We have an article in the Wednesday 14th and 15th April Cambrian News in a feature about complementary health in the area. There is a photo of one of our students giving a treatment too.
For further information and to book up this course please get in touch through our Contact Page .
Holistic Aromatherapy Diploma September 2011
Australia is gum tree heaven, with hundreds of different varieties to delight you. The eucalyptus or gum tree makes the Aussie landscape its own with Blue, Yellow, Box, Snowy and Stringy Gum’s to name a few.
Fully-grown gum’s surprisingly encourage forest fires because the eucalypt seed needs a little scorching to get it to germinate. Naturally thin strips of tinder-dry bark hang down from the trees to the ground and also flash fires are stimulated by the oil-rich leaf litter. Last February 2009 in the state of Victoria had been through many years of drought, which at the end of their summer caused huge out-of-control fires which tore across massive tracts of the bush. When visiting this year I feared the prospect of more fires and was also worried about experiencing the hopelessly devastated ancient forests. Surely with the scale and the intensity of the 2009 fires the largest of trees and the most plucky of seeds would have been totally destroyed.
This year in early February the people of Victoria were gearing up to survive the possibility of more fires with shelters, plans for saving property and most importantly escape contingencies. It probably was a coincidence, but we arrived from Wales and after years of drought it appeared that behind our plane followed a great, big rain cloud! That first week there were daily thunderstorms and there on regular downpours during the month, meaning the fires this year were minimal. The straw-coloured paddocks and fields became green and my Australian brother joked I was the ‘Rain Goddess’!
In the Australian Alps, the eucalyptus woodlands that completely cover this vast range of Mountains were burnt and blackened for hundreds of square kilometres by an unimaginably ferocious fire, which left behind what looked like a dead forest. But it was a joy to see that the Eucalyptus tree is so incredible that it has somehow survived, this year throwing out fresh, young re-growth from the skeletal body of the tree, close to the ground or high up depending on the variety, quickly creating again a vibrant living forest.
Standing amongst the trees after the rain the eucalyptus smells particularly fresh and strong. The atmosphere warming my damp Welsh lungs with the transfered heat of the sun and fires of Australia. I climbed high to the top of Mount Buffalo and the blue gum eucalyptus oil (Eucalyptus globulus) can still be seen as a blue haze in the atmosphere over the trees. No wonder eucalyptus essential oil is a wonderful tonic for the lungs, and now the aroma of eucalyptus essential oil will always remind me of the Australian bush and its amazing ability to rise from the ashes.
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It’s not too late to stock up on some Scented Solstice Surprises - Don’t miss this chance to treat your loved ones to some Hand Made Luscious Luxury!
Ho Ho Chi Heaven will be at the Christmas Fair in Llanbedrog at the Glyn Y Weddw on Saturday 5th December from 10.00 - 4.00
Massage Gift Vouchers - Dizzy’s Fizzy Spells - Solstice Sparkle Bath Salts - Soothing Aftershave - Gentle Skin Toner - Rose Otto Hand Cream and Moisturiser - Hand Embroidered Lavender Bags - Lip Balm - Massage Bars - Crystallised Ginger - and MORE!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Mistletoes and Mincepices, Dizzy x
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Feeling under the Welsh winter weather? We get more susceptible to colds and ‘flu during times of stress, poor nutrition and overwork as this creates the right conditions for our immune systems to get depleted and the conniving viruses that have been lurking, jump in to take hold of your immune system. Add to this lack of sleep to aggravate the situation you unfortunately have a concoction for a dose of ‘flu or a bad cold.
‘Flu is a viral infection affecting the upper respiratory tract, causing fever, headache, general aches, pains and nasal congestion. The symptoms often deteriorate at night and worsen if you physically exert yourself. Colds are viruses too, but usually less severe, and it can be possible to plough on with your work, even although you feel grotty.
Essential oils are really effective in helping reduce the length and severity of the viral infection. Tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) is the number one oil. If you feel the beginning of symptoms utilise the antiviral property of tea tree to ward off the lurgies. Dilute 3 drops of tea tree in a squirt of shampoo to add to your bath just before you get in. Soak up the essential oil, helping you move through the illness quickly, sometimes hardly noticeably in hours, without any secondary infections such as bronchitis. Tea tree does not suppress the virus, it simply kick-starts the bodies immune system into a quick reaction against it. If you have sensitive skin also add 3 drops of lavender as it can be irritated by tea tree. 6 drops of Lavender can also be used alone in a bath as a tonic, or else, to help you to sleep.
5 to 10 drops of tea tree in water in an aromatic burner, or safely placed away from children on a wood burner or radiator also cleans the air of viruses stopping other people in the vicinity getting ill too.
One highly effective method of clearing a congested respiratory system is through the age-old method of inhalation. Adding 3 drops of eucalyptus essential oils to very hot water then placing a towel over your head and the bowl, to warm and decongest lungs by gently breathing in the vapours (do not forget to take a tissue in there!). If the person receiving the inhalation is young or vulnerable, putting a few drops on a tissue and placing it near them could be a safer option. A drop or two of lavender rubbed neat around the throat also really reduces coughing and sore throats.
Do not forget to sip the traditional honey and lemon, maybe adding some slices of fresh ginger. A supplement of 2 x 50mg of vitamin C also supports the body’s immune system.
