Article written by Joy.

Well known and a herbal delight, lavender plants find a space in almost every garden. Lavender was used extensively by the Romans and others as a perfume for their baths, explaining the meaning of the latin, 'lavare' - to wash. During festivals lavender was strewn on floors, it was also an ingredient of 'Four Thieves' vinegar in the Middle Ages and country folk used the herb for dressing wounds, pains in the head as perfume for clothes and linen.
Cultivation of lavender in England is mentioned as far back as 1568 and the Pilgrim Fathers took lavender plants to America.
Popular uses of lavender today include Essential oil, fresh flowers, potpourri and a variety of uses in the perfume and beauty industry.

Article written by Joy.

Stress is something we are all much too familiar with in modern society and it can have longterm effects on our overall health..

Physiological effects of stress:
- increased heart rate, blood pressure.
- glycogen conversion to glucose, increased blood sugar levels.
- dilation of bronchioles.
- decreased digestive system activities.
- decreased urinary output.
- changes in blood flow patterns(more to brain, heart, skeletal muscles)
Prolonged stress leads to various 'stress related' illnesses: high blood pressure, insomnia, digestive problems, headaches, depression and some immune system diseases. Tiredness and no energy are the results when we can't meet the body's increased need for vitamins and minerals during stress.

Article written by Joy.

A healthy human nose can distinguish between 10 000 different aromas. The professional 'noses' used by Essential oil and Perfume companies train for several years and are capable of determining the subtle differences the quality and the origin of essential oils.

Scents invoke immediate and powerful responses as the volatile fragrance molecules travel with tthe olfactory nerve tracts directly to the limbic system ( a part of the brain concerned with memory and emotion). Essential oils can thus reach us through inhalation, via the skin and through ingestion ( the last method should not be used by the layperson at all, unless supervised by a suitably qualified professional).

Essential oils are very complex and consist on average of up to 100 or more chemical components. Essential oils are classified as stimulating or calming, sedative or energising, according to the percentage of esters, aldehydes, alcohol, terpenes and other chemical components the essential oils contain.

The Five Elements are as follows: Water, Wood, Earth, Metal and Fire. These are used in traditional Chinese medicine in order to help with diagnoses and plot the course of dis-ease. The following is a brief overview of the Elements, more detailed information can be found in various books, most of the information for this post was taken from, ' Traditional Acupuncture - The Law of the Five Elements" by Dianne M. Connelly. Ph. D.

Each Element relates to an emotion, colour, taste, smell, body organ etc. and knowing a bit about each of the Elements can help us to broaden our view of the dis-ease we are experiencing and perhaps through this finding a route to cure.

The miasms (disease taints) can be seen as a kind of "map" as to where a being is in the overall health picture. Each of the miasms manifest certain diseases according to the level of toxicity in the body. In the tubercular miasm we find much internalized mucous and an inability to put calcium in the right place. For mucous loading to occur, dehydration would be one of the main factors involved. In relation to Traditional Chinese Medicine the TB-Miasm can be linked to an imbalance in the Metal Element.