Hydrosols

Phytotherapy - The Holistic Approach

The of the "terrain", as the French call it, or constitution," in homeopathic terms, is particularly relevant to hydrosols. It is also a basic tenet of holistic health. All disease is an imbalance, and although in treatment the symptoms are considered, the character of the individual is just as important. The premise is that when you rebalance the terrain, disease will disappear. In France much of the way essential oils are used is as "phytomedicines," in the modern pharmaceutical sense.

The aromatogram is a case in point. Modeled on a scientific test used to determine the efficacy of antibiotics on specific organisms, the aromatogram is exactly the same test but uses tiny discs impregnated with essential oils instead of antibiotics.The aromatograms show the "kill zone" of each substance tested and can be used to design treatments for a huge variety of pathologies, including those that may be antibiotic resistant. However, in vitro is not the same as in vivo. It is not completely uncommon for the oils that work in aromatogram to have less than the expected effect when given to the person in vice versa. Why?

Sometimes essential oils may be too strong for a person. Sometimes they just don't work, for no apparent reason. So the constitution, or terrain, must be addressed. Galen and his formulaic approach is out and Hahnemann comes in. The aromatherapists will then try to rebalance the individual, choosing oils like lavender, rose, sandalwood, and vertiver that address issues of emotional, spiritual, and psychological health.

Sometimes rebalancing the terrain is enough; the immune system kicks in and the pathology will disappear. Sometimes rebalancing the terrain creates an environment of healing , and the individual's body will then allow the oils to do their work. Jus how effective hydrosols must be on this level of healing. Hydrosols really are the next aromatherapy. A constitutional aromatic. Eureka as they say. When I first realized that neroli water would stop caffeine jiggers, a colleague told me my evidence was too anecdotal to be accepted. Why would just a few sips of water with this hydrosol have such an effect? The aroma of the hydrosol alone does not do it, and it is not the rehydrating effects of the water, since just a few sips work.

But I couldn't prove my finding scientifically; I just realized this was a constitutional reaction by the body to the tiny amount of hydrosol in the glass and the copious amounts of expresso in my system. So next time you have too much caffeine or, for that matter, really bad stress, reach for the neroli and see for yourself. Aromatherapy has over four thousand years of anecdotes to fall back on. Does science - or the lack of it - make this history any more or less true? I think not.

Reference: Hydrosols The Next Aromatherapy: Suzanne Catty