Regular massage therapy is great for keeping you physically and mentally healthy, but adding essential aromatherapy oils and blends can transform your massage into a super treatment! Massage reduces stress and anxiety, relieves headaches, and relaxes sore muscles on its own, but with aromatherapy it can really pack a healthy punch for those allergies!
Many individuals suffer from seasonal allergies in the spring, but fall is also difficult for those with allergies to ragweed, currently in full bloom. Raking leaves or other outdoor activities may also aggravate seasonal allergies during the fall. Allergies can cause uncomfortable watery, itchy eyes, a sore throat, nasal congestion, and coughing, and may be difficult to manage without daily medication. Allergies impact your quality of life
Essential oils and aromatherapy have been used for centuries to address a variety of ailments, including allergies, stress, anxiety, insomnia, and alleviating symptoms of cold and flu. The skin absorbs these essential oils while your respiratory system breathes them in during a massage treatment, bringing relief from a variety of ailments. Essential oils are highly concentrated plant oils that are added to a carrier oil or lotion and then spread on the body.
Adding aromatherapy to your massage is a great way to alleviate allergy symptoms as well as lingering sinus pressure and congestion from colds and the flu. In addition to alleviating symptoms, inhaling essential oils is thought to promote beneficial changes in the mind and body by affecting the limbic system, which is a region of the brain that heavily influences the balance of the nervous system. Aromatherapy is commonly used for stress reduction and insomnia relief since restoring this balance can bring on peaceful feelings.
Your massage therapist may choose an oil for you based on your most bothersome symptoms. Tea tree, pine, or eucalyptus oils are commonly used for alleviating allergic symptoms since they all help reduce congestion and inflammation of the nasal passages. Peppermint, German chamomile, lavender, rosemary, thyme, and myrtle all have expectorant and anti-inflammatory properties, with many essential oils also being antimicrobial or stimulating to the immune system. Lavender and wintergreen essential oils act as vasodilators, which means they can relax or dilate your blood vessels. Tightened blood vessels causes impaired circulation, headaches, and nasal congestion when the blood vessels effected are the many tiny ones in your nasal passages.
Aromatherapy essential oils can be diffused in the air during your massage or added to a lotion and put on your body to be absorbed through your skin. Let your massage therapist know if you have any allergies or have bad reactions to scents. Many people with allergies or asthma may have difficulty breathing in certain aromatherapy oils. A sniff test with a small amount of oil may be helpful for those who are not sure how they may react. Communicate with your massage therapist about your comfort and any adverse symptoms, they are there to help you relax!
