almost all essential oils say on the label 100% pure or 100 % (lavender) essential oil or therapeutic grade but is the description on the label really what is in the bottle? There are no labeling laws in the U.S. for essential oils so the supplier can label their oil anyway they want.

So, how do you determine if the oil you are using is therapeutic grade? Ask your supplier! You and your clients deserve the highest quality. Anything less will not have the ability to deliver the benefits promised and may actually be harmful.

Ask your supplier the following questions

 The first month I used tons of oils on him - going through 6-8 15ml bottles. The next month I used less and by the end of 3 months the infections were gone! For the next year at the start of each season he would begin to get some mucus but once again I applied essential oils to his sinus cavity, in his nose and on his feet. I also diffused them into the air. Within days the symptoms were gone and never got to the infection stage.

Now seven years later, he is rarely sick. Last year he got an award at school for not missing one day. Imagine a child who is supposed to have a genetically low immune system not missing one day of school! This year he would have gotten the same award but we took him out of school for a week to visit his grandparents in Europe.

 Passionate about essential oils? You bet I am. Passionate about using oils with my massage clients? Absolutely. Essential oils deliver much more than relaxation. That is the “aroma” part of essential oils. What can also be offered is the “therapy” part…..this is where the grade of oil you use becomes more important than what you use it for.

More on that next time…..

Aromatically yours,

Maria

The German School

The German school of thought emphasizes inhalation of essential oils as the best way to receive the benefits of aromatherapy. This practice falls into the same category as approaching health through psychology, a German created methodology for wellness using a sensory-perception system.

When essential oils are inhaled they go directly to the brain through the limbic system. This is the one of the senses that is not mediated through other bodily systems before reaching the brain. Our sense of smell is a direct pathway to the brain where our emotions are stored.

We know how powerful this sense can be. When you smell a fresh baked pie it may bring you back to a time when your mother or grandmother used to have a nice pie waiting for you. Or the smell of fresh baked cookies can take you back to a simpler time, when you were young and carefree. Smell can also evoke strong dislikes and even anger.

Using our sense of smell when diffusing essential oils into the air can be a powerful way to open up emotions stored in the brain, bring healing vapors into our lungs, and evoke relaxation through the numerous properties of essential oils.

The English (or British) School

This school of thought allows for using essential oils when they are diluted with a carrier oil (a fatty oil such as sweet almond oil). An essential oil would never be used undiluted directly on the skin except for on some occasions lavender and tea tree (melaleuca alternifolia). This dilution of 1% - 5% essential oil to 95% - 99% carrier oil is to be massaged into the skin.

The sought after outcome of this method of application is to reduce muscle aches, invoke relaxation, treat skin disorders such as excema, and create a pleasant massage experience.

The grade of essential oil is not as important as the dilution restrictions are.

The French School

This school of thought focuses on utilizing essential oils by taking them internally via a capsule, directly on the tongue or in tinctures.

In practice, the French school allows for the use of essential oils directly on the skin (neat), through inhalation, massaged into the skin with a carrier oil, and taken internally either through the mouth or other body orifices.

Essential oils used with the French model must be therapeutic grade , as they are going to be taken internally and applied directly on the skin with the intended outcome of a therapeutic, healing benefit.

 The school of thought that I follow is the French model and this is the perspective that I will be writing from.  Please feel free to comment and ask questions.  If there are some topics in aromatherapy you would like to see covered here, please let me know.

Love & Light,

 Maria