by Wholistic Sitting
Aromatherapy is
defined as the therapeutic use of pure, unadulterated essential oils, hydrosols
and other fragrant plant materials for holistic health care.
Aromatherapy works on the physical and emotional levels. It can be very
useful to help fearful or stressed animals to calm down or perk up the overly
shy and anxious pet. Essential oils (EO’s) have anti-viral, anti-bacterial,
anti-fungal, anti-pruritic (relieve itching), sedative, stimulating and
regenerative properties.
Essential oils are obtained from the leaves, flowers, roots, bark,
seeds or fruit of a plant via steam distillation, carbon dioxide extraction,
solvent extraction, or manual expression.
Essential oils are non-oily, extremely concentrated and highly
aromatic.
EO’s are very potent and always need to be highly diluted in a carrier
or base oil! EO’s should not be used on cats and birds because they are more
sensitive and can react adversely.
Synthetically scented bath products and toiletries have little to do
with Aromatherapy and should not be confused with such!
A Hydrosol or also called Floral Water is a water based substance
that is the byproduct of steam distillation from essential oils. Hydrosols
contain water-soluble parts of the plant, and a very minute amount of certain
essential oil components. They are extremely dilute, gentle and subtle
aromatic. Hydrosols are a wonderful alternative to Essential oils in more
sensitive individuals and are absolutely safe to use on cats.
But not all plants from which essential oils can be obtained can
produce a hydrosol as not all EO’s are distilled with steam.
Flower Essences (FE) are
very different from EO’s or Hydrosols. They are a form of vibrational or energy
healing and have no detectable floral or herbal fragrances. FE work on the emotional level and gently
restore the balance between mind and body. Flower Essences are very helpful if negative emotions like fear, anger,
jelousy or depression are experienced.
The most popular line of FE are “Bachflower Remedies”, created by Dr.
Edward Bach. There are over 35 indiviual Bachflower remedies and several can be
combined together for maximum effect. Especially his “Rescue Remedy”
–consisting of 5 remedies- is known and used worldwide to aid in situations
like shock or trauma.