A Healing Journey Through the Forest

Written on 07/12/2021
Amy Lechner ND, Cert. Aromatherapist
A Healing Journey Through the Forest

A Healing Journey through the Forest

 

A simple walk into the forest and it won’t be long until you’re slowing your pace, feeling relaxed, taking deeper breaths and drawn to return once you leave. Have you ever noticed this and wondered why? It’s one of the amazing gifts tucked in nature that points to how we can utilize the plants we find there to support our health. We will look at a few trees we would find in the forest and the parts used for therapeutic benefit by using the essential oils from them. Although there are many herbal remedies to be applied here as well, we will be focusing on the essential oils provided by these beauties.

Let’s Explore

Looking at the common names can be misleading at times. I have selected three essential oils derived from trees that sound like they could be similar based on their common name. As we look at the Latin or binomial name, the plant family, the plant part used to make the essential oil, and the location it grows, we can see differences more clearly. We can obtain healthy, life-giving benefits from various essential oils by blending and find they may work better synergistically, depending on the desired results. We can find even more differences and/or similarities when we look at the chemistry. As we will also see during our exploration into the essential oils I have chosen, the plant part will tell us even more about how we can use it. When I am blending essential oils, I like to blend for both the physical benefits as well as the emotional or energetics benefits.  I like to reference the energetics of the plant or the essential oil because we cannot separate our emotions from our physical body. To seek wellness on both is one of the beautiful benefits of using aromatherapy since it engages our senses, our thoughts, and our physical structure. We are one body, mind, and soul. Whether we are working with the emotional or physical body for healing, combining them allows for a much more dynamic healing opportunity.

Balsam Fir Abies balsamia

  • From Canada

  • Rich in monoterpenes -85.44% rich in alpha and beta pinene (LabAroma, 2021).

  • Pinaceae family

  • Plant part – needles and twigs

  • Therapeutic benefits – anti-bacterial, antifungal (Dropsmith, 2021). supports the respiratory system by using as a chest rub or inhalation, relieves pain resulting from inflammation, rheumatism, muscle spasms and is warming to inflamed joints (LabAroma, 2021).

Black Spruce  Picea mariana  

  • From Canada

  • high monoterpene content at 56.73% but also has to offer the benefits of esters @ 32.04% and a low amount of sesqueterpenes @ 5.54% (LabAroma, 2021).

  • Pinaceae family

  • Plant part – needles and twigs

  • Therapeutic benefits – antibacterial and antifungal (Dropsmith, 2021). This is a great oil for reducing spasms, decongesting, supportive to the immune system and supportive for healthy joint function and reducing inflammation, and beneficial for adrenal fatigue.(LabAroma,2021) This essential oil is very beneficial for respiratory concerns that deal with the lungs and any ailments involving coughing and spasmodic breathing. Battaglia (2018)

Balsam Copaiba Copafera officinalis

  • from Brazil

  • rich in sesqueterpenes @ 86%, rich in beta – caryophyllene @ 58% (Dropsmith, 2021)

  • Fabaceae or Leguminosae family

  • Plant part - resin

  • Therapeutic benefits - This essential oil helps with pain by offering some analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antispasmodic benefits. It supports and stimulates the immune response, is an expectorant and decongestant and is a warming respiratory blend. (LabAroma, 2021)

 

Therapeutics and Energetics

Balsam Fir and Black Spruce essential oils are distilled from the needles and twigs. We can look at the part of the plant and ask what it is trying to tell us about how we can use it in a therapeutic way.  Leafies, as referred to by Worwood, have energetic qualities that encourage us to connect to the environment, seek wisdom and understanding on a global level. Worwood (1996).

The needles are the part of the plant that acts as the leaf, the leaves of a plant represent transportation and respiration. This would point us in the direction of how we could use the essential oils distilled from the needles. We can understand from the chemistry that we can find respiratory support and some analgesic benefits. But the plant part also points us in that direction. If you have a bottle of Balsam Fir or Black Spruce handy, I invite you to put a drop on a tissue and breathe in the aroma. See where you feel it in your body. Can you feel it helping to expand your breath? The sensation is opening and expansive. Can we observe this in the tree? We see the connection to the earth and how it acts as a barrier in the wind and is never changing even in the cold climate of its natural habitat. Protective. Looking at the chemistry again, we can see that the benefits of antibacterial and antifungal. I would say that is protective!

Balsam Fir is emotionally stabilizing and is uplifting and calming during times of change and transition. It can encourage protection and clears the mind, what we are thinking, and the spirit, our essence. It is recommended to use during times when strong emotions that keep us feeling scattered and unattached to our life and when we are afraid to face what we’re feeling. Battaglia (2018).

