HOW DO ESSENTIAL OILS AFFECT THE BRAIN IN YOGA?
Your sense of smell is much more accurate than any of your other senses. Your ability to smell comes from sensory cells called Olfactory Sensory Neurons, found in a small patch of tissue very high in your nose. Those cells connect to your brain.
Each of those sensory neurons has one odor receptor – and molecules released by substances around us stimulate these receptors. Once your neurons detect your molecules, they send messages to your limbic lobe of your brain.
Our sense of smell is 10,000 more sensitive than our other senses. Scent travels faster to the brain with smell than it does with sight, or even sound.
The limbic lobe is a group of brain structures that is below the cortex of the brain – it includes the amygdala and the hippocampus. Your limbic lobe (system of brain structures) is directly connected to the parts of your brain that control many aspects of your body – hormone levels, stress, memory, breathing, heart rate, and more.
The only way to stimulate the emotional brain is through your sense of smell – which is one of the reasons why Essential Oils can work so incredibly well. Feelings of depression, fear, anger, happiness, joy and even anxiety all originate from the limbic lobe of the brain.
Essential Oils can help alleviate symptoms at a cellular level through their therapeutic properties–because that stimulation of hormones and chemicals can drastically affect physiology and behavior.
Essential Oils can be stimulating (Peppermint), calming (Lavender), sedative (Cedarwood), balancing (Frankincense, and so much more.
My Top Five Essential Oils for Emotions:
Roman Chamomile: Helps support feelings of peace, love and acceptance.
Cedarwood: Helps support healthy focus and encouragement while also grounding.
Lavender: Helps support relaxation and calming. This one also helps with communicating feelings.
Bergamot: Uplifting and will help support healthy confidence levels. This one also helping foster self love and self worth.
Frankincense: Powerful cleanser of the spirit – grounding and can help during times of negativity.
REFERENCES:
How do Essential Oils Affect our Mind and Our Emotions. Retrieved from http://www.biospiritual-energy-healing.com/essential-oils-affect-our-minds.html
Using Essential Oils in Yoga