Rose Essential Oil

Rose-oil-bannerKing of flowers, Queen of essential oils and Gift of Angels, can you guess? Cherished, loved and held high for its intrinsic beauty, mesmerizing aroma and stupendous health benefits Rose and its essential oil can simply make anyone addicted to the flawless elegance of Mother Nature. This mind-blowing flower is often connected with love, romance and forgiveness that it can soften even the hardest of hearts.

Held as Lord Krishna’s favorite flower, Rose is more than 70 million years old and its role in Ayurveda is predominant than most other flowers. Ayurvedic texts explain that the adoring qualities of Rose and the essential oil extracted from it is due to the strong reasons that it balances Sadhaka pitta that controls feelings and its effects on the heart and Prana vata that governs the mind, sensory perception, head, chest and respiration.

Known as Satapatri in Sanskrit, meaning ‘one hundred petals’ and Gulab-ka-phool in Hindi, Ayurvedic philosophers have documented the use of rose petals, rose essential oil, rose vinegar, rose water and Gulkand in the treatment of mental problems, gynecological disorders and as a promising aphrodisiac for enhancing reproductive health.

Pure Rose essential oil is very expensive because certain reports state that it takes about 2,000 pounds of Rose petals for extracting 1 pound of Rose essential oil, means 1 drop of Rose oil is extracted from about 500 rose petals.

There are many species of Rose flowers and the most prevalently used in extracting essential oils are Rosa damascena, cultivated in Turkey, India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Bulgaria and Iran and Rosa centifolia, widely grown in France, Egypt and Morocco.

Purchase Rose Absolute – 5% Dilution in Pure Jojoba – CLICK HERE

Historical importance of Rose and its essential oil:

Among all the flowers in the world, Rose has the oldest history with fossil remains at the Florissant Fossil Beds, Colorado confirming it to be more than 40 million years of age and the fossil deposits at Montana and Oregon date back for about 35 million years.  This flower of love has its origin in the Central parts of Asia before 70 million years.

Rose was an incredible part of almost all the ancient cultures in the world like the Romans, the Greeks, the Chinese, the Indians, the Egyptians, the English, the Arabians, the French and the Phoenicians. All of them sang the glory of roses and cultivated it widely in their provinces.

Rose is used in perfuming and enlightening weddings amongst all the cultures on earth. It is said that the extraction of Rose oil was discovered in India when a celebrated King of India held his daughter’s grand wedding ceremony.

As a part of the wedding decoration, the moat surrounding the castle was filled with petals of rose and after a long time people noticed that the water smelled sweet and tasted great, paving way for the extraction of Rose essential oil.

According to Greek mythology it was Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of love and beauty who gave the name ‘Rose’ to this lovely flower. Theophrastus, the Greek scientist was known as the first to give a comprehensive botanical report about Rose around 300 B.C.

Greeks considered roses as a sign of the future for their culture (defined the term ‘sub rosa’). They used rose flowers to adorn the ceilings of their conference rooms during secret meetings signifying that everything conferred there was highly confidential.

The Han dynasty of China from 207 B.C. to 220 A.D. was popular for cultivating rose flowers in their gardens and the growth of roses in the Imperial Gardens of China was noted by Confucius in 500 B.C. and he also mentioned that the Emperor’s library had hundreds of books on roses.

Avicenna, the Arabian physician wrote the healing benefits of Rose water prepared using rose petals in pure water under sunlight. Rose oil is used in preparing the high quality perfumes in the Middle East known as ‘Attars’.

King Alexander the Great was inspired by the rose gardens during his visit to India and is known for introducing the cultivation of roses in Europe. Roman Emperors used rose petals to perfume their baths, in celebrations, in the preparation of scents, for decorating banquet halls and for medicinal purposes. Queen Cleopatra used rose petals in her bath, on her bed, for inviting guests and for alluring her lover Antony.

English used roses for symbolizing the two houses of the War of Roses during the fifteenth century. Red rose was used to represent the House of Lancaster and white rose stood for the House of York. The entire cosmos commemorated rose as an emblem of passionate love, affection, joy, peace and as a saga of absolute romance.

Therapeutic properties and active components of Rose essential oil:

The steam distilled essential oil extracted from rose petals have enormous healing values and the most notable among them are aphrodisiac, anti-depressant, antiseptic, antiviral, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antiphlogistic, cholagogue, depurative, bactericidal, haemostatic, cicatrisant, uterine, nervine, emmenagogue, hepatic, laxative and stomachic.

