When both hemispheres are in harmony and balanced, we experience feelings of calm and well-being. As we inhale balancing essential oils, two hemispheres of brain come into closer symmetry, whilst stimulating essential oils make us feel mentally alert and sedating oils promote deeper feeling of relaxation. The relationship between brain, mind and body is of vital importance in aromatherapy.

When we send pleasing, relaxing messages to brain during aromatherapy massage, hypothalamus receives impulses signalling safety and harmony and, in its turn, body receives signal that all is well and that body and mind are in balance.

The effects of essential oils and massage on various activities of nervous system form a major part of aromatherapy. We use analgesic oils to relieve pain by damping down activity of pain-transmitting nerve endings.

(For quality, targetted essential oil blends for health, please see Akobi Aromas)

This technique considered as FES (functional electrical stimulation) tricycling has been developed by teams from University College London (UCL) and University of Glasgow. FES involves stimulating paralyzed muscles by passing short pulses of current through electrodes on skin. A stimulator synchronizes stimulation with pedal position while person has a 'throttle' to control how much stimulation is applied - rather like a motor bike with legs as engine.

Within a year, we should be expecting availability of this device, dubbed as ‘recumbent tricycle’. Professor Nick Donaldson, one of members of team said that this device will help get impaired people back into exercising safely. This will do them a lot of good since these disabled persons may not be open to option of exercising, yet. The only current way being applied to wheelchair-bound persons’ in order to exercise paralyzed muscles is by electrical stimulation. But it was not much fun to just stimulate muscles during special sessions.

Thus in developing bike, team was to create a system where wheelchair athletes can use from home and will be fun to use. The new tricycle can be used at home to train muscles while stationary, or for recreation outdoors.