For the greatest part of the year, many of us are usually very busy and we can barely afford time for a break. That's why the Christmas holiday season comes as a great relief as this can be the only time of the year when many of us are involved in trips to see long lost family and friends. Travelling can be tiring and stressful but you can have a relaxed and more enjoyable trip through using aromatherapy.

How does aromatherapy help in travelling?

A great number of people feel very nervous when flying and this leaves them in a state of unrest for the whole trip. Using aromatherapy prior to starting a journey can greatly help to calm us down which can help avoid feelings of anxiety leading to a more relaxing trip.  You can try using the following essential oils to provide comfort:

Lavender essential oil

Throughout the history, lavender essential oil has been used not only for physical ailments but also for mental and emotional ailments. Using lavender oil before travelling may help calm your mind and this can allow you to have a very smooth trip, free of stress and anxiety. Some other benefits of lavender essential oil are banishing headaches, lifting depression and overcoming insomnia among others.

Geranium essential oil

This oil has been used as a natural antidepressant and if you use it prior to travelling it can greatly help to combat the stress and fatigue associated with long trips. Geranium oil also has a very strong scent with a sweet floral aroma and inhaling this will help to calm your mind reducing feelings of unrest. Other benefits that you can enjoy by using geranium oil in aromatherapy include easing tension, balancing emotions and aiding in better sleep.

How to use the essential oils

One of the best ways to use essential oils is to have a body massage or use them as a body oil by adding some drops to a carrier oil.  You can also add some drops of the essential oil in your bath water or vaporise the oils using an aromatherapy burner and you can then benefit from the oils through inhaling the vapours.

Christmas is a very special occasion where we share the season with family and friends. Everyone works hard for a great festive season and there are extensive periods of shopping, menu planning, parties and cooking among other preparations that need to be attended to. At the end of all this, we can feel stressed out and exhausted but it easy to overcome these feelings with the help of aromatherapy.

Reaping aromatherapy benefits

Body Massage - one easy way of enjoying the benefits of aromatherapy is to receive a body massage using essential oils. The kind of essential oil you choose will depend on the benefits you would like to receive as these vary from one essential oil to the other.  Having an experienced person administer the massage for you such as a massage therapist or aromatherapist will help provide you with the best therapeutic results.

Inhalation -  you can benefit from the therapeutic properties of essential oils through inhaling them also. You can do this in a number of ways such as lighting aromatherapy candles, spraying a mist spray around your home, adding some drops of an essential oil into your bath water, burning the oils in a vaporizer or by adding a few drops of an essential oil to your lotions and moisturisers.

Essential oils for Christmas time

Essential oils that are popular at Christmas time include frankincense, myrhh, pine, cedarwood, clove, black pepper, cinnamon, spearmint and ginger.  Some of these oils are quite warming, some have refreshing properties, while others are traditionally associated with the Christmas season.  Practising aromatherapy at Christmas time can ensure a wonderfully scented atmosphere and help everyone connect with the joys of the festive season.

Tea tree oil is an essential oil drawn from the plant that has the botanical name Melaleuca alternifolia which is found in Australia among other countries. It has a yellow to clear liquid with a definitive medicinal scent to it. Tea tree oil has numerous health and well-being benefits. Due to its skin cleansing effect, tea tree oil has been used in many health related products providing excellent results.

Traditionally, tea tree oil was used to heal wounds, burns and cuts by crushing the leaves and placing on the affected area. As time has passed, more advanced ways have been used to distill the oil from the plant and even package it, but its medicinal value remains as strong. Primarily, tea tree oil is used as an antiseptic as it contains terpenoids.  Being an antiseptic, it is very effective in dealing with fungal and bacterial infections.

Besides being an antiseptic, tea tree oil also treats respiratory ailments. Its tangy scent works to unblock the nose as well as provide relief from colds and flu. Simply put a drop or two on your pillow at night or in your tissue or handkerchief and it will take effect. You can also use few drops in your bath as the steam from the water will help the tea tree reach into your respiratory system thus help in healing you. With prolonged use, tea tree oil has been found to have great effect in healing more serious respiratory problems like asthma.  

Most outstanding among the tea tree oil uses is its effect on acne. Tea tree oil for acne has been found to be a very effective yet gentle relief for this skin condition. Acne is caused by bacteria that are very stubborn which is why so many treatments take so long to have any notable positive effect. Acne mainly affects the pilosabaceous unit of the skin. Tea tree oil easily penetrates into the skin working at the acne where it begins. This then provides positive and more permanent results, reflected not only on the inner lying of the skin but on the outer skin as well. In some studies where it was tested next to benzoyl peroxide, tea tree oil was found to have far less side effects. So if you are looking for a natural, safe way to kick your acne away, tea tree will work it's magic. It is however advisable that pregnant ladies and people with hormone-sensitive conditions keep away from using tea tree as it has been found to have an effect on hormone levels.

It is amazing just how much effect sights, sounds and scents can have on a person. Aromatherapy, as the name suggests, capitalizes on the effect scents can have on someone’s psychological and even physical health. But exactly what is aromatherapy?  By definition, aromatherapy is the use of essential oils drawn from plants to heal and relax. There is however, more to aromatherapy than its mere definition.

It is hard to determine specifically if aromatherapy originated with the Greeks, Chinese or the Egyptians. The Greeks used perfume drawn from myrrh to heal, the Egyptians used essential oils distilled from plants to preserve the dead and the Chinese used these aromatic oils as mood enhancers; all at almost the same time in history. Whoever we have to thank for discovering aromatherapy, we are grateful for this great therapy.

Aromatherapy has across the ages and cultures been used in several different ways. As stated above, essential oils can be used to help heal ailments and relieve the symptoms of others. These include physical and psychological ailments. However, the most popular use of aromatherapy is as a relaxant. The soothing effect released by these natural scents has such a relaxing and lasting effect that most people look for these oils specifically to escape the world. In a room surrounded by natural scents that call in nature, you can find yourself at total peace with the world. Aromatherapy helps achieve this is in a very simple way.

Essential oils can be used in aromatherapy in two separate ways. First, they can be heated up releasing their aroma into the room thus being inhaled. Alternatively, they can be diluted into carrier oils like a lotion and massaged onto the skin. Both methods will achieve the desired effect. The best way is to combine oils whose effect is similar and whose scents complement each other. For instance, you can combine chamomile and vanilla to relieve stress and find your calm spot .Bergamot and cypress have a strong scent that has been known to work on self esteem so these two can also be combined for a similar effect. Cypress can also be used in memory retention especially when combined with peppermint.

As all good things go, you should be careful in how you handle aromatherapy oils and which aromatherapy company you buy your oils from. Use oils that  are 100% pure and natural, that you are certain are not drawn from plants that you may be allergic to and in the way they are meant to be. It is however not a crime to get addicted to aromatherapy. This is one habit that can only make you better as it grants you a comfortable chance to surround yourself with nature.