If you attend my Sunday evening classes, you know I incorporate aromatherapy in my practice. Having studied with a licensed aromatherapist and floral designer & herbalist, Mari Kato sensei, I feel, I have the fundamentals necessary to share the knowledge she imparted responsibly. Mari sensei has a lifetime of experience in all things flowers and herbs, having founded Foliage over 20 years ago, having started her service in Tokyo then migrating to Los Angeles, then to Berkeley where I spent my college years. Foliage blends are exquisite… reminiscent of our longings for nature and all things beautiful.
I have always been very sensitive to scents… and believe that olfactory coding goes directory to our brain, influencing our mood and perceptions. True to my cultural heritage, I will be designing various scents to complement the season we are in. Will be trying out Autumn scents in the coming recharging station – I mean, classes.
You need not call it therapy but part of life, aroma has been used from time immemorial. Incense has been used ever since dawn of humankind – in offering to the dead, incense is burned; in meditation practice at temples, incense in burned, aristocrats and noblemen had a practice called “Kodo” where guests were invited to play games based on fragrances passed around to smell during the party. Some of the scents were considered to have healing properties, treated like medicine. In Europe, if you trace the history of aromatherapy, flower power had medicinal properties and they were used as homeopathy treatments in alternative medicine. Unlike Japan where there was dominant bathing culture (hot springs country!), perfumes were invented to mask the stench when one was unable to take showers and baths; whereas essential oils of highest quality was treasured like medicine. These practices are not unique to the Orient and Europe. For instance, Native Americans, North and South, used various incense. It is said that Native Americans used natural scents derived from Mother Earth, such as sage, sweetgrass, juniper, cedar and pine to clear the air of negative energy and instead invite positive energy which was especially important before their ceremonies and rituals.
If yoga practice is to promote natural inborn healing powers, then, naturally, we are drawn to aroma, fragrances that bring about relief, calmness, clarity, and positive outlook. I never found colognes and perfumes I truly liked – man made chemicals and artificial scents are no match to what Mother Earth provides – yes, then with essentials oils, I realized the difference between the natural and the authentic vs. the artificial. When scents are “real”, you will realize you have no allergies or negative reactions. Pure goodness, that’s real. That’s all I use.
* Please note however, not all things “natural” are necessarily good for you. Bear in mind, depending on special conditions such as pregnancies, some scents should be avoided or at least not consumed directly.
