There’s nothing quite like the aroma of freshly baked bread. It’s comforting and homely, and makes you feel warm inside. Or the smell of crackling logs on the fire that fills the air with a sweet maple or deep oaky scent which reminds you of a crisp winter morning, where you can see your breath as you walk. Or maybe you’re hit with the smell of freshly cut grass in the summer, that always takes you back to long lazy afternoons, basking in the warmth of the sun as it slowly fades, and the honey coloured light that surrounds you. For me, it’s the first smell of the sea through the car window - it always transports me back to childhood. In that moment, for that split second, it’s hard to imagine being anywhere else.
Scent is powerful. Our sense of smell is arguably the most extraordinary of all the senses, and it’s able to evoke deep emotions. It creates nostalgia, and feelings - positive or negative, beyond what we can imagine. Our sense of smell is, as a human, one of the greatest treasures we possess.
But we don’t always appreciate how certain aromas affect our environment. We don’t take time out in our busy lives just to stop and listen to our senses, to be mindful towards our surroundings. We often don’t slow down long enough to realise how important these things are to us. And many of us certainly don’t consider the positive impact that the use of aromatherapy in our homes can have on our wellbeing, or the powerful affect it has on our mood.
A bit of history
Burning oils for wellness is no new thing. Essential oils can be traced as far back as ancient times, when Neolithic tribes discovered that burning herbs with animal fats had healing properties. They would use essential oils to protect their hair and skin from the elements, and to relax aching muscles. They also began to realise that these oils affected their energy levels and emotional state. And as civilisation advanced, oils and incense became the main form of medicine and are what many of our modern medicines are derived from today.
The holistic approach to enhance your mood
Our homes are our safe place, a place for re-energizing and for healing. We should surround ourselves within our homes with things that bring us closer to nature, things that ground us and inspire us. We should surround ourselves with things that excite our senses, the things we love to look at, to touch, to smell. It’s a holistic approach that creates balance, calm and wellbeing.
It’s hard to imagine that one small element of our environment could have such a big impact on our mood and our health, but all the elements together that make up our environment do individually play a very big part in how we feel. Scent in our home is just one part of the bigger picture, but it’s an essential part and one we often overlook.
We all need time to relax, to lift our spirits, and to feel closer with nature, and if you can make time each day to light a candle and be mindful to how that aroma makes you feel, you’ll notice the positive effects that certain fragrances have on your mood. And once you begin to add that into your environment routinely, the benefits will clear to see.
You can find our range of mood enhancing candles here