Black Spruce helps us when we are in processes of transition without clarity and understanding. It helps us to bring in objectivity and clarity to our insight and intuition. It can keep our thoughts settled and connects us to our intuitive sense of wisdom.  By encouraging strength and endurance at the deepest level, it connects us to a deeper sense of ourselves and supports us when facing challenges. Battaglia (2018).  It can revitalize our emotions and support us when we are struggling with our sense of self. It is also helpful when we are processing through emotions of forgiveness. (LabAroma, 2021).

Can you see these characteristics in the trees? The roots spread out over the ground and are connected to the earth while they grow tall and move with the wind. They weather the storms of the harsh northern climate during winter, offering protection from the elements and in the summer season, they are unchanging. They continue to provide support; their color remains the same during all seasons and continue to grow. Can we learn something from these trees? I think so! By using the essential oils or distilled down version of the trees we are able to capture some of the essence of that message.

 

Balsam Copaiba is distilled from the resin. What can we learn from this tree? Often, they obtain the resin from the tree by tapping or drilling into the trunk to access the veins of resin inside the tree, similar to the method of extracting Maple syrup. (Plants For A Future, 2021).  Resins are fluid that run inside of the tree and can be accessed by either cutting into the trunk of the tree or in this case, tapping. The resin acts as a sort of glue to help with the healing from the cuts.  If we look at what that says about how it can help us, we could say that it would help with moving things that are stuck or stagnant and can be healing to wounds. This tree is a native to a much warmer climate indicating its warming, comforting, and calming benefits.

 

Pulling it all together

We have discovered the differences based on chemistry, plant part, climate, and energetics. Let’s blend something beautiful to bring it all together. This blend will be for someone who feels stuck and lacks motivation, is feeling shattered and needing to connect to a deeper understanding of circumstances or step into a place of stillness and wisdom. Physically, we will address the breath, immune support and protection, and movement. We can consider any respiratory concerns as well as any type of joint or mobility pain or pain produced from spasms. We can also consider the protective benefits from the antibacterial and antifungal properties of the essential oils we have chosen. You’ll need 2, 10 ml bottles, inhaler stick, your favorite carrier oil and some Black Spruce, Balsam Fir and Balsam Copaiba.

In your 10 ml bottle, add:

  • 3 ml Black Spruce

  • 2 ml Balsam Fir

  • 5 ml Balsam Copaiba

  • This will give you a 10 ml Stock blend. Once you have made your stock blend, cap and label the bottle with the ingredients and date blended. Put 10 drops of your stock blend into an empty 10 ml bottle and fill remaining volume with carrier oil. Some carriers I like to use are Jojoba, Meadowfoam, or for added therapeutic benefit, you could choose a carrier oil that offers similar benefits to pain and inflammation if you are interested in using this blend for that benefit.

  • Cap your bottle, label, and date, use as needed.

  • To make an inhaler stick, put 12-15 drops of stock blend on a wick and insert into inhaler stick. Label with ingredients and date. Inhale as needed for respiratory and emotional benefits.

The chemistry profile of our blend will reveal a little into the health benefits we are trying to accomplish. We have a total of 81.48% Hydrocarbons and of that 35.23% is Monoterpenes and 46.12% is Sesqueterpenes. (Dropsmith, 2021)

The therapeutic properties are antibacterial, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory of the highest percentages and many others in smaller percentages. Some researched applications that would apply to this blend are ambience, asthma, bacterial infections, catarrh, fatigue – especially adrenal fatigue, and respiratory conditions. (Dropsmith, 2021).

 

My hope is to encourage you to move beyond the bottle of essential oil, to explore and understand the plant. This will help us all to develop a relationship with the essential oils and deepen our understanding of the gifts nature provides. When you are working with and essential oil, have a few drops on a scent strip and revisit it as you are learning about it. See how you feel, where do you feel it in you body. Are you calm or energized? Ask these questions, explore, enjoy!

Our journey as aromatherapists is a never-ending, pleasurable experience that we can grow with as our knowledge and understanding deepens.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reference Page

 

Battaglia, S. (2018). The Compete Guide to Aromatherapy, Third edition. Black Pepper Creative Pty Ltd. Pages 300 and 546

Dropsmith. Retrieved July, 09, 2021 from https://app.dropsmith.com/oils

Harris, R. (2007). Aromatic approaches to adult rhino-sinusitis. International Journal of Clinical Aromatherapy, Volume 4 issue 2, 35-43.

 LabAroma. Retrieved June 11, 2021 from https://app.labaroma.com/home

Plants For A Future. Retrieved June. 13, 2021 from https://pfaf.org/user/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Copaifera+officinalis

Worwood, V. A. (1996). The fragrant mind: aromatherapy for personality, mind, mood, and emotion. New World Library. Page 261.