In my last post I wrote about how the workings of the body continue to mystify and surprise, and that there is much about the brain and body that is yet to be understood scientifically. Most forms of complementary therapies, including reflexology, fall into the category of not scientifically explained, and therefore are often dismissed as not worth taking seriously or disparaged as ‘folk remedies’. My take is that just because we do not have an explanation yet, that does not mean there will never be one, and that there is probably good reason why these practices have persisted for so many years, despite the criticisms leveled at them.
One such practice is the use of therapeutic essential oils, and most of us have some experience of these – the use of lavender as a sleep aid or peppermint oil in refreshing foot lotions for example. I like to use a few drops in a diffuser when I am working and enjoy blending different oils to create an energizing or calming atmosphere. I was therefore very interested to read on the BBC website about a scientific study from the UK about the effects of rosemary on memory and the promise it may hold as a potential treatment for dementia. The report from the BBC’s doctor even goes so far as to say that studies like this one “also restore some credibility to the much maligned alternative health field”. Perhaps there’s something to the ancient wisdom passed down generation to generation after all! A pansy for your thoughts?
