The Profound & Powerful Role of Essential Oils in the Neuroscience of Memory Reconsolidation and Emotional Resolution
Working with the body and emotions requires sensitivity and care. If a woman has survived any level of trauma, it can sometimes feel scary and even unsafe for her to “be in” her body. Certain embodiment practices are not appropriate for women with certain trauma histories. Somatic practices are extremely helpful, and much needed, but only when they are used with careful attention, integrity, and sensitivity. When a woman is ready to begin somatic awareness and healing, it’s important to use care and supports.
Women are generally able to cover more healing ground with the oils than without, as the oils provide that extra layer of safety. Extra safety is why I’ve found the Aroma Freedom Technique to really be such an effective process when working with trauma survivors. The AFT oils have proven to be an effective and reliable source of support. And that’s why I’ve designed the Moonbeams AFT Community as my lowest-cost program –– so it can bring somatic coaching to more survivors in the safest, my supported way possible.
Many Somatic Luminary practices don’t require oils. These non-oil practices serve purposes like sensitization, discovery, inner relationship, expression, etc. But when a shift is needed and we bring the oils in, we often see a quicker, gentler shift.
So in some practices, the oils add a strong element of safety and support. In others, the oils are actually THE catalyst that brings the much-needed release or shift. And in others, we don’t use oils at all.
Learning about AFT will help you understand more about why we use essential oils.
The Aroma Freedom Technique (AFT) is a step-by-step reprocessing modality that combines pure essential oils with a carefully-designed system of guided questions to attain deep emotional release and a gentle reformation of thoughts, feelings, and beliefs. We want to set your emotional energy flowing in a positive direction, toward growth and expansion. As we walk through the process of an emotional clearing, difficult thoughts, feelings, and memories may come up – these interfere with your ability to reach your personal intentions and goals. As you inhale certain oils at certain points in the process, they work with your amygdala to dissolve the intense charge. Through this gentle yet powerful process, AFT activates a permanent shift in how you view yourself and the world. We are then able to move forward with clarity, confidence, and peace.
The amygdala and hippocampus (parts of the brain) link our memories to our current mental and emotional challenges – based on common feeling, rather than any cognitive context. This is why talk therapy and memorizing cognitive truths, as helpful as they are, can only go so far in breaking old patterns and beginning new ones. Amazingly, our brains work in a way that the amygdala responds instantaneously to the sense of smell. Difficult memories, buried within our subconscious minds, are the hidden strongholds that trigger present emotions and keep us from reaching our intentions and goals.
In other words, we need to work with the subconscious part of our mind as well as the cognitive, if we are going to find lasting transformation.
It’s no small coincidence that essential oil molecules from plants just happen to be small enough to pass through all human tissues, cross the blood-brain barrier, and work exceptionally well with human emotions. Pure, properly distilled essential oils contain the chemistry to not only repair and restore physical health; they can also help re-wire and stabilize the emotional part of our brain. By introducing certain essential oils at particular times during your AFT process, we are able to clear the emotional charge from long-held difficult memories. As we clear these blocks, your nervous system is able to reset, and you can begin to live from a new place of freedom and peace.
As a Certified Aroma Freedom Practitioner, I’ve had the privilege of facilitating consistent breakthrough for women who were “stuck” and after working together, they were able to move forward in their growth & goals. There are real solutions for triggers and shadows. It is possible to regulate and rewire. I look forward to meeting you right where you are with your body and emotions, and helping you take those next courageous steps forward.
Essential Oils
Somatic Luminary group programs, memory release sessions, and emotional clearing sessions incorporate the AFT oils. If you DON’T have these oils yet, you may purchase them here or from any Young Living Essential Oils distributor.