Feeling Blue? Think Orange!

Have you been feeling a little blue lately? Statistics claim that an estimated half a million people suffer each winter from a condition called Seasonal Affective Disorder. Sometimes this can bring on severe depression along with weight gain. For many of us it is only a re-adjusting time that makes us feel a little blue.

What causes these blue feelings? Due to the lessening of sunlight hours received our brain chemicals can become imbalanced causing us to feel more tired, moody and more apt to eat more. It is often referred to as “The Winter Blues”.

Personally, it tends to hit me when we turn the clocks back in October and continues until the spring comes.

Even animals are affected by this seasonal change. The Hibernation instinct is very strong.

What can we do to help lift our spirits? THINK ORANGE!!!!

Yes, Aromatherapy can help you out with its sweet citrus Essential Oils. All of the citrus oils will help but I find Orange a great pick me up…following close behind is Grapefruit


How can we incorporate this into our daily lives? We can easily diffuse orange essential oil in a diffuser on our desk or work area. We can also add Orange Essential Oil to our dishwashing liquid and cleaners. It is great for cleaning up.

Be careful not to use cold pressed citrus oils on the skin as it may cause photosensitivity. Even though there is not as much sunlight in the winter there are still some UV rays shining so the best bet is to keep citrus oils off of your skin.

By the way, adding a few drops of cinnamon to the orange in the diffuser makes a lovely warm, wintery scent!

So remember: If you are feeling Blue…Think Orange!

Below is a chart depicting the various characteristics of Orange Essential Oil


Orange
Citrus sinensis
Family: Rutaceae

Extraction: Cold Pressed

Part: Peel

Harvest: Florida: December, January, February; California: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, November, December; Israel: October, November; South Africa: May, June

Color : Yellowish orange to dark orange

Smell: Sweet, Citrus, Fruity, Fresh

Note: Top

Effect: Stimulating or Sedating depending on dosage

Planet: Sun

Element: Fire

Magic: Purification, Joy, Physical energy, Magical energy

Chakra: 7th (Spiritual Chakra)

Description: Grown in Sicily, Israel, Spain, California, Florida, France, Cypress and China. A small sized tree with bright orange fruit. An inferior oil is made from the peel and juice. Native to China.

Historical Info: The orange tree is believed to have been taken by Franciscan monks to the West coast of America, where they began cultivating it.

Warnings: Slight chance of phototoxicity

Blends With: Black Pepper *, Cinnamon leaf **, Clary Sage ****, Clove *, Cypress *, Frankincense **, Geranium *, Ginger *, Grapefruit *, Jasmine *, Juniper Berry *, Lavender ***, Lemon **, Mandarin **, Myrrh ***, Niaouli *, Nutmeg **, Petigrain *, Rose *, Rosemary **, Tea Tree *, Ylang Ylang **,

Main Chemical Constituents: 90% monoterpenes: Mainly limonene, bergapten, auraptenol, acids

Properties: Anti-Septic, Disinfectant

Symptoms: Anxiety ***, Astringent *, Cellulite *, Colds/Flu *, Constipation ***, Depression ****, Digestion ****, Fever *, Female Complaints **, High blood pressure **, Irregular heart beat *, Insomnia ***, Mouth ulcers *, Nervousness *****, Shock *, Stress/Tension *, Water Retention *, Weight Loss *

Emotional: Encourages emotional expression, heals emotional memories, hysteria, clearing

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How Does Aromatherapy Work?

Aromatherapy works through two main channels, the olfactory system and through topical absorption (through the skin pores).

Let us begin by looking at the olfaction response first. Our nasal cavities have thousands of olfactory nerve cells that carry scent directly to the Olfactory bulb which is located at the back of our nose. It has nerve endings that send messages directly to the brain. This is why when you walk down the soap aisle at the supermarket or pass the perfume counter in the department store you may get a headache right between your eyes.

Our sense of smell is 10,000 times more sensitive than any other sense and recognition of smell is immediate. Other senses like touch and taste must travel through the body via neurons and the spinal cord before reaching the brain whereas the olfactory response is immediate, extending directly to the brain.This is the only place where our central nervous system is directly exposed to the environment. That is why inhalation directly affects the central nervous system.The Olfaction response by passes the Neo-cortex or conscious brain and goes directly to the limbic system.

Smell is the strongest link to the subconscious and we retain memories associated with smells for very long periods of time. It is said that our bodies can process between 10,000-100,000 different smells and remember them. That's a lot of memory retention.

