Ayurvedic Aromatherapy

Ayurvedic aromatherapy is used to complement diet and lifestyle choices to balance the doshas and sub-doshas in Ayurveda, the traditional healing system of India.

The five elements combine to form three energies (doshas) that govern our bodies:

- Vata (ether and air) is cold and dry.
- Pitta (fire and water) is hot and wet.
- Kapha (water and earth) is cold and wet.

Each person has a predominant dosha (or combination), plus each dosha has five sub-doshas, giving each person a unique constitution. Ayurveda treats a person based not only on symptoms but also on constitution. Thus two people with the same symptoms may receive radically different treatments.

For the use of aromatherapy and essential oils in Ayruveda, the best resource I have found is Ayurveda & Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing. This book explains how to use essential oils in a way consistent with Ayurvedic principles.

For example, essential oils either add heat or have a cooling effect on the body. Blue chamomile is cooling, lavender is neutral, and thyme is hot. So, thyme would increase pitta, which is hot. Neutral oils are balancers and can either cool you down or warm you up.

Ayurveda also classifies essential oils as either wet or dry. Wet oils (for example, geranium and rose) have high polarity and mix well with water. Dry oils (for example, citrus oils and pine) have a low polarity and tend to float on the surface of water. Dry oils would increase vata. Again, some oils, such as lavender, are neutral.

The book goes on to list essential oils appropriate for specific imbalances and also gives you ways to use the oils.




Ayurvedic Aromatherapy at Maharishi Ayurveda