Aromatherapy makes good 'scents' for health

Hera Diani, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

In a recent holistic aromatherapy seminar, practitioner Rina Poerwadi asked four women participants to sniff an essential oil and give their reaction to it.

The responses were very different for each woman.

One immediately pushed the oil away; the others reported a pounding heart and migraine, stiffness, chills and even feeling a fresh sensation.

"That was neuroli oil, which is extracted from the flower of the orange tree. It's good for digestive problems, stress relief, balancing the mood, improving self confidence, and much more," Rina said.

The response to the oil indicates a problem the body confronts at that time. If you do not like the oil and reject it, it may remind you of something that you hate, or it may show that you are in conflict with loved ones.

"Pounding heart and migraine are indications of fear. You have to find what it is and deal with it. Stiffness, meanwhile, is the result of fatigue," Rina told the women.

"But when it hits the nape down to the shoulder, it has something to do with responsibility."

It might sound more like a session with a psychic, but Rina emphasized that aromatherapy is not related to superstition or mysticism.

And it's not just about fragrant smells, even though seemingly every spa and health club now offers an aromatherapy massage as part of its services.

"It's a body/mind/spirit study, something that anyone can learn," she told The Jakarta Post.

Aromatherapy is a centuries-old folk practice, but it was not until the 1920s that the term was coined by French chemist Reni Maurice Gattefossi to describe the practice of using essential oils from plants for healing.

As with reiki, acupuncture, body conditioning, pilates and craniosacral therapy, aromatherapy is a natural therapy for psychological and physical well-being, through the restoration of mind, body and spirit.

"It can also be called alternative therapy, but alternative therapy often includes tarot cards, drinking saline, etc., so let's call it natural therapy," Rina said.

The term aromatherapy, however, is a bit misleading, since the aromas of oils, while smelling good, are generally not in themselves therapeutic.

It is the essence of the oil, or the chemical properties, that are beneficial. In practice, the oil is rubbed onto the skin or ingested in an infusion or other liquid.

"Perhaps it's more correct if it's called essential oil therapy, because I apply the oil to the body and massage it," said Rina, 38, a graduate of Hong Kong's Asia Pacific Aromatherapy Ltd.

Rubbing the oil into the skin, she added, was far more therapeutic way than inhaling it, as the body will absorb the oil through the skin pores.

Essential oil used in aromatherapy is so powerful that it can be used to trace the symptoms and overcome the problems affecting the human body.

The aroma can also bring back past memories, so the problem can be detected and the patient can find out how to deal with it.

Rina said that an essential oil does not cure or heal a disease, but assisted in the process.

"All of the oils in aromatherapy can be used to overcome the problems in one's body based on the body's system, such as the endocrinal, cardiovascular, digestive and muscular systems, except for people who need surgery," she said.

Rina uses the natural therapy to complement conventional medical treatment.

"For instance, for a patient with cancer, I can do the massage as a stimulant to detoxify the chemotherapy, and also deal with the psychological effect and the emotional turbulence the patient bears. The patient still needs to go to the doctor, who attacks the disease from one side, while I do it from another aspect."

The therapy also helps patients who complain of feeling unwell, even though a doctor's examination and lab tests show nothing wrong.

"It's usually caused by unidentified stress. Treatment like aromatherapy can help more because oil has the psychological and physiological elements. Plus, the massage can help them to relax," Rina said.

When a client comes to her, she asks their medical background and their eating habits before choosing an appropriate oil.

Through her intuition, she would know whether the problem is purely physical or there are other aspects involved. Although the client may have never considered their past experiences as having a lingering effect, they can be detected through massage.

"Our body stores all the memory and the trauma. For someone who is sensitive enough, s/he can feel it ... what's wrong with the leg, what's kept by the back, etc."

According to Rina, people here remain unaware and suspicious of natural therapy practices.

"Many think I'm doing a spa thing, which is completely different. The spa weighs more on beauty and lifestyle, while I'm more into health reasons."

Clients come with different conditions, such as the skin disease psoriasis, pregnant women, women who want to get pregnant, constipation and high blood pressure.

Other complaints include burnout at work, stress, mild sports injuries, even wanting an oil blend as a mosquito repellent or nonallergic cosmetics. Some simply come out of curiosity.

Rina acknowledged that the fee for natural therapy was not cheap. The consultation fee at her place is Rp 150,000 while the therapy costs Rp 350,000 per session for women clients, and Rp 400,000 for men (Rina said she had few male patients, as most assumed the therapy was too "feminine").

"We're working with materials that are not mass products," she said of the cost. "All of the oils, for instance, are imported. But natural therapy is expensive everywhere in the world. Aside from expensive material, it's not as easy to find clients (for aromatherapists) as it is for doctors."

Furthermore, a natural therapist gives more detailed information and a more personal consultation, she said. It's a holistic approach, which treats the whole person rather than just the symptoms of disease.

"You go to the doctor, do a consultation in five minutes and often they don't even tell you what's really ailing you. They give you the medicine but often don't tell you the side effects of it," Rina said.

One of Rina's clients, "Sita", made the rounds to three doctors -- a general practitioner and two internists, but she was still ailing.

"One of them even suggested an appendectomy, which I doubt very much. The last internist said I had a colon infection, but he didn't tell me the medicine could cause a bloated stomach and nausea," said Sita.

She came to Rina, who sat down with her, discussed the ailment and browsed through medical and aromatherapy books.

"Even from the consultation, I felt better already. As a client, sometimes all we need is attentive care and power of suggestion."

In practice for four years now and one of the few certified practitioners here, Rina said she often felt alone in having to deal with the skepticism of the "conventional" medical community.

"In Hong Kong, there is an organization of natural therapists where they can share clients' issues and other information. They also cooperate with doctors," she said.

"Here, it's difficult, doctor are still suspicious of a natural therapist. Whereas if we combine things, they can be complementary."