Category Archives: Aromatherapy

Refreshing your mind using basil essential oil

Today we meet a very particular essential oil, that of Basil (Ocimum basilicum). The Ayurvedic tradition mainly rewards the sacred Basil (Ocimum sanctum); I want to talk about the “common” basil also because it is a plant that we can have on our tables often and therefore we “absorb” its precious perfume, unaware of its subtle beauty.

Who would expect that a plant whose leaves we eat in sauce or pesto has antiviral, analgesic, and antispasmodic characteristics?

Ocimum basilicum in aromaterapia

The essential oil is slightly dermoaggressive, but diluted it can be used both when there are stomach pains (spasms) and in case of muscle cramps (even a drop in a teaspoon of almond oil or cream could be enough).

It is also effective in case of nausea and dysmenorrhea, you can smell a drop on a tissue.

I feel in the basil a fine, herbaceous, linear note, “which pulls straight” and at the same time does not invade, but clearly delineates the road and boundaries. This is why I consider it a fine perfume for clarity and mental freshness, for the linearity of thought – very useful when instead we are all emotion and inside there is a rough sea beyond what we can bear.

In Ayurveda in particular, Tulsi or sacred basil is considered an excellent remedy because it develops sattvic qualities (we could translate with subtle, elevated) helping in the clarity and strengthening of the immune system. These qualities, although certainly with different nuances, can also be found in our basil, which both in leaves and in essential oil can enter our homes and be a friend and ally for purifying environments (also in physical terms) and from a subtle point of view (iy dissolves the “heaviness” and brings subtle energies helping in concentration).

It can also be useful for those who struggle to fall asleep, or for those who feel a little anxiety. In this case, a few smells may be enough, or you could prepare a roll-on with almond oil and a few drops of essence, and use it as a perfume at bedtime. Start with small dosages.

A blend for summer clarity (when it’s so hot and we can’t think properly!) could be this:

in 95 degree food alcohol, or vodka, or sweet almond oil 30 ml:

ocimum basilicum o.e. 5 gc

peppermint o.e. 10 gc

vetiver o.e. 3 drops

obtaining a perfume to take with you when you need to recover (ideal in spray format!) (the dosages are specially low, if you want something more intense you can increase the number of drops).

Please note: there are at least two basil essences on the market, one with linalool and one with estragole. I like them both and we could say that the linalool one is olfactory closer to the basil we know. The estragon one is very interesting; it has an olfactory profile more similar to tarragon because it contains estragole – precisely for this component it is good not to overdo it in use.

Aromatherapy, Confusion, Awareness and Clarity

Confusion, who hasn’t experimented it? It happens when one has many options and deep inside isn’t convinced by any of them. Then comes sadness about it and one asks oneself  “what should I do? Where should I go?”. To me it has happened many times. Facing thousands of theorethical options with the feeling of ending up empty handed. And above all, the feeling of not having the capability to understand which would be the right option for us out of so many.The opposite can also happen, having few options to choose from and none that seems actually right. In both cases one must “take oneself by the hand” and start to walk.

Often indeed the confusing or unsatisfying situations can produce a stagnant effect. Which means that when facing chaos we do nothing. It is certainly an option, but this ‘not moving’ state cannot last long. Not moving regarding a relationship, for example, even a friendship. Most of the times we leave words in stand-by mode (meaning we don’t express and don’t listen to what we should). This way the hypothesis, the fantasies and projections rise. In short, the confusion rises while for us to live well clarity is necessary as much as possible.

I have recently understood how important was for me a friendship with a person. Living far away we hadn’t  spoken for some time. And then I wrote to her. And got an almost instant response. In short this relationship was so solid even not having heard from each other for so long. But if I hadn’t written there would have been a suspension. And one does not live well suspended.

For this reason, when one faces a confusing situation regarding a person, a relashionship, a job… that’s when one must stay away the most from thoughts. It is advisable to look for a centered inner position, for lucidity, and to take a step (a concrete action) towards checking the situation.

Let’s see how essential oils and Bach flowers can help us go further towards a bigger balance with ourselves. And let’s not forget to act from the inside to the outside.

citrus sinensis aromaterapia emozioni
By Ellen Levy Finch (Elf) – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=39146

I would start choosing Walnut. It is a Bach flower that speaks of centering, of interior voice, of trusting what we feel deep inside and of going ahead. It is suitable to every moment in which we need ourselves to keep on going and to feel what our moment is, to be able to communicate it to others, to be able to dialogue with more clarity. I think it is suitable also when we just need plain and “simple centering”.

Preparing a spray, for example, we can add the essential oils of cypress, ginger and sweet orange to Walnut. A mix that I would define as follows:

Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens) helps us at centering, listening to our interiority and also at connecting with ourselves. Ginger (Zingiber officinalis) a root rich in vitality, can give us a sense of grounding and lucidity, helping us ‘digest’ the situations in life, the things we struggle to get along with. Together with these two such intense essences we can add the essential oil of sweet orange (citrus sinensis), which rounds and softens up the synergy and donates us that lightness that helps us feel free and in movement.

30 ml: 15 ml of vodka at 40 degrees with which essential oils are mixed plus 15 ml of distilled water

5 drops of cypress esential oil

5 drops of ginger essential oil

10 drops of sweet orange essential oil

5 drops of Walnut

This is clearly a basis formula, and you can personalize it as you feel fits you better. You can take it with you as a ‘personal perfume’ that gives you support.

If you have tipps or questions, leave me a comment, I will love to read it.