Essential Aromatica

Greetings on New Moon time! Welcome back to Luna Aroma, an invitation to explore moontime through observations, guided aromatic encounters and poetry. 

This is still a quiet time of year in the Nothern hemisphere, when the days are getting longer but cold and barrenness still blanket the Earth.  We're in the realm of Hunger moontime as the sun ever so slowly awakens the soil and stirs hibernating animals we may seek more activity, more sun and fester impatience. Yet we must slow down and continue planning as during Wolf moontime. Here we turn to nature for lessons of fortitude and inspiration to persevere through patience, purpose and perception. I feel Juniper and its berries embody these lessons.

Find yourself a quiet space, 15 minutes and join me for Juniper wisdom, flying and talking with ravens (you'll see!) and sitting with the poetry of Cassandra Coxen. 

Learn more about Juniper berry essentials oil at NYCAromatica.com.

A rose, is a rose, is a rose, is a…rose. Mused the legendary Gertrude Stein. How does one go about knowing a rose or any other aromatic plant for that matter? Through the poetry of Gabriel Mojay! Join us during this poetry-inspired hour to immerse yourself in Rose’s history and therapeutics through verse. 

This hour starts off with Gabriel’s insights on the pharmaco-energetics of diffusion aromatherapy! Pharmaco-what? Pharma-co YES! Get out your pencil and notepad as he shares wisdom about the power essential oils and diffusion aromatherapy have on a cellular level through hermetic dosing. This is even before we get into poetry!

Then it’s time to get your bottle of rose essential oil or rose hydrosol and listen to his aromatic sonnet on Rose. This poem captures how poetry is an amazing way to share in-depth information in a mesmerizingly memorable way. Next up, I share a prose-poem about Myrrh, seeking to convey the energetics and application of Myrrh resin and its extracts.

Myrrh musings lead us to one of Gabriel’s favorite poems, “Dark Friend” by Mirabai. This poem inspires further thoughts on practicing the cultivation of knowledge, devotion, service and mystic ways of connecting. And how there’s a deep connection with secondary plant metabolites between matter, energetics and information.

As Gabriel shares at the end of the episode: "Each plant is a beautiful, special teacher." 

Healing for Unemotional wrecks. Who can help us understand what an unemotional wreck is and how to transform such a state into fulfillment? 

Introducing: Melissa Holman! The founder of Lemon Balm Coaching and Master Transformational Coach who helps people rediscover emotions that have been stuffed away for so long that emotions and pain are foreign to them. That's right, rediscover. Sometimes it seems easier to shove everything away and plow ahead. Until something shifts in life that forces you to pay attention. 

What does it take to realize it's time to change? Most often something breaks, and we're forced to stop and ask for help. What could that be? Tune-in to hear Melissa's guidance.

As a registered aromatherapist who was ranked 30th among the 50 Most Influential People in Aromatherapy in 2022 and the Alliance of International Aromatherapists Representative’s Mentor, Melissa is serious about the power and safe application of essential oils. Her approach is holistic, often including Aromatic Solutions into care plans; yet her main goal is holistically identifying the cause of a client's stifled emotions and facilitating transformation through expertise beyond aromatics. What can that transformation look like? Someone realizing and acknowledging their unique gifts and sharing them with the world. 

Get in-touch with Melissa at Lemon Balm Coaching and follow her on Instagram, as lemonbalmcoaching, for wisdom and inspiration. 

Welcome to Luna Aroma. A lunar-inspired way to work with and learn about aromatic plants and their essential oils. We get out of the books and turn to direct experience. It is here that we enter moontime, learning by observing nature's rhythms as demarcated by new and full moons. 

Experience, Notice, Observe, let me be your guide.  Each episode is created and shared near each new moon, which provides a reference point and rhythmic structure to the ebb and flow of this aromatic journey. Why the new moon? New moons represent beginnings, starts and transitions to the next rise of energy that culminates at the full moon. 

This foundational episode celebrates and observes wolf moontime. A time in the northern hemisphere when the Earth isn't adorned with her green jewelry and flowers. Now is the time to appreciate Earth's outlines, silhouettes, bare soil and rocks. To appreciate Earth's architecture and our personal architecture. This is a time we can honor conifer trees such as Balsam fir and Scots Pine, that keep their leaves in the winter. Find out more: join me for wolf time lessons, a guided aromatic encounter and a short poem. 

Learn more about conifer essentials oils like Scots Pine on NYCAromatica.com.

Tea. What comes to mind when you read that word? Family farms? A gorgeous experience? Quality ingredients? This episode highlights one of the first trained tea sommeliers in the United States: Gabrielle Jammal, also known as "the Tea Lady". Once you spend time with Gabrielle you may never look at bagged tea the same way as she removes the "veil on the tea world"!

Gabrielle is a tea sommelier who took tea tasting and experiences to new heights by creating a tea program at the esteemed Baccarat Hotel in NYC. This includes sourcing quality ingredients and selecting teas to entice and elevate client experiences. What does a high-quality Earl Gray taste like? Stick with Gabrielle to find out. You'll learn a LOT from her during this episode: from tea regions, the plant Camellia sinensis, what makes a quality tea and what makes white tea so special. 

A core theme during our conversation is experience.  How every day is special and taking time to appreciate what we have, like a beautiful cup of tea served in a glass pot and cup, can be enriching. Yes, please use that nice glassware and don't keep it stuffed away in a cabinet!  Be curious and make mistakes (experiment!) to learn what you like and how you like it prepared. 

