How to Use Aromatherapy to Promote Health & Productivity

The wellness industry is a trillion dollar industry. Your employees and customers want it. Some companies offer massage and gyms to their employees. One company featured recently on the news offers treadmill desks. Another great alternative is to incorporate aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is the art and science of using essential oils (oils extracted directly from plants) for therapeutic benefit. It is a cost-effective, holistic approach of taking care of the body by enhancing the senses with pleasant smelling botanical oils through stimulating the olfactory nerves.
The following are ways to incorporate the use of essential oils to promote health and productivity among your employees.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• essential oils
• diffusers
• wellness plan

1. Develop your company's wellness plan if you have not already implemented one. Decide what benefits you hope to achieve from taking an active approach in the health and well-being of your employees. Know how essential oils will fit in the overall scheme of things and communicate this to your employees. Getting your employees' buy-in is important to the success of the plan.

2. Choose your oils. Perform a poll. Ask your employees what smells they remember most from their childhood. You can also provide samples of the essential oils for your employees to sniff to determine which work best. Ask what feelings or sensations are evoked from the scents. This will help you to choose which essential oils will work best for your particular office space. Making a game of this event can be an excellent team-building exercise. There are also certain essential oils that are known for their calming or stimulating qualities. Orange and peppermint oils work great to wake up the senses, provide greater clarity and heighten creativity and productivity. Lavender is an excellent oil to soothe the senses.

3. 
   Start Living With Everyday Oils

   Purchase diffusers and strategically place them in common areas such as conference rooms, the employee break room or other open office spaces. The type of oil diffused will depend on the utility of the space. For instance, a calming oil such as lavender would be great for break rooms or cafeterias where employees will want to relax and unwind. Peppermint can be diffused during weekly meetings to prevent employees from falling asleep. Thieves oil, a special proprietary blend of cleansing oils, should be used in restrooms to combat germs and bad odors.

4. Assess and replenish oils as needed. Continue to garner feedback from your employees on how aromatherapy fits into your company's wellness plan. Examine what works and doesn't work. Keep a healthy stock of the most helpful oils on hand at all times.

Tips & Warnings

• Dilute essential oils with other clear oils like virgin olive oil or grapeseed oil to make them last longer and to lessen the intensity that may come with direct contact to the skin.
• Essential oils are naturally non-hypoallergenic. Any reaction to the skin is not allergy-related and can most likely be attributed to its potency (heat content). Diluting with oil prior to application or rinsing with cool water should alleviate any burning sensations.
• Only store essential oils in shaded glass vials to protect their potency.
• This article is geared toward businesses but this same concept can be applied in your home or any other setting.
• Certain natural essential oils can be a danger to your pets. Refer to the paperwork provided or perform the necessary research to
• This article is not meant to act as medical or mental health advice. Consult your doctor or a mental health professional prior to altering any prescribed health regimen.

Resources

• Learn More About Essential Oils
• Team-Building & Executive Coach

[dorigillman]

on 7/19/2009 smells nice.

[stndgfrm]

on 3/20/2009 I love the suggestions here and would like to use it in my home.I like the clean linen or ocean breeze kind of scents but the hubby likes fruity scents so these don't mix well! LOL5*

[KneadWellness]

on 2/25/2009 Very useful info! I read once that malls pipe strawberry scent because it's supposed to put people in the mood to buy.