Smell is one of our most powerful, yet least understood senses. Keith Bishop explains the healing power of aromatherapy
Close your eyes and very gently breathe in through your nose. What can
you smell? Can you identify any particular scents? How do you feel about
them? Now, think back to your childhood. What smells can you easily recall?
Cut grass? Coffee? Bread? An after-shave or perfume?
The sense of smell, or olfaction, is the least understood of the senses,
but aromas have the most immediate effect on the
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body and mind. The nerve cells in the nose that detect aromatic molecules
in the air are attached directly to the brain, and there are many different
types of sensors in the olfactory system, meaning that humans are capable
of differentiating tens of thousands of different aromas, making this
the sharpest of our senses.
What is aromatherapy?
Throughout history, there are records that show aromatic plant extracts
being used for healing, relaxing, meditating and rituals. Just think of
some of the oils now available and you will realise just how long they
have been used: frankincense, myrrh, sandalwood, rosemary.
It all began in the early 1900s, when French perfumier Rene Gattefosse
was making fragrances and accidentally burned his arm badly. He plunged
it into the nearest cool liquid, which happened to be a bowl of lavender
oil, and was so amazed at the speed with which his arm healed that he
coined the term 'aromatherapie' and spent
the rest of his life researching the healing properties of essential oils on the mind and body.