The α-pinene, α-terpinene, Nerol, Citronellol, Eugenol, Geraniol, β-pinene, p-cymene, β-caryophyllene, Citral, Phenyl Acetaldehyde, Carvone, Camphene, Farnesol, Citronellyl Acetate, Methyl Eugenol, Ethanol, Phenyl Geraniol, Limonene, Stearpoten, Phenylmenthyl Acetate and Nonanol.

Ayurvedic health benefits of Rose essential oil:

More than just a healing methodology, Ayurveda is a guiding principle throwing light on leading a balanced and health lifestyle that would prevent illnesses and promote healthy aging.

This ancient healing system identifies human beings based on their individual constitution composed of three vital energy elements known as doshas (vata, pitta and kapha), where vata signifies air, pitta is fire and kapha stands for water.

The predominance of any of these doshas determines an individual’s personality and imbalance of any of these doshas is the cause of a disease or sickness in general. The vividness of Ayurvedic healing lies in its holistic approach by treating the five senses namely the sense of vision, smell, taste, touch and sound.

According to the Ayurvedic encyclopedia, Rose oil is such a unique essential oil that is good for all the three doshas and benefits the blood, nerve, plasma, liver, heart, stomach, reproductive system, marrow, skin and gastro-intestinal system.

It transforms the moisturizing and cooling energy elements that controls negative feelings, strengthens the aura and stimulates the effective functioning of the body. It’s time to take a look at the brilliance of Rose essential oil in curing mankind through their senses.

Rose-oil-broucher1. Sense of vision:

Among the five major therapies of Ayurvedic healing, the color therapy is appealing to the eyes and slowly transfers the absorbed energy of the color to the brain, mind, heart and the entire system.

This is one great way of balancing the tri-doshas, the key to optimal health. As most of us knew, Rose is such a splendid flower that has more than hundreds of colors. The most notable ones are deep red, white, pink, bright yellow, orange, coral and lavender colors.

Eyes are the doors to your heart and the very sight of deep red roses will certainly bring in love, charm, affection and feelings of forgiving without any second thought as it calms kapha energy in charge for love and forgiveness. This is because the color red has an in-depth meaning in Ayurveda and using red color aids in resolving issues that are pending for a long time.

Pink or maroon colors are meant for bringing the thoughts of celebration and happiness. Bright yellow indicates a good start for achievements or academic pursuits as it pacifies pitta responsible for intelligence.

White is absolutely a symbol of peace and using white roses in color therapy aids in abolishing abusive memories, pride, greed, covetousness and is the best way to trigger new friendship, creativity and augment understanding. White color aids in treating vata imbalances, which are responsible for innovation, emotions and friendship.

2. Sense of smell:

Aromatherapy is the Ayurvedic way of using aromatic compounds in treating health conditions. The aromatic molecules present in essential oils enter the nasal passage and reach the limbic system of the brain, which is responsible for controlling emotions and other major functions of the body.

Inhaling the aroma of Rose essential oil by using it in baths, vaporizers, diffusers, burners, tissues or handkerchiefs can help in treating a number of physical and psychological illnesses.

Adding 2 drops of rose essential oil in your air freshener, diffuser, vaporizer or burner can certainly aid in alleviating stress, depression, loneliness, tension headache, mental pressure and lack of confidence.

The anti-depressant properties of this oil when inhaled, influences the central nervous system and boosts self-confidence, self-esteem, mental power, positive feelings, intelligence, hope and the power of fighting back. A popular 2004 study on ‘Anxiolytic-like effects of rose oil inhalation’ proved that inhaling Rose oil reduced anxiety in a group of rats.

Rose essential oil is undoubtedly a commendable aphrodisiac that has mesmerized everyone right from the Kings and Queens of the ancient period till the common populace of this contemporary world.

There is no romance without rose in many parts of the cosmos. Inhaling the aroma of Rose oil by adding 2 drops of Rose essential oil to a sensual bath before bed or to your diffuser in your bed room or your pillows can recreate the magic of love by boosting sexual feelings in both the partners.

3. Sense of taste:

Rose petals were a prominent ingredient in many Ayurvedic preparations for enhancing overall health.  Many tonics and natural drinks prepared with rose are said to increase the complexion, enhances the tissues of the body and bring in a natural glow from within. The most popular drinks prepared with Rose are Rose petal milk, Rose petal Lassi, Rose petal thirst quencher, Rose wine and Gulkand.

