Breath & Scent
One way to enhance the cathartic effects of conscious breathing is to bring in the addition of a specific scent. The understanding of how certain scents affect our mood and state of mind has gained popularity and notoriety more and more in recent years.
Dr. Josh Axe explains the science of scent and mood in his article The Top 7 Essential Oils for Anxiety, “When the scent of an essential oil is inhaled, molecules enter the nasal cavities and stimulate a firing of mental response in the limbic system of the brain. These stimulants regulate stress or calming responses, such as heart rate, breathing patterns, production of hormones and blood pressure.”
He goes on to discuss a 2014 study by the American College of Healthcare Sciences, where hospice patients were given hand massages once a day for one week with an essential oil blend that was diluted in healing sweet almond oil. The essential oils used were bergamot, frankincense and lavender in equal parts.
All the patients who received the essential oil blend with their hand massage reported less pain and depression than those who had not received the blend.
When it comes to engendering calm, no scent diffuses away tension and mental chaos more than Lavender. Dr. Axe confirms, “Lavender oil has a calming, relaxing effect. It’s considered a nervous system restorative and helps with inner peace, sleep, restlessness, irritability, panic attacks, nervous stomach and general nervous tension.”
That is why many of our clients find our generous line of Lavender-based products to be so irreplaceable in their daily beauty routine. Whether you are breathing in the healing essence of Lavender during your bubble bath, gently inspiring its nutritive qualities as you use our handmade Lavender soap in a steamy shower, or inducing a state of peace while you give a loved one a massage with our skin silkening body cream, you can now recognize the latent health benefits you may be enjoying by simply choosing products with quality ingredients and taking the time to slow down and breathe. We are excited to be releasing a line of essential oil bath soaks this fall, stay tuned for more info.
When it comes to taking care of ourselves, there are no shortcuts. At the same time, sometimes the solutions to our wellness woes are so simple as to be unbelievable. Taking the time to pay attention to our breath, to deepen our breath and to eventually cultivate a daily meditation practice, especially in concert with a healing herbal scent, can be the pebble dropped in the pond of our personhood, causing ripple effects that will circulate wellness or illness throughout the years of our life, based on the choices we make each and every day.