I love the smell of purple irises. They are my favourite flower and the inspiration for the name of this business. Whenever I get a whiff of them, I am instantly transported back to being a 7-year-old child, sitting in the garden, enjoying the spring sunshine, surrounded by the ‘flags’ as my Grandmother called them. Their scent permeated the air and my very being. Even my German Shepherd, Rex, seemed to enjoy the smell because he would lay right beside me amid the irises where the smell enveloped him while I stroked his fur in the warm spring air.
We all have these ‘odour’ memories. From the intoxicating scent of your newborn infant that you recall even though your baby is now an adult, to the aftershave your father wore that made you feel safe when you ran into his arms. From the aroma of burgers on the grill that make you think of summertime and friends and yes, even those unpleasant odours that make you wrinkle your nose when they waft your way. You know, those smells that stink or remind you of a bad memory.
As one of the five senses most of us are familiar with, the sense of smell is not as well understood as the other four main senses of sight, taste, hearing and touch.
So how does our nose know, how does it recognize a smell and trigger us to associate an aroma to a specific memory, be it good or bad?
The sensory process of smell starts by inhalation into our nostrils where the odor then makes its way upward to our nasal cavities. It doesn’t stop there though; in fact, it’s just the beginning of the aroma journey. Winding its way through the nasal cavity, the smell stimulates primary sensory cells on the way to the olfactory nerve whose primary function is transmit signals from the nasal cavity to the olfactory bulb. Once there, the olfactory bulb filters and relays information to other parts of the brain, including areas responsible for memory, emotion and conscious smell perception. Well, that is a shortened version of an incredibly complex and miraculous journey of one little smell, be it a delicious aroma of apple pie or a stinky odour of a skunk. The process remains the same.
When using Essential Oils, the sense of smell is an integral part of selecting the right oil. Whether or not someone is drawn to an aroma, determines not only the success of them using it, but may in fact trigger memories. The memories may be positive or negative. Fortunately, many Essential Oils provide similar benefits, and we are not limited to a specific scent profile to provide solutions to various issues.
Don’t be hesitant to ask your aromatherapist for a similar benefit Essential Oil if the option(s) offered triggers a negative memory for you.
Join me next time as we talk about oranges. Frank Sinatra said ‘orange is the happiest color’ but do you know how powerful orange is in aromatherapy?