Our sense of smell can be described as a lock and key. The first time we smell something, that sets the lock in our subconscious mind and the next time we smell that same aroma it is like a key that unlocks the memories of when we first smelled it. This is why smelling fresh gingerbread, for example, can remind you of Christmas baking with mom, etc.

How many times have you smelled something and remarked, "Do you know what that reminds me of?"

As mentioned earlier, the olfactory nerves are directly connected to the limbic system which houses all or our sensory experiences such as memories, emotions, sex drive, hunger, pleasure, instincts etc., It is the center of all of our emotions and therefore affects our emotional behavior.

The limbic system is involved in determining when the hypothalamus stimulates the endocrine glands and autonomic nervous system. The hypothalamus governs the pituitary gland which controls the release of hormones throughout the body and exerts decisive control over the autonomic and endocrine systems.

The autonomic system contains nerves leading to the body's glands and organs. It is referred to as the involuntary system because it controls activities that are usually thought to act independently of our choice such as heart rate, body temperature, stress levels, respiratory and digestive functions. These are all influenced by the hypothalamus .

The autonomic system reacts automatically to the different stressors whether they be mental, or physical and initiates a complex series of neurophysiological and biochemical changes within the body. These are known as neurochemicals or neurotransmitters which communicate with different organs of the body and bring about chemical changes.

For instance mood enhancers like serotonin , endorphins and enkephalin are all hormones that are released by the hypothalamus's affect on the pituitary gland. The hypothalamus and the endocrine systems play a critical role in the development of psychosomatic illness.

More than half of the patients that walk into a doctor's office have diseases of a psychosomatic nature. Does this mean it is all in their head, that it is not real? By no means, what it does mean is that their minds are affecting the way their bodies are reacting. Doctors are realizing more and more that we cannot separate man into separate compartments.

Man is a holistic being comprised of body, soul, and spirit and when one of these areas are out of balance the whole man suffers. This is why Aromatherapy works. It brings balance to mind, body and spirit which in turn brings harmony to the whole person.

Now that we have looked at how the mind affects the body let us look at the second channel through which aromatherapy works, through application to the body. This is known as the physiological effects of aromatherapy. As mentioned earlier, Essential Oils are minute molecules and are therefore easily absorbed through application to the skin. This is known as transdermal absorption.

Essential Oils do not dissolve in water but dissolve in fat therefore they eagerly attach themselves to the natural body fats and fluids in our body and gain access to the lymphatic and blood systems through the connective and lymphatic tissues.

Here they can affect physical changes usually in about 10-20 minutes, and indirectly stimulate or sedate the immune system and other various body systems.Unlike other treatments which are taken internally, aromatherapy works more effectively because it has direct access to the various body systems and does not have to pass through the stomach where gastric juices could deter its effectiveness.In fact, internal digestion is NOT RECOMMENDED and generally not used in aromatherapy as some Essential Oils can be TOXIC IF TAKEN INTERNALLY.

Sharron Myers Biography

Sharron Myers, of Serene Aromatherapy, has always had a keen interest in herbs and plants and she became certified as a florist in 1977. This has led to her keen interest in aromatherapy and the essential oils that are derived from the flowers and the plants.

Sharron also put together a major study on the subject of healing in the Bible. This study, she taught as a weekly course and this led her even further into the study of Essential oils for their healing properties and alternative medicine.

She intensively studied Aromatherapy on her own for 3 years before taking her aromatherapy certification course in this field of Aromatherapy.

She has spent many years teaching and counseling, especially in the areas of emotional distress and anxiety.

She has written Aromatherapy Articles for such magazines as "The American Massage Therapy Association" and has acted as Spiritual Advisor for many years at her local church.

Sharron has also studied music since the age of nine and believes in the power of music to help and heal the soul.

Sharron Myers is also the author of many books including "Aromatherapy: What is it?", "How to Achieve Personal Harmony" and "Ailments & Alternatives In Aromatherapy:Reference Manual" These books can only be purchased here.

If you have any questions we will be glad to answer your questions via email: Send your email to sharronmyers@googlemail.com

Welcome to Serene Aromatherapy

Thank you for visiting us at Serene Aromatherapy. It is our goal to try to make your life as Serene and Peaceful as possible.Please make yourself at home and take the time to stop and smell the roses.You could if there were such a thing as scratch and sniff html :) Seriously though, feel free to look around and learn what you can from us.There are many areas set up to help you to bring peace and Serenity into your life.Learning takes action, it is not enough to read and be informed. You must personally and willfully absorb peace and serenity into your spirit.So here's to your Health and Peace of Mind.May you find what you need within these pages.

Sincerely,Sharron Myers