Optimize Your Workday With Aromatherapy
Did you know that PRIMARY has its own signature scent? We explored how to utilize the five senses to create a wellness sanctuary here, and today we’re going to sniff into the power of aromatherapy in the workspace.
Amy Anthony, the owner of NYC Aromatica, says at its core, aromatherapy is “the holistic (mind-body-spirit), therapeutic application of working with essential oils, not “scent” or “scents.””
If you wander the halls of PRIMARY, you’ll inhale the aroma of lemongrass, which has been said to help boost mood, reduce anxiety, and decrease mental exhaustion.
Incorporating essential oils into your workspace may have a profound impact on your day. Anthony says she advocates for aromatherapy kits to be in designated wellness rooms or other wellness access points in office spaces. “This gives people a chance to step away for 3 to 5 minutes for an “aromatic time out,” she adds.
Anthony shares that aromatherapy can help enhance not just focus but overall satisfaction.
She says that to smell is to feel, and when we are truly in touch, we are aware of the multi-layered chemical dance happening between the plants’ aromatic (i.e., essential/volatile) molecules and our entire reception of them.
Anthony shares that David Crow called essential oils “distilled sunlight in a bottle,” adding that humans need to be around nature to thrive. “When we’re tucked up inside cities and walls, we may feel disconnected and stressed but don’t know why! Aromatherapy helps us connect with nature when we may not be able to.”
Fortunately, Anthony was more than willing to share her wealth of aromatherapy knowledge with us and gave us an overview of her favorite essential oils for focus, energy, productivity, relaxation, and stress:
Focus
Lemon: Bright, clean, fresh, disinfecting, and thought to help inhibit acetylcholine breakdown. (Source: Rhind).
Rosemary: “Is for remembrance” (Shakespeare). Time-honored for sharpening attention, rosemary is bright, crisp, and sharp. Known as a cephalic oil, aromatherapists turn to it to help clear brain fog and bring focus.
Scots Pine: Has an affinity for breath and lung support. Similar to lemon, it is a great disinfectant (airborne) helping to clear space in the air, lungs, and mind allowing for a feeling of easeful openness.
Energy
Peppermint: Cooling initially but overall stimulating. I liken it to champagne bubbles, mentally clear and energetic. In my opinion, it has an overall caffeine-like action, especially through olfaction. Try mixing lemon, peppermint, and fresh ginger together.
Ginger: Fortifying, stabilizing, clarifying, and stimulating. Smelling it quells nausea and moves the GI tract along. Pair fresh ginger oil and lemon oil together after lunch to help move things along and get past the post-lunch slump.
Productivity:
Grapefruit: Overall uplift & clarity with a bit less of an acerbic bite than lemon. It is clearing with an affinity for the lymphatic system. It is also a bit sweeter than lemon in part thanks to its slightly different chemistry such as nootkatone which helps give grapefruit its unique aroma.
Relaxation
Lavender: Sometimes called “the Swiss army knife” of the oils, I believe by John Steele. It is gentle and seems to do everything. If you’re looking for an oil to bring you to a more relaxed state, search for wild, higher-altitude Lavandula angustifolia. Lavandin, which is a naturally occurring hybrid of Lavandula angustifolia and Lavandula spicata, is more regulating/balancing.
Vetiver: Distilled from the fragrant roots of a perennial grass. It is grounding, stabilizing, cooling, brings you deep, and supports you. I put this with Patchouli, but Patchouli is a different type of relaxation, one that is more sensual and less sleepy. Vetiver holds you when you need to be held—it provides space for that.
Geranium: Distilled from the fragrant leaves of key Pelargonium species mainly grown in Egypt, South Africa, and Madagascar. Overall, it is a balancing oil for emotions and the mind. “Even Steven” as the phrase goes - like you get to shrug off your cares and smile into the present moment.
Palmarosa: A grass related to Vetiver. One of my observations of palmarosa is its ability to draw our awareness inward, get in touch with self-acceptance, and help us “wear our own skin.”
Stress
Lemongrass: May at first be stimulating but its overall signature is to have a calming effect on the psyche. Use very small amounts as it can be irritating from an olfactory sense, especially on the skin. For overall stress relief try a drop of lemongrass mixed with a couple of drops of geranium and 3-5 drops of lavender on a cotton round. Inhale with your eyes closed for 3 minutes.
While candles aren’t allowed in the PRIMARY offices, diffusers are! Here are three of our favorite options to keep in your office to optimize your workday:
To learn more about aromatherapy and essential oils, consider booking a class with Amy at her studio, Aromatica.
Expert: Amy Anthony, owner of NYC Aromatica. Follow on Instagram at @nycaromatica.