The scent of a rose, freshly baked cinnamon rolls, mint tea brewing, or an orange as it’s peeled-all are so distinctive. Fragrance captures our attention, and also our imagination. Now, aroma is being used to recall lost memories, focus the mind and attention, stimulate brain waves, and relax both mind and body. Researchers even think aromatherapy may help slow the progress of memory disorders, such as dementia. It’s actually nothing new. Rosemary and bay laurel have been used since ancient times to stimulate the mind and lavender was used for relaxation.

The source of scent is essential oils. These oils provide the taste in kitchen spices and healing properties to body care products. Each essential oil has a unique chemistry that dictates its particular medicinal properties.

Some of the most common aromatherapy remedies treat indigestion, swelling, and infection. Most everyone knows that adding a few drops eucalyptus to a steaming pot of water and inhaling the steam destroys infection when you have a sinus infection. A liniment that contains peppermint warms muscles and eases away pain. Essential oils easily penetrate the skin to decrease underlying inflammation. Many herbs essential oils can cure indigestive and some even activate the immune system.

It is easy to bring aromatherapy into your life. In fact, it’s probably already there. Every time you sip a cup of fragrant tea, the aroma influences your mind. There are dozens of oils-all with individual properties—that you can turn to for their healing properties on both mind and body.

AROMATHEAPY SEMINARS
with KATHI KEVILLE

Experience the oils
The Aromatherapy Seminars offer you an opportunity to personally experience over 80 different essential oils to compare their fragrance and properties. You can only learn so much about aromatherapy from a book! In class, you see first hand how each oil affects you and others. It is designed to give you a rounded education that moves far beyond a beginning course.

Become a fragrance blending artist
After you are instructed the art of blending, including secrets used by the world’s perfumers, you’ll be guided in creating several of your own blends, choosing from a large selection of essential oils. Then, see compare blends your classmates made to understand how subtle changes in the number of drops of oil or the substitution of another oil changes a blend. It’s important for aromatherapy products we make to not only be effective, but to smell wonderful. Of course, you’ll be able to take your creations home and have lots of ideas for making more.

Learn science & theory
Kathi’s lighthearted cartoons and diagrams are a fun way to deepen your understanding of essential oil chemistry and physiology. She will explain the latest theories about how aromatherapy works and studies that show it does. Understanding the chemistry allows you to make your own decisions about which oil to use when and which ones to avoid. You’ll find that you can actually sniff out many of the chemical compounds in an oil, along with the healing properties they produce. Kathi will sort science from folklore, while maintaining an appreciation of both.

Discover how to heal with aromatherapy
You’ll learn to design healing protocols for individuals. Even if you’re only treating family, friends,a nd yourself, you’ll want to know how to prepare the most effective treatments. Handouts and charts and Kathi’s personal instruction guide you through making the right choices. She will share her 40 years experience with aromatherapy healing with many examples, stories, and observations. You will study how to combine herbs with aromatherapy and when one is more appropriate then the other. We’ll go over a long list of applications for both the pure essential oils and also the fragrant plants themselves. You’ll learn dozens of ways to use aromatherapy. Various techniques for massage and various forms of bodywork will be covered.

Observe distillation & tour the fragrance garden
We’ll distill essential oils and hydrosols (the water portion produced during distillation) in class so everyone can observe the process and receive samples. We’ll also tour the 40 aromatic herbs in our fragrance garden, including 15 different lavenders and many plants from around the world that are rarely seen in gardens, such as helichrysum, orris root, vetivert, and patchouli from India, spikenard from the Middle East, and Himalayan cedarwood. If you like, take samples to press in your notebook to help with future identification.

Know quality first hand
Another important aspect to aromatherapy that can only be taught in the classroom is training your own nose to judge the quality of every oil. You’ll want to learn how to determine which oils and commercial aromatherapy products contain synthetics. We’ll compare different qualities of the same oil and also the synthetic imitators. You’ll also find out the best places to obtain your supplies and oils that can be substituted for another.

Have fun!
Come experience all aromatherapy has to offer. It’s a chance to learn in a supportive and fun class and to meet others with the same interest. You’ll be able to hear about other’s experiences using aromatherapy and combining with other healing arts. There will also be plenty of time to personally ask Kathi questions and tap into her 40 years of research and experiences.

DAY ONE:

I. INTRODUCTION
a. Personal observations
b. Historical review
c. Primary aspects of aromatherapy
II. PHYSIOLOGY
a. Limbic brain system
b. Sensory comparisons
c. Studies
III. CHEMISTRY
a. Basic essential oil structures
b. Application to massage therapy
c. How essential oils are produced
IV. ALTERING EMOTIONS (25 basic essential oils)
a. Antidepressives/Uplifting
b. Energizers
c. Balancers
d. Spiritual
e. Overcoming grief
f. Relaxing
g. Aphrodisiacs
h. Misc. categories
V. SPRAYS
a. Methods of use
b. How to make/dilutions
c. Formulating techniques
d. Prepare custom-made sprays
e. Compare spray projects
VI. APPLICATION METHODS
a. Carriers (oils, water, alcohol, vinegar, aloe)
b. Dilutions
c. Chemistry/Physiology related to skin care
d. Application pros & cons
e. Scenting the air, fabrics, stationary, etc.
i. Electric & pump Diffusers, light rings
ii. Other applications
f. “Homework” experiment with aroma spray
VII. PRACTICING AROMATHERAPY
a. Legalities
b. Certification/Organizations
c. Contacts