Taking such rose drinks internally helps in reducing excess of pitta, the heat element in the body, purifying the blood, increasing the memory power, augmenting digestion, reviving the reproductive tissues, treating menstrual problems, promoting the process of cell-regeneration, checking constipation, treating sore throat, tiredness, acne, anemia, tonsillitis and certain other nervous disorders.

4. Sense of touch:

Skin is the largest organ of the human body and acts as a protective shield for other parts of the system against microbes, aids in managing various climatic conditions.

According to Ayurveda, skin aids in absorbing the vital nutrients in essential oils very quickly and transmit the energy through the bloodstream and the entire body. Ayurvedic treatment through the sense of touch includes Abhyanga, the traditional art of massaging, in baths, steam inhalation, in compresses and in topical application like creams and lotions.

Massaging your body with 2 to 3 drops of Rose essential oil blended with soothing carrier oils like Sweet almond oil aids in treating spasms, pain, inflammation, bloating, wrinkles, trauma, stress, nervous tension, sexual debilities, headache, infections and skin ulcers.

It also helps in regulating the acid levels and bile secretion in the stomach and gall bladder, helping with acidity and other digestive problems. The laxative and depurative properties of this oil help in eliminating toxins from the blood and stimulate the anal and intestinal muscles for cleansing the bowel.

Massaging the soles of your feet with 2 drops of Rose essential oil blended with Jojoba oil for promoting good sleep, treating nightmares, insomnia, sexual problems, depression, fear and fatigue. Massaging the soles of your feet grants instant relief because it is regarded as the most absorbent part of the body for absorbing the healing molecules present in essential oils by the bloodstream.

Rose essential is a gift to women as it is known to treat womanly problems like menstruation, menopause and frigidity. Mood fluctuations, abdominal pain, muscular cramps, vomiting, headache and other problems associated with PMS can be treated aromatically by gently massaging your abdomen with 3 drops of rose essential blended with coconut oil or by using 2 drops of rose oil either in cold or warm compress.

This formula works like a magic as Rose essential oil has emmenagogue properties that help in regularizing menstruation, treating blocked periods and enhancing fertility by promoting the secretion of estrogen, the female reproductive hormones. A 2008 study on effects of essential oils massage on 52 women undergoing menopause, proved that weekly massages with essential oils like rose, lavender, jasmine and rose geranium showed positive effects on menopausal symptoms.

Inhaling the remedial aroma of Rose essential oil by adding 3 to 5 drops in steam bath will aid in treating migraine pain, asthma, liver congestion, cold, chest congestion, cough, nausea, hay fever and certain other respiratory infections.

Adding few drops of Rose oil to your skin care cream or lotion will aid in treating pimples, oily skin, scars, wrinkles, eczema, dry and lifeless skin. It enhances blood circulation, moisturizes the skin, repairs and replenishes the dead cells and cleanses the pores deeply for granting spotless skin naturally.

The antibacterial and antiviral properties of Rose oil strengthens the immune system by fighting against the harmful bacteria and viruses causing illnesses like typhoid, cholera, diarrhea and other infections.

Rose oil assists in strengthening the heart and nourishes the ‘heart-yin’, which helps in healing emotional illnesses.  A 2009 research on ‘Relaxing effect of Rose oil on humans’ demonstrated that the transdermal absorption of ‘Rose oil caused significant decreases of breathing rate, blood oxygen saturation and systolic blood pressure, which indicate a decrease of autonomic arousal’. The results of this research also proved the relaxing effect of Rose oil instilled great relief from stress and depression.

Rose essential oil has been in use for more than thousands of years for implanting spiritual feelings and augmenting mental clarity.

It is for these strong reasons fresh Rose flowers and its essential oil are used in prayers, meditation and other spiritual ceremonies. Rose oil is known to benefit the heart chakra that is purely responsible for unconditional love and that is what Rose is known for all over the world.

Disclaimer:

Do not ingest or apply essential oils directly on your skin without the advice of your healthcare professional as pure essential oils are highly concentrated liquids and may cause harm. Consult with your Ayurvedic practitioner before using essential oils for your specific constitution and health conditions.

