Touch and go: Aromatherapy makes good 'scents' for health

Touch and go: 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. But when it hits the nape down to the
shoulder, it has something to do with responsibility," Rina told
the women.

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 session 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."

The term aromatherapy, however, is a bit misleading, since the
aromas of oils are generally not themselves therapeutic even
though they smell good.

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

Rina said that essential oil does not cure or heal a disease.

"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
endocrine system, cardiovascular, digestive and muscular, except
for people who need surgery," she said.

Rina combines 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 deals with
the psychological effect and the emotional turbulence the patient
bears. The patients still needs to go to the doctor, who attacks
the disease from one side, while I do it from another aspect."

It 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 them 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 for treating
the skin disease psoriasis, pregnant women, women who want to get
pregnant, constipation and high blood pressure.

Others are burned out at work, stressed, have a mild sports
injury, want an oil blend as a mosquito repellent or nonallergic
cosmetics, or simply come out of curiosity.

Rina acknowledged that the fee for natural therapy is 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.

"We're working with materials that are not mass products. 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 as doctors."

Furthermore, a natural therapist gives a more detailed
information and more personal consultation. 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 effect of
it," Rina said.

One of Rina's clients 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 have colon infection, but he
didn't tell me the medicine could cause a bloated stomach and
nausea," said the client.

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
complimentary."