lifestyles
alluring aromas
What's that smell?
— an aromatic guide —
Be
Stimulating. Improves memory.
Cedarwood
increases emotional fortitude and enhances meditative relaxation.
Cinnamon
Relieves tension, steadies nerves and invigorates the senses.
Eucalyptus —
Increases energy and counters emotional imbalance.
Jasmine
Soothes headaches,
insomnia, depression,
angina and worry.
Lemon
increases one's sense of humor and general well-being.
Myrtle
Balances energy
Counters nervousness.
Also considered an aphrodisiac.
Patchoull
Peppermint Counters insomnia and mental fogginess.
Rosemary
- Improves memory, confidence and creativity.
Sandalwood — Counters depression, anxiety and insomnia.
Vanilla
Despite its dated practice, aromatherapy still can soothe and evoke 'scent'imental emotions
Ylang-ylang
Improves one's confidence. Helps dissolve pent-up anger and frustration.
Yiang-yiang — Makes the senses more acute. Tempers depression and anger.
source: "Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art" by Kathi Keville and Mindy Green
Burning incense is one of the ways a person can experience aromatherapy, a process that many believe alters people's moods.
By Joann Birk
Kansan staff writer
As the flood waters swelled and the gods in "The Epic of Gilgamesh" wept, the legendary king concocted an aroma to entice and calm.
concocted an oil to the fire.
"I heaped up wood and cane and cedar and myrtle. When the gods smelled the sweet savour, they gathered like flies over the sacrifice."
like the passage, which dates back to the third millennium B.C., is evidence that aromatherapy is far from a new concept.
Jim Grimes, owner of Headmasters, 809 Vermont St., said that while aromatherapy had not always had a catchy title, it had been used for centuries by many cultures.
"Aromatherapy is hundreds of thousands of years old," said Grimes, who is training to become a certified aromatherapist. "It came into being and would die off and then would pop up somewhere else."
Different scenes have been used for different purposes throughout time, but the basis of aromatherapy is unchanging: Smelling the essential oil of a plant thought to be the spirit of the plant - can alter people's moods.
Just as scents can evoke memories from the past,
Grimes said that scents could elicit various emotional
responses.
"Essential oils have different energetic properties," he said. "Some are stimulating and inspirational, and some are calming and meditating."
responses. For example, deep, drawn-out breaths of his latest concoction of nutmeg and ylang-ylang, a fragrant flower, are intended to calm and fine-tune the senses.
Grimes and other aromatherapists believe that the power of scents also can affect physical well-being.
"A lot of essential oils can be used in place of drugs," he said. "Whenever you can, you should surround yourself with natural things, rather than synthetic materials from
the drudges of the earth "
Oils also can be used on the body's pressure points, such as palms, temples and shoulders, to relax or invigorate. Grimes does not suggest giving up traditional medicine for aromatherapy, however. But he believes that essential oils have an extensive power to heal. His salon sells composition oils and shower gels that were created to calm, stimulate and energize.
Cindy Reiss, Westin, Mo., senior, came to appreciate the power of scents when she began working at Bloom Bath
"I really believe that different scents can affect our moods."
Cindy Reiss Westin, Mo., senior
and Body, 704 Massachusetts St. The store carries a variety of essential oils that can be mixed into shower gels, lotions and massage oils, or kept in their original forms. "I really believe that different scents can affect our moods," Reiss said. "The fruity scents are invigorating, while scents such as lavender and chamomile are soothing."
made them feel better.
Reiss said she was still a little skeptical about the actual medical benefits of aromatherapy, but if she felt something worked, she made it a habit.
Reiss said students often came in searching for particular essential oils to concoct home remedies, such as bug repellent, and to surround themselves with scents that made them feel better.
She likened the ritual of smelling essential oils to using a lucky pen or holding a lucky coin.
"I heard that eucalyptus would relax me before a test," she said. "Now I bring eucalyptus with me and sniff it before every test. If something makes you feel good, you should do it."
Gels and lotions adorn the shelves at Bloom Bath and Body, 704 Massachusetts St. The store carries a variety of oils that can be mixed in shower gels, lotions and massage oils.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
PAGE 10A
NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Oops!
Near Kansas City, Mo., in June, 30,000 pounds of Jif peanut butter glopped onto Interstate 70 from an 18-wheeler that overturned after hitting another truck.
In June, Troy Harding, 19, was released from a Portland, Ore., hospital three weeks after he turned around abruptly when talking to friends and walked into the radio antenna of his car. The antenna went up his nose almost 4 inches, pierced his sinus and entered his brain, coming to rest in his pituitary gland.
In June, police in Clearwater, Fla., were called to the apartment shared by Kenneth Anderson, 23, and Lisa Moses, who were having a domestic quarrel. As an officer counseled Moses in a bedroom, he happened to see three duffel bags on the bed at about the same time that he began to smell marjuana. Three thick plastic bags of $20 and $60 bills were also on the bed. Inside the duffel bags, officers found about $23,000 worth of marijuana.
Missouri coroner William Gum told reporters in May that Emmitt Foster, who had been executed by lethal injection, had remained alive for 30 minutes after the injection because the leather straps binding him to the table prevented the flow of drugs through his veins. After officials noticed the straps' tightness and loosened them, Foster died quickly.
The 9-foot, 800-pound statue of Babe Ruth unveiled in May at the entrance to the Baltimore Orioles' stadium is a testament to artist Susan Lucier's lavish attention to detail, down to the size of the Babe's belt loops. However, the Babe is shown holding a glove to be worn on the left hand, when actually he was a lifelong left-handed thrower.
In June, a couple in their 30s revealed newspapers in the Netherlands their partially successful 1983 in-vitro fertilization experience in one of the country's most prestigious clinics. The process was successful in that the mother had twins; how ever, due apparently to a test-tube cleaning error, the University Hospital at Utrecht admitted that the mother's eggs had been fertilized not only with her husband's sperm but also with that of another man. The couple is white, the other man is black, and the resulting twins are one of each color.
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