How Essential are Essential Oils?
To understand essential (or “volatile”) oils, we must first discuss Herbal Medicine.
Herbal Medicine is the process of extracting the medicinal aspects of various plants; roots, berries, leaves, bark, etc. and administering that medicine to respective patients.
Usually, herbal medicine is administered in teas, tinctures or capsules. Tinctures, the most well-known way of administering herbal medicine, may be extracts in a medium of alcohol, vinegar, wine or glycerin.
Herbal Medicine is one of the most widespread traditions around the world. The botanical naming of the various herbs has allowed botanists world-wide to categorize & better understand herbs, their families & usages. This has crystallized into a well-accepted, concrete & detailed database of the various herbs and their respective medicinal uses. It is truly magical to see how Man has gone around the ‘garden’ and ‘named’ each of the plants so meticulously and in such an organized fashion.
There are countless herbs that have been categorized, and a true Herbalist is one who knows how to maneuver these herbs and how to combine various ones in order to create personalized medicines for each person.
In example, one may suffer from a dry cough in the upper lungs, dry skin, watery eyes, and a foggy mind. An herbalist will create a well-blended tincture as a personalized medicine for that person. It is a wonderful artform and an effective medicine administering technique. However, due to the extensive time it takes to truly get to the bottom of a person’s issues and create these tinctures fresh for a person along with the relatively recent popularization of pharmaceutical medicines, it can be difficult to find a proper Herbalist these days. Still, it is a wonderful form of medicine that we should be encouraged to reconsider.
As we know, the antidote to a poison can be found near the poisonous plant itself. So, too, even in the cities, there are medicinal weeds, trees and so on that creep into our communities as the antidotes to many of our problems. If we learn to recognize and associate with the plant world around us, we are sure to find free, bountiful medicine just waiting to be discovered.
Essential Oils, otherwise known as “Volatile Oils” are a very pure form of Herbal Medicine in which there is no medium that the medicine is extracted into, rather the volatile oils of the herb are extracted in a number of possible ways, each being a complex and delicate process. Just like with tinctures, there are many levels of purity, strength & freshness of the plants and their respective therapeutic essential oils. There are many, many brands of essential oils claiming to be pure, organic or therapeutic- grade however when tested in a laboratory and compared with other oils, their true potency are revealed. But, 'better to have frozen wheatgrass than none at all.' Meaning, as long as the product is organic and pure, it is better to use it than to use nothing at all, even if it could technically be somewhat fresher or of better quality. That being said, it is of course best to find a source for responsibly sourced, organic, dependable essential oils. It is important to trust our sources and even to personally know our sources of these types of sensitive products. It should be clarified that I am not recommending any ingestion of these essential oils, which are incredibly potent. Essential oils carry the medicinal aspect of various herbs and should be used in one of the following ways:
Bath/Inhalation; Use in the bathtub or drop a few drops on a bowl of very hot water and inhale deeply. This is excellent for mental or emotional issues, as the volatile oils will be inhaled and reach the brain.
Massage; Blend a few drops with a carrier oil such as olive, almond, grapeseed, etc. and massage into the skin. The oil will get absorbed into the muscles and into the bloodstream. This is especially important for internal issues such as muscle pain.
Perfume; When you are trying to inhale the oil, you can use it as a perfume in order to smell it throughout the day, such as when you are using it for relaxation purposes.
Diffusers; There are various types of electrical, candle and other types of diffusers, which can fill the immediate environment with the smell and thereby partial medicinal aspects of the plants.
Wishing us all blessings and guidance on our paths toward vibrant health.