The Hidden Benefits of Combining Aromatherapy With Guided Meditation
Aug 19, 2024
Rituals matter. They imbue human activity with meaning, supporting the psyche and spirit, reminding you that you are more than a flesh machine but an integral and inseparable part of an evolving universe. Engaging all of the senses — such as by combining aromatherapy with guided meditation — amplifies the effects and creates an all-encompassing experience.
Combining aromatherapy with meditation is nothing new. Many formal religions, such as Catholicism, use fragrances like frankincense and myrrh. However, nothing can stop individuals from creating individualized rituals that evoke the desired mental, emotional, spiritual and even physical effects. Here’s how to harness the hidden benefits of combining aromatherapy with guided meditation.
How Does Aromatherapy Work?
Aromatherapy may sound like new-age mysticism, but medical science supports its use to alter human responses. When you inhale a fragrance, special olfactory receptors in your nose notice them and send signals to your brain. This action sets off a chain reaction of electrochemical responses throughout your body.
For example, some scents, such as pine and eucalyptus, kick your immune system into high gear. The effect is similar to forest bathing, where inhaling the phytoncides plants emit similarly stimulates the production and activity in cells devoted to killing germs. Other aromas set off similar physiological cascades inside your body. For example, citrus scents tend to energize you, whereas lavender relaxes.
How Aromatherapy Complements Guided Meditation
Understanding how aromatherapy works lends insight into how it complements guided meditation. It engages the perception, adding another sensory level to the message received, which in turn influences your mental state. People often mistakenly believe that their knowledge and experience only stem from written and spoken words when, in reality, the nervous system perceives a far richer reality than language alone conveys.
Using aromatherapy in conjunction with guided meditation immerses you in auditory and olfactory awareness, magnifying the effects of each. Think of it this way: could you achieve a deep, relaxed and receptive state of mind amid the harsh fluorescent lights, clanging pots and pans and assorted aromas of a busy restaurant kitchen? Perhaps if you’re a top chef, feeling your zen. However, a softly lit room scented faintly of jasmine, accompanied by a quiet, hypnotic recording, works better for most.
A Scent for Every Purpose
Different aromatherapy fragrances induce specific mental and physiological effects. Here’s a handy guide to use when composing your own scented meditation rituals:
- Vanilla: Comforting, calming and nostalgic
- Rose: Soothing, uplifting and romantic
- Lavender: Calming, relaxing and sedative
- Eucalyptus: Cleansing, uplifting and healing
- Sandalwood: Grounding, calming and introspective
- Citrus: Invigorating, energetic and enthusiastic
- Pine: Virile, assertive and energetic
- Frankincense: Spiritual, esoteric and mysterious
- Jasmine: Fun, youthful and laid-back
Aromatherapy and Indoor Air Quality
As much as you may wish to combine aromatherapy with guided meditation, the scent delivery method you choose matters. Many substances, such as paraffin wax-based candles and incense, contain volatile organic compounds that linger and affect your indoor air quality. VOC levels range from two to a thousand times higher indoors than outdoors.
For example, burning incense releases particulates that can harm your health. Studies have shown it can increase respiratory symptoms in children and raise cardiovascular disease and cancer risks. Scented candles made from paraffin wax may also release VOCs such as benzene, toluene and formaldehyde into your home or apartment. Alternatives such as soy are better, as they burn longer and cleaner without oil-based pollutants.
Another safe delivery method is to use a diffuser with essential oils. These tools don’t release any toxic compounds. The only issue you might run into is a light coating of oil on surfaces where you place the diffuser, a situation you can easily remedy by putting a cloth beneath your device.
Aromatherapy and Guided Meditation Rituals to Try
The best rituals combining aromatherapy and guided meditation spring from your spirit. They address your individual needs and heal your soul. However, if you need a little inspiration for your practice, put your own unique spins on the following three practices.
1. Loving-Kindness Meditation
A loving-kindness or metta meditation cultivates appreciation for other human beings — or even yourself. For example, you might use this practice after a workout to inspire muscular regeneration and thank your body for the work it has done.
Set the stage by choosing an uplifting and romantic yet calming scent, like jasmine or rose. Get into a comfortable position on your yoga mat, perhaps lying in savasana or an alternative resting position, like a reclined cobbler’s pose.
Add a body scan meditation to your playlist. In the yoga nidra tradition, this practice is called the rotation of consciousness. You’ll follow along with the speaker as you put your interoception to the test, mentally sensing each body part as you scan through your body. As you tune into the mild tingling that occurs as you direct your attention to the specified area, psychically kiss it with appreciation and gratitude.
2. Inspiring Healing Meditation
Here’s an excellent practice to do the next time you feel under the weather or need to recover from an injury. You might already have a healing fragrance such as eucalyptus in your diffuser, but if not, try that scent, tea tree or pine.
Once again, you’ll begin with a body scan or rotation of consciousness. After scanning through your entire body, pay particular attention to your problem area. For example, if back pain plagues you, you might mentally adjust each vertebrae. You can also visualize a healing white light sinking into the affected area, entering each of your trillions of cells and revitalizing them.
3. Sink Into Sleep Meditation
One of the best ways to combine aromatherapy and guided meditation is to combat insomnia and promote deep sleep. For this, you’ll need a soothing scent such as lavender or chamomile. You might spritz some on your pillow as an alternative to using a diffuser — or in combination with one if the overall effect doesn’t overwhelm your senses.
Once you set the stage and dim the lights, assume your favorite, most comfortable sleeping position. You can tune into a guided sleep meditation or simply use a mental reverse countdown.
Begin by smoothing out your inhales and exhales, elongating each exhale slightly to engage the side of your nervous system that promotes rest. Count each one — inhaling two, three, four and exhaling two, three, four, five — starting at 50 and working your way backward. If other thoughts intrude, notice, mentally mark them “later,” and continue your countdown. You’ll often enter dreamland before hitting 25, but if you finish, repeat the process.
Aromatherapy and Guided Meditation
As a human being, your nervous system has evolved to process messages through various senses, not only your eyes and ears. Combining aromatherapy with guided meditation creates an immersive sensory experience that may spur healing and promote deep relaxation.
Experiment with the above techniques to create your own aromatherapy and guided meditation rituals. Doing so gently adjusts your psyche to produce the results you desire while acknowledging and honoring the complex physical and spiritual being you are.