Natural life
I feel truly blessed and grateful for having have a deep, special connection to herbs. Nature has always been an integral part of my life. Just being surrounded by nature brings balance. When I was a child, I used to spend most of my free time doing activities in natural environments and discovering plants, especially herbs. I believe in that, most of medical plants can create healing individually, just it does matter in what form and how we use them. If I get sick, I try to heal myself with herbs. I also consider the prevention is very important, and herbs can be used well for this.
There are several of my daily herbs, thyme for the immune booster, nettle is a good blood and liver cleanser, hawthorn is the best for the heart, and the digestive enhancement mints. Although as an environmental engineer I already had herbal knowledge, but I wanted to expand my education and know all of them as I can, that’s why I became nature therapist and certificated aromatherapist.
My growing interest in phytotherapies leading to spent every year some weeks in Herb Camps within Europe with other herbalists to identify and recognise medical plants and making tea from the fresh plants and observed their effect. We all use herbal medicine every day, just like when we drink a cup of tea or my favourite liquor the gin, which contains also botanicals, like juniper berry and coriander seeds. I think everyone should use much more of herbs, we can use them as spices when we are cooking or via aromatherapy.
Mysterious world of essential oils
Aromatherapy is the use of essential oils made from various plant parts, such as roots, seeds, leaves, and blossoms to improve our mood and health. When inhaled, the scent molecules in essential oils goes from the olfactory nerves directly to the amygdala (the emotional centre of the brain) and affect mood and evoke memories. Different scents can help the brain to see what the heart is feeling. This is the basic of emotional aromatherapy and I am sure we all have these experience, for example when we smell of cinnamon we transported us back in time, maybe to Christmas season or remember our grandmother’s cakes. There is a powerful association between aromas, emotions, and memories. I utilising the power of fragrant substances not only in my daily lives but also in my work with massages techniques.
During an aromatherapy massage, we both inhale these essential oil molecules and absorb them through our skin. It is proved, that the compounds can enter the bloodstreamwithin some minutes and have a localised effect, allowing it to target specific concerns and work faster. That’s why I always use only 100% pure essential oils.
I have more than 70 types of essential oils at home, each with its own unique smell and potential health benefits. Emotionally I use neroli oil for stress relief and ginger oil for boosting my energy. I make up my own beauty products, like soaps, body lotions cleaning products from my these oils. I also use them during aromatherapy massage, some of the most popular:
- Lavender essential oil: Brings the balance, peace, calm ideal for relieving stress.
- Rosemary essential oil: Creates a tingling effect during a scalp massage.
- Cedarwood essential oil: Promotes the appearance of shiny skin.
- Eucalyptus essential oil: Energising tired muscles.
- Frankincense essential oil: Has an uplifting aroma and has skin-cleansing benefits.
To work with essential oils can be complex, as they have multiple effects. For example, peppermint oil contribute to its antispasmodic actions and also acts to relax the smooth muscles and also can raises the blood pressure. We have to be familiar with the mysterious world of the chemistry of essential oils to use them safely and effectively. I use different essential oils as blends, because the interaction between its various contents also give rise to synergistic effects. It has been shown for example that the immune booster properties of tea tree oil and oregano oil are potentiated when mixed together and so on. Essential oils can make a positive impact on our health and well-being as long as we use them in a safe way. We have to know which oils can be mix together to strengthening the effect and which are not working well with others. It’s like when we are cooking and use spices.
Eat well, feel better
Spices not only enhance the aroma of food and beverages, but they can also protect from diseases if we eat well. My dad was a great chef and gave me his tips for healthy cooking with spices. When I was a little child I just used spices to make delicious flavour to my meal, but as I getting older I became more conscious and interesting in their different medicinal properties. What I learnt first, is to avoid using too many at one time and to use the right amount:
The right dose differentiates a poison from a remedy.
Paracelsus
As a Hungarian girl I have to say I love red pepper and I use it often. The capsaicin content of pepper can be an excellent natural pain relief treatment This will boost our metabolism also. And it can be also effective against arthritis, thanks to the capsaicin. Although I was born to Hungary, nevertheless I prefer spices from India. My Indian meals often incorporate a mix of fennel, ginger, cardamom, clove, coriander, nutmeg and turmeric. I definitely love all the Indian spices, but my favourite is cardamon, added to my coffee, which is antioxidant and ideal for digestive problems. Cardamon is also treat bad breath as well. Earlier I suffer from digestive problems, so I met with cumin every day to threat my digestive disorders. Since I put some cumin seed to ghee, thanks to its thymol content I can say bye bye –hopefully- forever to my digestive problems.
My simple favourite tips to banish the bloat is chewing a few organic fennel seeds after a meal. I use every day a spoonful cumin as a powder to reduce my body fat and it is very useful also when we have cold or bronchitis. If we mix coriander with cumin, we get a very good combination of tasty powder that is ideal if we have a sensitive stomach or suffer from inflammation. Against inflammation I have a good practice, soak turmeric in hot water and drink every early morning on empty stomach. Spices and herbs have been in use for centuries both for culinary and medicinal purposes. I am not a nutritionist, neither a chef, I just showed on my own life how can be the herbs and spices function well if we eat well. Although I have some years experience with chemicals in laboratory and being an environmental engineer, faculty in chemical engineering I have some educational background how these chemical compounds interact with our body, but before starting to use them, I suggest to consult with a medical professional.
I am gifted at combining skill, scents, experience and knowledge with energetics, intuition, spiritual soul. All of this helps me truly connect with others at a soul level. I always combine different treatments, like aromatherapy, with Tibetan, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Swedish massages, sometimes Ayurvedic head massages with hot oil and always use the healing power of reiki energy. I am great at that and I love being great at that, despite the fact I had to give up my previous carrier. I was working as an air traffic manager and leading solar energy project for Governmental sector. I loved that also, but I realised my greater purpose was to help others that’s why I choose this life and working for others, working 7 days a week and never felt enough, because I do what I was born to do. I try to be up-to date with the newest treatments, so I am always developed not only my professionals but also my self improvements to be the best version of myself. I am so grateful for having a positive energy and intuition which guide me in helping people and so grateful to being in Wellbeing Magazine also.
Written by Patricia Havasi