Thought for the day:

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”                                                                – Shakespeare in Romeo and Juliet

Suggested Reading:

  1. How to Use Rose Essential Oil (Aromatherapy) by Miriam Kinai
  2. Ayurveda & Aromatherapy: The Earth Essential Guide to Ancient Wisdom and Modern Healing by Dr. Light Miller, Dr. Bryan Miller
  3. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils: The Complete Guide to the Use of Oils in Aromatherapy & Herbalism by Julia Lawless
  4. The Ageless Woman: Natural Health and Beauty After Forty with Maharishi Ayurveda by Nancy Lonsdorf

Reference Links:

  1. The Great History of Roses by Rose Farm.com International
  2. Why the Rose balances the Heart? By Maharishi Ayurveda
  3. Health Benefits of Rose Essential oil by theResearchpedia
  4. Relaxing effect of Rose oil on humans published in PubMed

Think Ayurveda To Think Better

Your thoughts decide your actions and your actions define ‘YOU’. There are myriad emotions that are exclusively indulged with humanity. Only you can smile, you can talk, you can discover and you can create. Thinking positive indicates that you are a proud owner of a healthy physique that keeps your thinking sound as well. Ayurveda talks about the constructive effects of positive thinking that helps you keep going on and on. Pessimism or negative thinking can even stop the functioning of your heart and collapse the brain’s functionality. Every human being has his own problems but just the severity of the problem differs. You can laugh at a person if he says he is free of troubles because in this materialistic world only a five-headed snake can be free of worries. It does not count whether you have problems or not but it matters how you deal with it and Ayurveda paves way for such an optimistic living.

Optimistic thinking: There’s a popular book named ‘You Can Win’ by Shiv Khera where the author beautifully lists the mentality of Pessimists’. 3 of my favorite lines in that excellent piece of writing are:

‘Pessimists don’t see the doughnut, only the hole,

Pessimists forget their blessings and count their troubles

Pessimists stop sleeping in bed when they hear that more people die in bed than anywhere else’

Yes my dear friends! This is the way that negative thinking affects your life and the best way to come out of this dark world is to think better with the natural and holistic healing of the ancient science named Ayurveda.

Ayurvedic treatment for optimism: According to Ayurveda, a healthy mind is the key to a healthy body and your attitude decides it. In this mechanical epoch that drains you, demands more than your potential with taut deadlines and cumbersome workload ends up in mental stress, difficulty in striking balance between your work and your family, anxiety, fear, fatigue and deep depression. When every single problem is placing you in the darker side of the world, let it know that you are strong with the real power granted by the natural Ayurvedic essential oils, meditation and yoga along with the robustness to turn the tide.

Ayurvedic essential oils for positive thinking: Essential oils of lavender, marjoram, grapefruit, thyme, sandalwood, jasmine, lemon, peppermint and ylang ylang possess an adorable fragrance in nature. These oils have soothing, calmative, stimulating, energizing and revitalizing properties that can enrich your spirits along with your mind and body. Using these essential oils either as a massage oil or to your bath tub or in your diffuser will calm your nerves, relax your muscles, alleviate stress, lighten your pressure, uplift your mood, kindle your thoughts, augment your mind power, improve your memory power, balance your emotions, fortify your immune system, strengthen your will power, encourage a peaceful sleep while invigorating your system for a replenished crack of dawn.

Meditation: Ayurvedic way of treating humanity can never be fulfilled without meditation. Spend some quality time for yourself and let that time of eminence be your meditating time especially in the early hours of the day when your environment is calm and composed. Meditation with deep breathing exercises can empower your mind while promoting positive feelings and preparing your body to adapt to new challenges and your mind to learn luminously, think undeniably, regulate stressful situations, recall your past and retain your balanced system for the days of harmony ahead you.

Being an optimist is the best way to setting your life as a role model for your younger ones to lead their life with great trust as real optimists always see an opportunity in every threat:)

Reference Links:

  1. You Can Win by Shiv Khera
  2. The healing force is within ourselves by Ayurveda France
  3. Attract more positive energy by Rejuvenation Lounge

Beauty Secrets With Ayurvedic Essential Oils

Who will hate being beautiful and staying away from the limelight? To be honest, none of us has the answer for this question. Every man would at least try being handsome, if not for attracting women nonetheless for having his own image in the society. Every woman would make an attempt for being beautiful to face the world confidently. All we need to know now is ‘What does the word ‘Beauty’ actually mean?”. This word has a unique meaning in everyone’s dictionary. For some it means a fair complexion and clear skin, for few it means curly hair, for several it means skinny figure, for few others it means brawny muscles and for many it means everything from head to toe.

