Meditation and yoga are powerful tools to achieving whole body health. Yoga is an ancient physical and mental practice. Many varieties of yoga can be found at your local studio or gym, and some popular types including Vinyasa, Bikram, Ashtanga, and more.
Most yoga studios will conclude a class with Shavasana. Shavasana is the time you are encouraged to quiet your mind, connect with your body, and focus on meditation.
Combining the practices of yoga and meditation allows you to holistically better your mind and body health. Meditation calms the mind, relives anxiety, and is good for heart health, cognition, focus, and memory. Yoga has more than fifty different benefits for physical, emotional, and mental health.
The benefits of yoga and meditation are well known, but to name a few major advantages of yoga include: lower blood pressure; healthy immune system, emotional stability, and sharpened focus just to name a few. Never underestimate the powers of meditation and yoga.
Taking Your Practice To Another Level
To achieve even greater results from your practice, you will need to take your yoga and meditation to another level. Adding aromatherapy can help you in achieving a much higher level of discipline. The greater your discipline, the better your results.
How Does Aromatherapy Work?
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils to promote a positive mind and body health. Essentials oils are derived from various plants, flowers, fruits, roots, stems, bark, and other botanicals.
These organic materials are greatly concentrated in essential oils, giving us a strong olfactory experience. Oils stimulate the all-important sense of smell and olfactory glands, and then communicate with the brain’s memories and emotions, or limbic system.
This kind of therapy is believed to combat pain, insomnia, depression, other mental conditions, and more. Essential oils have very similar purposes as yoga and meditation, so they make perfect sense as an addition to your practice.
Selecting Your Essential Oils
When selecting your essential oils it is important to consider your goals in aromatherapy. Different oils have various purposes, functions, and effects, and each are suitable for its own particular and specific situation.
The treatment for one concern will fluctuate from that of another, just as an antibiotic would be used to treat an infection, but a steroid could be used to treat inflammation.
For instance, a person suffering from insomnia may use oils like lavender, vetiver, or chamomile, which are calming and elicit the relaxation response in the body. Conversely, a person who struggles with lethargy would use oils like basil, eucalyptus, lemongrass, orange, or peppermint to induce energy.
By researching essential oils and their benefits, you can discover the appropriate options for you.
Methods To Implement Aromatherapy
Once you have explored your essential oils options and selected the right oils for you, you are ready for essential oil use and application. There are a few different ways you can add aromatherapy into your daily routine. Here are some great options so you can determine the best implementation method in your personalized practice.
- Anointing: Essential oils are deeply massaged onto skin during stretching or rest time. This can allow for increased visualization and focus. Never apply essential oil directly to the skin; it must be blended with a carrier oil, like jojoba, canola, or olive oil.
- Diffusing: Using an aromatherapy diffuser, essential oils are dispersed throughout the air of your yoga space. This creates a certain mood or atmosphere for enhanced practice. Candle lamps are another way you can diffuse oils. They smell magnificent, creating an attractive yoga and meditation space.
- Purifying: Essential oils are used as an astringent cleaning method. This deodorizes and cleanses the workspace. Add your oils to a spray bottle with water to begin using. Spray to cleanse and purify your areas.
Implementation
With the regular practice of meditation and yoga, you will only continue to enrich your physical and mental health. Adding aromatherapy to this routine will help you in exceeding your goals.
Test the different methods of implementing aromatherapy and explore your the essential oil options. Sample different products until you find the right formula for your practice. Whether you are a seasoned yogi or a novice student, aromatherapy will only encourage the success and rewards of your discipline.
More Stories
The Qigong Starting Position
5 Tips for Creating a Stress-Free Zone
Reflexology Is Much More Than Just a Foot Massage