Creating Positive Chi With Aromatherapy: Feng Shui Fragrances and Essential Oil Uses

[Huxley]

Feng shui, literally meaning "wind" and "water," is the ancient Chinese art of intentionally placing objects, colors, and other elements into a person's environment in order to create a positive space that attracts harmony and prosperity (accomplished by manipulating the flow of chi). Aromatherapy is an ancient healing art (alternative medicine) that uses "Essential Oil Uses " and other aromatic compounds to positively alter a person's mind, mood, or health. How do they fit together? Changing you environment alters a person's mind, mood, and health, too, and the intentional use of aromatherapy in your environment can be a powerful component of feng shui practice.

Aromatherapy and Negative Chi
The first step to feng shui aromatherapy is to identify sources of negative chi and delete them. Foul and particularly strong smells can cause illness triggering cough, headaches, nausea, difficulty breathing, asthma attacks, and other respiratory and bodily symptoms. It's imperative to find the cause of unpleasant odors and dispose of them immediately if you want to work and live at your best. Does your space contain any smells that make you cringe? Find the source and take measures to remove the cause. Is an otherwise pleasant scent too strong, distracting you from work or even causing breathing difficulty? Get rid of these immediately, and don't be afraid to kindly explain to your office buddy or teenager that the strong scent of their perfume, cologne, candle, or week-old leftovers is overwhelming and distracting.

Creating Positive Chi with Aromatherapy
Other scents, however, at a pleasant strength, increase productivity and make the mind more alert. Mint stimulates the mind, laurel provokes inspiration and enhances mood, and rosemary, lemon, and laurel all make the body feel more confident. That is, unless any of these scents have negative memories and emotions associated with them; in this case the memories always override what would otherwise be a positive effect on the body.

Perhaps the easiest way to intentionally add a scent is through the burning of candles. The best aromatherapy candles are made from hydrogenated soy oil or beeswax and lead-free wicks. Soy candles release 90 percent less soot into the air than petroleum-based wax candles, and breathing in this soot is counter-productive to fostering a healthy body. Diffusers, soy wax tarts, and essential oils are also effective and release zero soot into the air. Fragrance oils make pleasant aromatic additions though they are not to be confused with essential oils which are generally safe for topical applications and other uses.

Essential oils, in particular, are very versatile. Put a few drops in your shampoo or bath water for bath time therapy, mix with a vegetable oil for massages, use them to make your own soy candles and wax tarts, or mix with water for a room spray or roller bottle application. Make sure any essential oils you buy are "100 percent" or "pure" essential oils, preferably organic. Stores should sell oils in dark tinted bottles to protect from light. Prices should vary from oil to oil, too, just as do their ingredient herbs and spices.

Below are some of the most common fragrances and their aroma-therapeutic applications:

Basil concentration, headache and migraine relief, sinus pain relief, and relief from upset stomach
Cedar courage
Chamomile relaxation and eases nervousness
Cinnamon energy, awareness, and relief from indigestion and insomnia
Eucalyptus openness, clarity, decongestant, relief from asthma and sore muscles, promotes healing
Geranium receptivity and security
Ginger energy, relief from nausea, arthritis and cough
Grapefruit revival, spiritual lightening, and antiseptic
Hyacinth helps overcome grief
Hyssop purification of the body, relief from cough and sore throat
Jasmine relaxation, desire, love, harmony, promotes sleep
Laurel insight, inspiration, and confidence
Lavender ease in self-expression, calmness, anxiety relief, and stress relief
Lemon energy, confidence, and antiseptic
Orange energy, joy, optimism, and adaptability
Mint mental stimulation, energy
Peppermint creativity, attentiveness, energy, relief from fatigue and muscle aches, decreases appetite, nausea relief
Nutmeg energy, relief from sleeplessness and indigestion
Pear groundedness and steadiness
Rose spiritual strength, love, calmness
Rosemary confidence, longevity, headache and upset stomach relief
Sage memory improvement
Sandalwood unity, spiritual harmony, stillness, relaxation, and relief from depression
Tea Tree anti-inflammatory, relief from shock and hysteria
Vanilla desire, love
Ylang Ylang euphoria, sensuality, desire, love, depression relief