Description

Immediate dispatch from Somerset. Nice book in great condition. Pages in excellent unused condition. No notes or highlighting. See images. Fantastic book.

About the book >.>.> Aromatherapy makes us aware of the need to develop our sense of smell if we are to benefit fully from the riches of the natural world. The aromas emanating from plants are often due to the presence of powerful healing substances essential oils that can help us in times of trouble when our physical or mental balance is disturbed. These potent volatile essences hidden in tiny glands within the plant contain many beneficial properties and are used in aromatherapy to increase vitality and health. Aromatic herbs have been used since antiquity to cleanse and heal both body and mind. Records from the East indicate that primitive stills were employed as far back as 5000 years ago although probably more for the production of aromatic waters than essential oils. In ancient Egypt aromatic waters and resins featured in ceremonies and rituals while the rich perfumed themselves with scented ointments made by infusing aro- matic plants in oily or fatty substances. In the embalming process oils of cedarwood and frankincense were used no doubt for their preserving properties to impregnate the bandages of mummies. How much the ancients knew of the plants’ healing powers is uncertain but ayurvedic medical texts from early Indian society include aromatic essences in many of their treatments. Subsequent civilizations notably the Greeks and Romans developed the use of these essences in rituals and religious cere- monies and records indicate an increasing awareness of their therapeutic properties. By AD 1000 the Arab physician Avicenna had introduced the cooling system into the distillation process making the extraction of essential oils a more refined and efficient process.