This is where you’ll find posts on the wonderful healing art of aromatherapy as well as practical information about using essential oils. Enjoy ♥
I have been writing for as long as I can remember. Stories, essays, travel journals, rants, self-pitying monologues. I’ve lost count of the number of “books” I’ve started and then discarded purely because I’ve forgotten I’d started them in the first place. Sometimes I find pieces of paper crammed in Read more…
It’s a warm day in early March. We’re coming up to a full moon. The toads are busy mating in the pond and it’s the time of year when you feel like opening the windows, going through the cupboards and throwing away all the clutter. I’ve cleaned all the windows, Read more…
Are you a daydreamer? Do your friends sometimes wonder where you’ve gone when you’re sitting right in front of them? I can be off on an adventure of the mind at the drop of a hat, but never more so than the moment in a day when I smell something Read more…
The cold spell we’re having in the Northern Hemisphere has put me in hibernation mode. The woodburner has been constantly on the go and it actually reached minus four here in the Arcachon Basin. I’m sure that must be almost unheard of. Even the beach was frosty and crunchy underfoot Read more…
Despite the cool misty September mornings it is still incredibly hot here in western France. A lovely extension to summer. I’ve been busy in the kitchen today making two of my favourite things. A blackberry crumble cake with blackberries picked from the hedgerows here. And a lovely nourishing whipped body Read more…
“The bathing with a decoction of camomile taketh away weariness, easeth pains to what part of the body soever they be applied.” Nicholas Culpeper – Culpeper’s Complete Herbal There are wonderful patches of chamomile lawn in the garden here which give off the delicate appley scent of the herb when Read more…
“A compassionate herb of the highest order” For my final blog to celebrate Aromatherapy Awareness Week I wanted to leave you with something simple. The above quote by Peter Holmes* says it all. Lavender remains one of the most popular and versatile essential oils, an all-time favourite for so many Read more…
As part of my week-long blog to raise awareness of aromatherapy I thought I would go back to the raw ingredients themselves. And because I felt like baking today, I decided to give you a delicious recipe for Lavender and Ginger cookies! You will need: 4½oz / 125g butter 4oz Read more…
One of the easiest and most effective ways to benefit from essential oils is simply….. to take a bath Yes, that’s right. A simple bath allows us to inhale the oils through the steam of the bath and absorb them topically through the skin. It’s almost too easy! In my Read more…
Vetiver was first introduced to me eight years ago and I’ve been hooked ever since. It’s not an oil you hear a lot about, but with its smoky, sultry, warm aroma and seductive scent, it’s an oil that makes me want to sit back, relax and forget all my cares. Read more…
We’ve probably all experienced back pain in some form or another at some point in our lives. I certainly have. In fact it’s because of back pain that I started studying massage and aromatherapy in the first place. Suffering the excruciating pain of sciatica and a herniated disc, I found Read more…
Are you enjoying this hot spell we are having in the Northern hemisphere at the moment? Or are you suffering from the following symptoms? Sneezing Red, itchy, streaming eyes Nose blocked one minute then running like an open tap the next Annoyingly itchy throat and ears I haven’t suffered from Read more…
Aromatherapy Awareness Week runs from 9th to 15th June this year, so to celebrate I’ll be sharing a little bit of information every day on this beautiful and ancient healing art. To start at the very beginning I have chosen a wonderfully illustrated infographic created by mixaroma to answer a Read more…
Feeling frazzled? Too many things to do? Unable to focus on any one thing? Try this two-minute exercise to calm your mind, relax your body and regain your focus: Put a little carrier oil in the palm of your hand (try apricot kernel or jojoba) Add two drops of your Read more…
Trust an aromatherapist to be extolling the virtues of lavender yet again but trust me, this is definitely worth trying…… You will need: 200ml of milk (regular or almond is good) a sprinkling of culinary lavender seeds (around 1/2 level tspn) 50g dark chocolate* (mine is 74% cocoa and I Read more…
“All of us need touch…… In an increasingly over-stimulated and desensitised world, where mental activity has superseded the physical, massage provides the opportunity to keep in touch with your body and to feel it fully.” Susan Mumford When was the last time you had a really good massage? I can Read more…
Are you suffering from the winter blues? I think I am! When I was taking the photo in my last post I got excited about the prospect of spring coming. Premature I know, but I’m really aching to feel the sunlight on my face and to see the colour of Read more…
Are you doing some kind of detox this January? A green smoothie challenge? Cutting out cigarettes, alcohol, dairy, gluten, meat, sugar, refined carbohydrates? Getting rid of toxic thoughts and self-limiting beliefs? There’s a lot of talk about whether detox can be harmful or not, especially when done drastically. I have Read more…
“Nothing is more memorable than a smell. One scent can be unexpected, momentary and fleeting, yet conjure up a childhood summer beside a lake in the mountains; another, a moonlit beach; a third, a family dinner of pot roast and sweet potatoes during a myrtle-mad August in a Midwestern town. Read more…
Over a decade ago while suffering badly with a herniated disc in my lower back I discovered massage, or rather I found a small and slight massage therapist named Heather. I was in a lot of pain, had a hard time walking, sitting, sleeping and felt like I was slowly Read more…