Headaches- Aromatherapy & Herbs

Just about everyone is familiar with some sort of headache pain, yet most are not aware of the many natural alternatives to conventional pain killers for headache relief.  Headaches being far more common than even the common cold, it is not surprising that about 85 percent of over-the-counter analgesics are bought for headache treatment.
 Also what don’t few know is that long-term use of these painkillers may in itself cause headaches.   I am an advocate for phytotherapy & Aromatherapy healiing. As a Massage Therapist, Aromatherapy Practioner  and through all my studies and research, I have found that  essential oils and herbs combined with massage ( Aromatherapy Massage) offer a much better and safer, alternative.
Not just for headaches, but for any ailment or concern one may have.

In our norm of society,  now a days many headaches are related to stress.  Their cause can sometimes be vast and can be connected to imbalance in the body, such as liver disorder (as is often the case with migraines), sluggish digestion, not sleeping enough, colds, upper respiratory infections, countless allergies, caffeine withdrawal, menstruation, plus many others.  When using aromatherapy for your healing of headaches, it is best to consult an aromatherapy practioner, for the most effective headache blend and treatment, since determining where the headache originated ( meaning from what part of the cranial)  will narrow down which essential oil blend is recommended  to work according to different mechanisms.

Following are a couple headache remedies, that combine several oils together, and hence work through the synergistic combinations of the plants, herbs, flowers.

Peppermint oil is a traditional aromatherapy remedy and works fairly quick too. Try this for a headache: 

Apply it as a compress ( put a couple drops onto a damp wash cloth or gauze) or straight, one or two drops to the back of the neck,  by the occipital bone. Peppermint's known for being analgesic, uplifting and mentally clearing. You can also mix with Rosemary essential oil, which works with Peppermint.  

 

WATER ~ BODY ~ DETOX

Living and working so close to the ocean, to the beach is truly a gift! I love the town I live in of Huntington Beach, CA. For me living by water is where I feel at home. Water sports are my favorite,  to be immersed in water, be it a salt water pool at home, or in the ocean is an AMAZING feeling! As it should be, since our bodies crave that connection with nature. When we are in utero we are incapsulated in a sac of water; we, our bodies  are 65% water, we can live for days, weeks without food but not without water.  
So it makes sense that to 'detox' our bodies of all the junk we inflict , water is the main event in detoxing our bodies.
In this blog post I want to emphisize how important water is to our mind, body and spirit. Think of the cleansing, the detoxification of your body as a river.  When the river is full, it flows and all that is in its path, the branches, leaves,etc flows with it. Just as the river, when we drink water our bodies are cleansed of all these toxins, leaves, branches that have made us stuck.  Your body relaxes and it can do its job.

Drink enough water, the correct amount of water for your body  ( drink half your body weight in ounces of water. ex: if you weigh 150lbs, drinking 75 ounces of water is a good amount for your body) and  you will prevent dehydration which causes  your heart and your body overall to work harder, not to mention a list of other issues, such as having headaches and  body pain.  Drinking water will help prevent wrinkles-anti-aging. Your skin wont be bone dry and will help eliminate fat aswell.

So pump up your water intake...or start drinking water if you  are one of those that does not :) your body will thank you, you will feel better, your joints will be lubricated; waste will be flushed out of your body, all your organs will be functioning better and your body will be at a state of homeostaisis. 

As a massage therapist, I enourage water intake through out the day. After workouts, if you drink coffee, or any caffeined drinks, even more so. And especially after you have had a massage. I give all my clients a bottle of water to take with them after their massage session.
So Drink UP and let me know how you feel., how your skin looks, how your body feels. I know you will be happy with the results :)
xoxo
Silvana