When manifold advanced therapies like Liposuction aim at beautifying you by biting your pocket, you will be awe-struck to hear that ‘Beauty without biting your pocket’ is just a click away from you. Yes! Ayurveda, the ancient healing system recommends thousands of Ayurvedic essential oils along with yoga and meditation to augment your beauty naturally.

Ayurvedic essential oils for flawless beauty: Ayurveda is a spectacular gift granted by the ancient sages and saints who lived before thousands of years ago. It is known as the mother of all healing sciences. Essential oils are pure plant extracts without any kinds of artificial ingredients for aroma or effectiveness. Daniele Ryman, who practices Aromatherapy for about 40 solid years trusts that essential oils are effective and have proven remedies, especially for anti-ageing problems. The best Ayurvedic essential oils for perfect beauty are:

1. Ayurvedic essential oils for hair care: Martin Luther rightly said that ‘The hair is the richest ornament of women’. Numerous hair care products in the market steal the show with attractive advertisements and false claims. There are thousands of problems associated with hair and the most predominant one among them are dry hair, oily hair, rough hair, split hair, dandruff, lice and hair fall. Ayurveda suggests numerous natural remedies to put an end to your hair problems. Ylang Ylang oil has been used in hair care treatments since the prehistoric period.

Tea tree oil is considered as the best oil to treat dandruff, lice and hair fall problems. Few other essential oils for controlling dandruff are Lemon essential oil, Rosemary essential oil, Cedarwood essential oil and Thyme essential oil. You can use these oils as a blend with borage oil, jojoba oil or coconut oil.

The best combination of essential oils for stimulating hair growth naturally is Lavender essential oil, Myrtle essential oil, Cedarwood essential oil, Tea tree essential and Rosemary essential oil blended with virgin Olive oil, promotes hair growth and acts as a good hair tonic for treating various other hair damages.

2. Ayurvedic essential oils for your face: ‘Face is the index of the mind’ and your clear, spotless, blemish-free, young looking facial skin speaks before you could speak. The trustworthy Ayurvedic essential oils for your face are Frankincense essential oil, Lavender essential oil, Tea tree essential oil, Rosemary essential oil and Ylang Ylang essential oil. These oils help in nurturing your facial skin and aid you in maintaining your beauty at its best.

3. Ayurvedic essential oils for skin care: Ayurveda suggests numerous simple practices for maintaining a healthy skin. Nothing other than Turmeric essential oil can pamper your skin profoundly. Yes! This age old beautifying oil is trusted to assist you in innumerable skin problems like pimple, cuts, wounds, eczema, psoriasis, wrinkles, burns, acne, skin infections, skin pigmentation and much more with its anti-bacterial, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, antinociceptive, anti-spasmodic and stimulant properties. Few other skin-friendly oils include Lavender essential oil, Rose essential oil, Roman Chamomile essential oil, Tea tree essential oil, Frankincense essential oil and Geranium essential oil.

4. Ayurvedic essential oils for weight loss: Oh! Those extra pounds often make you dull and gloomy. Standing upside down cannot end up your excess weight woes. The safe and the effective way to assist your weight loss campaign is to use Ayurvedic essential oils like Grapefruit essential oil, Lemon essential oil, Peppermint essential oil and Bergamot essential oil. Along with this, the use of Ayurvedic herbs like Triphala, Tulasi, Rhubarb, Garcinia etc can help you go on a great way towards your weight loss mission.

Every single thing related to the human body is associated from within. Just the external use of these essential oils cannot serve the purpose on a full swing. To hit the nail on the head right, you need to do yoga, meditation and follow an Ayurvedic routine to remain beautiful from within.

Thought for the day:

A thing of beauty is a joy forever: its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness.
-John Keats

Suggested Reading:

  1. Daniele Ryman’s Secrets of Youth and Beauty: Aromatherapy for Natural Rejuvenation By Daniele Ryman
  2. Absolute Beauty: Radiant Skin and Inner Harmony Through the Ancient Secrets of Ayurveda By Pratima Raichur, Mariam Cohn
  3. Ayurvedic Beauty Care: Ageless Techniques to Invoke Natural Beauty By Melanie Sachs
  4. The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recipes to Create Health – Beauty – a Safe Home Environment By Valerie Ann Worwood

Reference links:

  1. The secret of natural beauty: Essential oils that will keep you looking younger for longer by Mail Online
  2. Liposuction by Wikipedia
  3. 7 Ayurvedic Skin Care Tips for Healthy & Glowing Skin by MindBodyGreen