Essential energy :a guide to aromatherapy and essential oils

Soothing lavender. Seductive jasmine. Purifying lemon. Since earliest times, mankind has mined the sensory pleasures and medicinal powers of plants, flowers, herbs, and trees.

Now Essential Energy offers a comprehensive look at the colorful evolution of aromatherapy — from the ambrosial unguents of ancient Egyptian rituals to the rose-scented waters of Roman baths to holistic applications so useful in today's stressful society.

This book is your entree to nature's aromatic pharmacopeia, and your key to unlocking its curative and cosmetic capactities. Enlightening and informative, it will enable you to take advantage of the health-bearing properties of pure, natural,living substances. You'll learn how to:

• Master massage and reflexology techniques through step-by-step instruction, and reap the benefits of these sensual modalities
• Foster immune enrichment through exercise, meditation, and diet
• Draw an aromatherapy bath using fragrant oils and salts, and acquire skin-brushing skills
• Treat coughs, colds, and respiratory infections by steaming tea tree oil, peppery eucalyptus, and pungent pine in a homemade vaporizer
• Scent the environment with infusions and burners
• Blend your own perfume — and strike the right note at the right moment with romantic geranium, cooling citrus, exotic bergamot, and other enticing scents
• Give yourself a rejuvenating facial of ground almonds, honey, and floral water, followed by an herbal clay mask
• Bring relief to common ailments such as acne, sunburn, sinusitis, migraine, arthritis, burns, and abrasions
• Improve your memory, banish insomnia, alleviate stress, and calm fears

A superb hands-on guide to self-healing and well-being, Essential Energy offers profiles of thirty widely used and easily obtained essential oils, tips on using them effectively in conjunction with other natural products, a do-it-yourself healing compendium, and a special section on achieving lifelong balance and bliss. Lavishly produced with over one hundred full-color photos, it is a sumptious gift for anyone interested in using nature's garden to pamper the body, revive the mind, and inspire the spirit.

"Nikki Goldstein has artistically presented a wealth of information on the rich tradition of aromatherapy and healing." Salle Merrill Redfield, author of The Joy of Meditating

"Plants exhale what humans inhale, so by nature they are miraculous chemists. This book explains in a very eloquent and practical way how plant and flower essences can be used in our daily lives." Horst M. Rechelbacher, founder and chairman, Aveda Corporation

Discover the healing magic of plants and herbs in this contemporary look at the ancient science of aromatherapy. Filled with fascinating lore, historic insights, and practical information, this handsome volume offers beneficial recipes for creating holistic therapies to help you counter illness, combat pollution, mediate stress, enhance beauty, indulge the senses...and reconnect you with the wonder of nature.

Includes bibliographical references (162 p.) and index.