Imagine you’re walking through a forest. The towering evergreens stand confidently all around you, and as you take a deep breath, you smell the warm soil, pine needles, lush leaves, and dry bark.
Just then, it begins to rain gently—not enough to send you running for shelter, but enough to alter the environment and make everything better. In the light drizzle, your body begins to cool down. As you take another deep breath, you realize the scents around you have changed. Everything is slightly askew with its new dampness. What is this wonderful scent of damp earth that seems to be soothing your soul? It’s called petrichor.
You don’t need to be in the forest during a rainstorm to experience this unique aroma. You can bring that scent, and many others, into your home with the use of essential oils.
Using essential oils for therapeutic purposes dates back to ancient civilizations around the globe. The scene painted in the paragraph above is a Japanese therapeutic process called forest bathing or shinrin yoku. The process of forest bathing—immersing oneself in the smells and sights of the forest—is believed to relieve stress and anxiety and promote a calming sense of wellness.
Aromatherapy is here to help bring the unique experience of forest bathing to you even if you’re miles away from the closest tree.
What Is Aromatherapy?
Aromatherapy uses essential oils or other aromatic compounds to help relieve stress, promote relaxation, and cultivate a general feeling of wellness in the mind and body. Aromatherapy can be used via diffusers, a steam shower kit, a home steam room, at a massage studio, and anywhere else where relaxation is important to you.
The History of Aromatherapy
Ancient civilizations such as the Greeks, Indians, Romans, Chinese, and others used essential oils for spiritual, therapeutic, and cosmetic purposes. Ancient texts describe the use of essential oils as helping to enhance personal attraction and grant happiness to users. Back then, essential oils were a luxury good that could even be used as a form of payment.
In the modern world, aromatherapy was first named in 1937 by a French chemist named René-Maurice Gattefossé. Since then, aromatherapy advocates have found new and delightful ways to incorporate aromatherapy into daily life.
How to Include Aromatherapy In Your Wellness Routine
1. Use a diffuser
A diffuser is an appliance that disperses essential oils into the air. They typically have a sleek, pleasantly modern design and can even be seen pouring scented steam into the air. There are several different kinds of diffusers, including ceramic, reed, candle, and ultrasonic diffusers.
2. Dry inhale
The process of dry inhaling is simple. Choose a dry material such as a piece of fabric, paper, or even a part of your clothing. Apply your chosen oil to the material and keep it near you throughout the day. The oil will evaporate into the air around you, washing you in its therapeutic scent.
3. A bath or steam shower kit
Many users add aromatherapy to their bathing routine. This can be done in several ways, whether it’s simply splashing a few drops of essential oils on the wall of your shower or finding a more thorough and luxurious way, such as working it into a home steam room, an in-home steam shower, or other shower accessories.
Popular Choices for Aromatherapy
Choices for aromatherapy scents are plentiful, and you’re bound to constantly discover new scents on your wellness journey. However, here are a few popular ones that stand out among the rest:
- Lavender
- Peppermint
- Jasmine
- Chamomile
- Eucalyptus
- Orange blossoms
- Tea tree
- Ylang ylang
- Rosemary
- Bergamot
Bringing Aromatherapy Into Your Home
You can buy the best steam shower unit and custom shower systems on the market, but you won’t absorb the full therapeutic benefits of your residential steam shower equipment unless you include some soulful wellness accessories. If you’re going to invest in steam room equipment for your home, you should do it right by building a steam shower.
Immersing yourself in a steam room design unique to your home produces a relaxing atmosphere that is specifically dedicated to your wellness needs. Imagine forest bathing in an environment that you designed. You chose the trees, the color of the moss that grows from them, and even the birds that will sing to you as you retreat into a space of personal well-being. Some would say that sounds like heaven!
Thermasol builds custom shower designs and home steam rooms that fit your needs. They offer you peace of mind with their luxury shower accessories that will help to keep your wellness routine at its peak. Build your own at-home steam room to surround yourself with the aromas of the forest and create a relaxing escape.