It’s important to withdraw and rest, reducing the contact that the virus has with others. Pushing our energy reserves can cause the illness to boomerang back, and the viruses around at the moment seem to have an aptitude to do just that. Colds also detoxify deeply through the production and release of mucous and sometimes we should trust this process. Snuggle in, tend to your body that works so hard, and enjoy using some wonderful aromatic medicine.
My partner and I were on our way to Bellaspetto in Tuscany, Italy where Oliver, a retired English Doctor, had planted about half of the 200 odd trees for his small olive oil business run from the farm. Sadly, Oliver had died several years ago, and as I text my friends and family that I was off to pick his olives, the predict setting on my mobile phone preferred the word Oliver, making me smile. He became very present during the time we were there, pleased that we were involved and keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings.
Around the beginning of November it is olive picking session in Tuscany. The trees in the groves are laden down with green and black olives, which have grown by absorbed the sunshine of the Italian summer and the early autumn rain. The green olives are the unripe fruit and black fully ripened, with the flavours of the green and black varying. For a good quality Tuscan olive oil you need a blend of both, in addition to a mix of four local varieties of olives.
Olive picking is very labour intensive, once the dew has dried in the morning an individual tree has a net laid down for the olives to fall on to. The lower branches are picked from the ground and then ladders brought in for the more difficult to reach. Each tree has its own individuality and sometimes climbing the trees to the topmost, thinnest branches is more efficient, and a fun picking technique. This tree hopping brought to mind, the scene of jumping through the bamboo in the film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (Crouching Panda, Hidden Olive!). With this repetitive process you can see that the mind can wander into realms of its imagination.
The olives are picked by hand or with a small hand held rake to sweep down the branches, causing the olives to fall onto the net. Sometimes the olives are satisfyingly clustered on the branches and a whole little heap can be pulled off in one sweep, at other times it is painstaking as each olive is individually plucked. Once the whole tree has been picked the net is lifted from one side to roll the olives into a pile, which is then transferred into a crate. The process is then repeated with the next tree.
In the evening our hands and arms were dry, rough and a little scratched and of course the best antidote to the condition proved to be a couple of applications of last years deeply nourishing Bellaspetto olive oil, leaving our hands smooth and plump again; like curing like. This made me realise that olive oil was such an important ingredient in a thick hand cream and that I really wanted to make a big batch once the oil was extracted.
Over a week and a half the trees were slowly picked, with the help of family and local people and large lunches of soup, bread, cheese and salad with evenings of socialising and drinking the ruby red Chianti, the local Tuscan wine. The continued practice of small-scale olive farming still honours the traditions and the people that have lived and worked in that beautiful land. With the empty trees brought the quality of a released burden, the yearly cycle being completed brought a sense of quiet and rest into the misty groves.
The olives are stored in the workshop to wait a time to be crushed in a local cooperative mill. If there are over 100 kilograms of olives the mill processes the oil as an individual batch and you can watch as the olives turn to golden green oil, satisfyingly wholesome, deliciously fresh and spicy ready to use and to store for the coming year.
Packed simply so you are paying for the essential oil not the image. These essential oils were originally sourced for our students to use, so the quality is not comprised but the price remains affordable. They are now available to all.
To order your quality, organic and ethically essential oils from the Welsh School of Aromatherapy email, write or phone to order, leaving your name and delivery address.
Please add £2 to the total of your order for post & packaging in UK.
Payment by cheque please.
Size Essential oil Genus Origin Price £
Positive Health Online has commissioned and published a case study from Lindsay Woodman, Principal of the Welsh School of Aromatherapy on the remarkable results of aromatherapy treatment. They have used pictures from our website, not only throughout the article, but also as the front cover of the magazine itself.
To see it online and for other interesting articles and information go to: http://www.positivehealth.com/issue-view.php?issueid=148
WITH AROMATHERAPY PRACTITIONER LINDSAY WOODMAN, BA hons., LLSA., MIFA.,REIKI MASTER
Lindsay is based in Gwynedd, North Wales. For Aromatherapy or Reiki treatments get in touch with Lindsay through the contact page of this website.
She trained as an Holistic Aromatherapist with the London School of Aromatherapy, where she gained an Holistic Aromatherapy Diploma, with honours, in 1996. She is fully insured and a member of the International Federation of Aromatherapists.
She has great experience through running her own peripatetic practice, since 1996. Currently is the Principal of the Welsh School of Aromatherapy and also teaches aromatherapy with Coleg Harlech WEA. Specialist in aromatherapy for pregnancy and childbirth. Has worked as a complimentary therapist for Gwynedd Hospice at Home and has also set up a natural body products business.
She is also a Reiki Master, which she incorporates into her aromatherapy work.
THE PRACTICE OF AROMATHERAPY IS:
- the art and science of using essential oils with their wonderful aromas, through absorption through the skin. Essential oils have many qualities that are active within body, mind and spirit.
- effective and relaxing through massage, as well as aromatic baths, inhalation, compress and vaporisation.
- working safely with the individual. Lindsay will take a consultation with you to create your own personal treatment plan.
- helping a return from illness into balance. Muscular pain and tension, depression, anxiety, chronic stress, high or low blood pressure, hormone imbalance, chronic fatigue and skin disorders are all examples which aromatherapy can help.