Also, don't be afraid to step away from the supermarket and try new teas! Gabrielle encourages us to recognize that we have a lot of pull with our purchasing decisions. There are many businesses specializing in tea that can help you navigate the seemingly intimidating world of tea--seek out these suppliers for guidance or contact a professional tea sommelier like Gabrielle, The Tea Lady, to help you navigate the world of tea.

Learn more about Gabrielle at GabriellleJammal.com and be inspired by her tea-centric posts Instagram as @the.tea.lady.

This episode features the wonderful Nikki Fraser, Co-Founder of the Essentria Aromatherapy School. Join us as we have a blast delving into topics like aromatherapy schools, "aromatic lifestyle," and learning from mistakes.  (Pssst: listen to the episode for a special discount on certification classes at Essentria Aromatherapy School!)

Nikki is a Certified Clinical Aromatherapist, Certified Aromatherapist Health Practitioner, co-founder of the Essentria Aromatherapy School and past education director with the Canadian Federation of Aromatherapists (CFA). She has been recognized as a top aromatherapist in her region for 3 years in a row and recognized as one of the most influential people in aromatherapy for 2022.

Topics covered during our conversation cover embarking on the aromatic path, starting a school (wow!!), the concept of an aromatic lifestyle and what that really is, the application of essential oils, aromatherapy awareness (e.g., what is an essential oil and what do you do with them?!) and resurrecting older books that are still relevant and have amazing information such as Turkey Red Oil (wha?!)... 

Learn more about Nikki and her private practice at Fraser Holistic Health. Check out the Essentria Aromatherapy School online and on Instagram...and the podcast! Listen to episodes of Vetiver Vibes on your preferred podcast venue like Apple or Spotify or through the school's website.

Greetings friends! Welcome to the divine alchemy of Lopa Visaveliya, a subconscious seamstress and multidimensional healer whose breadth and depth of practice help open doors to subconscious and conscious healing. Do I have your attention? Yes, let's open the doors to perception and healing...

With a master’s degree in early childhood education and over 10 years of teaching experience Lopa decided the Earth is her classroom and she may continue helping others thrive outside a classroom through her evolving practice of Hypnosis Alchemy. Certified by the International Board of Hypnotherapy, Lopa brings intuitive and psychic gifts to her practice as a clinical hypnotherapist. She supports her guided hypnosis alchemy work with layers of nature-based imagery, subtle body work, Aura Soma bottles, aromatherapy, NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) and breathwork.

Join our conversation to learn how Lopa may help assist you in your healing journey and remind you that: "Your presence is enough. Your unique soul frequency is a profound gift to this planet.”

Learn more about Lopa's practice at awakenpurandhri.com and on Instagram as @awaken.purandhri, sign up for her newsletter here. 

Greetings friends of Essential Aromatica! I'm pleased to introduce Liz Hill, the host of the Spiritually Speaking with Liz podcast and proprietor of Karma Ripon, a store that draws you in and makes you feel like you belong because you intuitively know something is there for you.

Join us for banter about the number 22, paying attention (!) and getting into the intricacies of Aromatherapy. Liz shares her journey of how she came into the practice and studied with the esteemed Shirley Price. We get into the nitty gritty of the safety, quality and responsible, educated application of essential oils. This episode highlights how the incredibly concentrated nature of essential oils sets the foundation for the practice of aromatherapy. What happens when essential oils are in the hands of the untrained? Join us to ponder such questions.

Liz is a certified yoga and meditation teacher who is also certified and practices several “-ologys” including reflexology, iridology, kinesiology and remedial massage and manipulative therapy; these influence her life-practice, shop and podcast! She is a clinical aromatherapist who wrote the NVQ 3 (National Vocational Qualification, level 3) in Aromatherapy and taught Aromatherapy on a Higher National Diploma. She was course tutor and on the steering committee of a complementary therapy degree at Bradford University as well as an Aromatherapy principal tutor and examiner for the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (the IFPA), which is a prestigious Aromatherapy organization.

Check out her beautiful shop at www.karmaripon.co.uk | Listen to her podcast | Find her on social media: Instagram: @spiritually_speaking_222 & Facebook: spirituallyspeaking222

One of my goals as an aromatherapist is demystifying aromatherapy and making it accessible. Years ago, upon moving to NYC, I felt incredibly disconnected and literally ungrounded. This episode is inspired by an upcoming community class I am giving at P&T Knitwear in NYC's Lower East Side. The class, and therefore this episode, is inspired by my journey, professional experience and bolstered by 3 books purchased from P&T Knitwear (listen to the episode to learn which books!).

Here's the crux: We know we need access to nature and its healing powers because we are of this Earth...but sometimes we don't have direct access to nature and need help. This is where our herbal allies and especially aromatherapy can come in to bridge the gap.

How can odors, aromas and scents transform and empower us? Join Makeba Lloyd, founder and formulator of her NYC Harlem-based company of Butter by Keba to find out! Her journey from the NYC real estate market to founding her own company is one of transformation and intention that started in 2005 during a trip to Egypt. Never looking back, this trip reinforced a longing for her to empower and “bring people together through fragrance”. This goal goes beyond the notion of perfume and into helping others through the Harlem-based organization “Hands That Make a Difference.”

As a certified aromatherapist and trained perfumer, Makeba creates uniquely aromatic personal care products and moisturizing fragrances that exemplify affordable luxury. She is passionate about the pursuit of learning, sharing, experimenting and creating gorgeous products that are sustainable, elegant and Earth-centered--which all come through when you hear our conversation and look at her products and consulting services.

Learn more about Makeba's thoughtfully crafted products and other services at Butter by Keba and get social on Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok (and other platforms!) by following @butterbykeba.