Aromatherapy in yoga:
Traditionally incenses and attars were an integral part of any yoga practice. Traditional Indian attars are made in a base of sandal wood oil, but today there are essential oils in many types of products and many of the bases themselves are beneficial.
The herbs, their scents and oils affect parts of the brain in different ways. Besides the scent entering the nostrils and affecting the nervous system, the skin is one of the best interfaces for the oil to be absorbed into the body. Caring for the skin is as important a part of our yoga practice as is caring for our other organ systems. Oils, lotions, and creams must have the proper ingredients to nourish our bodies, and energize our minds.
Instead of using unadulterated oils on our student’s skin we often diffuse scent into the air, use a facial mist, or use oils lotions and creams on the hands, feet and face on specific points for encouraging relaxation, healing and integration. As many people are allergic to smoke, incense is rarely used in our sessions.
In order for the products to be beneficial they must be raw, organic and bioavailble. Finding good quality products that are nourishing is a challenge in today’s world but we think the extra effort in searching for this high quality is well worth it. We use only the best products that we have thoroughly researched.
-Metta River Thai and Yoga Therapy
Take a look at our treatment menu
Essential Oils have historically been shown to calm and relax emotions as well as enhance focus, attention and memory. To understand this, first it is best to be familiar with the olfaction process. The nose is a protrusion of the brain. Scent enters the body in less than 1 second and travels to the pituitary and hypothalamus to tell your body how to respond to a situation. It will help to relax or stimulate. This message is then sent to the rest of the body via the nervous system. Scent actually dictates how we taste. It is the only sense that does not have to go through the digestive tract or spinal cord to be processes. It immediately goes to the brain and elicits a response. It is also important to note that Richard Axel and Linda Buck (both from the USA) won the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries of odorant receptors and their relationship to the organization of the olfactory system. http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2004/press.html