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The Aroma Freedom Technique Fueling the Essential Oils Revolution

What if you could find a proven, effective way to interrupt the negative thinking and self-talk that holds you back?

Would you then be free to pursue what you really want in life?

In this episode of the Essential Oil Revolution, Dr. Benjamin Perkus joins us. He is a licensed Psychologist and an avid essential oils user.  Dr. Perkus has extensive training in various psychological approaches including Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Neuro Emotional Technique (NET), Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Psychology, Meditative Awareness, and Trauma Therapy. He integrates these principals with the concepts of neuroplasticity and memory reconsolidation and the clinical use of essential oils to help others obtain their highest potential.

Dr. Perkus is the founder of an incredible process that combines aromatherapy, psychology, and neuroscience, the Aroma Freedom technique (AFT). With this method, he has been helping people around the globe release old beliefs that keep them stuck in an effective and powerful way. It has been described as the “fastest, gentlest, and easiest method to dissolve negative thoughts, feelings, and memories with essential oils.”

Dr. Perkus is literally helping to heal the world with essential oils and empowering people one oily drop at a time! This is what the essential oil revolution and this podcast is all about!

During the show, Dr. Perkus and I dive deep into the science of the Aroma Freedom technique. We discuss how it differs from other psychological applications and why it is so transformational. We close with Dr. Perkus giving us the experience of implementing one of his six processes based on this amazing technique!

In this post, I’ll review some key concepts highlighted in the interview.

After you read them, make sure to tune into the full conversation. This way you don’t miss anything and can get the live experience of the Aroma Reset technique!

 

Neuroplasticity and Essential Oils

Our brain is wonderfully adaptable to change. It constantly creates new pathways and neural connections as we learn novel things and when our environment changes. This “rewiring” is necessary for our daily functioning and survival.

However, sometimes destructive, implicit (subconscious) memories can bias our beliefs and unconsciously run our lives. The Aroma Freedom technique helps to “pull out” these negative thoughts by creating a “pattern interrupt.” It stimulates the neurons in our brain to reroute and rewire. This can be explained through neuroscience, psychology, and how essential oils’ impact our nervous system response and vagus nerve tone.

Scientifically speaking, the Aroma Freedom technique faciliates neuroplasticity and assists with memory reconsolidation. This process first accesses the neural pathways of the old memory. Next, essential oils are introduced to calm the mind-body and to begin shifting the association of that memory with a different brain pattern. This is known as deconsolidation. Finally, one creates new brain “routes” by inhaling different, specific essential oils while simultaneously focusing on their goal or intention. This is a form of memory reconsolidation.

This application of essential oils accelerates our innate capacity to heal not just our minds, but also our bodies!

According to Stat Pearls book excerpt, Neuroplasticity:

Neuroplasticity, also known as neural plasticity or brain plasticity, is a process that involves adaptive structural and functional changes to the brain. A good definition is “the ability of the nervous system to change its activity in response to intrinsic or extrinsic stimuli by reorganizing its structure, functions, or connections.” Clinically, it is the process of brain changes after injury, such as a stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI). These changes can either be beneficial (restoration of function after injury), neutral (no change), or negative (can have pathological consequences).

Neuroplasticity can be broken down into two major mechanisms:

  • Neuronal regeneration/collateral sprouting: This includes concepts such as synaptic plasticity and neurogenesis.
  • Functional reorganization: This includes concepts such as equipotentiality, vicariation, and diaschisis. (source)

In a recent review, Neuroplasticity and Clinical Practice: Building Brain Power for Health, the author sought to provide a summary of how neuroscience could influence treatment. The authors report that it can “empower and motivate clients to make the lifestyle choices that could help build brain power and could increase adherence to healthy lifestyle changes that have also been associated with simultaneously enhancing vigorous longevity, health, happiness, and wellness.”

The article also states:

Another goal is to explore the use of a focus in clinical practice on helping clients appreciate this new evidence and use evolving neuroscience in establishing individualized goals, designing strategies for achieving them and increasing treatment compliance. The timing is urgent for such interventions with goals of enhancing brain health across the lifespan and improving statistics on dementia worldwide.

As you can see, Dr. Perkus has managed to be the clinician who has put this concept to use in clinical practice in such an urgent time!

 

Chronic Pain and Essential Oils

Dr. Perkus and I also explore the connection between pain in the body and how it impacts the brain and emotions. For example, recent studies show that pain is neurologically processed differently in those with chronic pain. Currently, this knowledge, known as the pain reprocessing theory (PRT), is being implemented to help one’s brain “unlearn” their pain. Interestingly, as noted in episode 379 with Dr. Z, essential oils also impact physical pain pathways while supporting emotional balance. Due to this, I believe aromatherapy and the Aroma Freedom technique would likely accelerate PRT effectiveness.

 

The Revolution of Aroma Freedom

In summary, the Aroma Freedom technique dissolves old neural patterns and enhances new brain pathways by incorporating essential oils which have physiological, biochemical, and psychological effects. It can be explained by concepts found within neuroscience and psychology.

The Aroma Freedom technique is revolutionary because it can be applied to enhance better living, mood, and goal setting and simultaneously help to relieve symptoms of trauma, phobias, and addictions.

You’ll want to tune in to the full interview to learn more and to experience part of the process with the founder of this innovative tool!

 

An Overview of What You Will Learn:

1. How Dr. Perkus discovered that essential oils could release trauma and painful memories. This paved the way for the creation of the Aroma Freedom technique (AFT).

2. How the Aroma Freedom technique works holistically: It incorporates feelings, thoughts, bodily sensations, and imagination while simultaneously smelling specific essential oils. This merger of psychology, neurology, and aromatherapy helps to release and rewire the memory/emotion complex through neuroplasticity and memory reconsolidation.

3. How the combination of different essential oils in the Aroma Freedom technique impacts various neurotransmitters all at once. This creates a powerful synergy influencing neurochemistry, psychology, and physiology.

4. How the Aroma Freedom technique differs from traditional psychotherapy. It is a dual process of releasing old memories (deconsolidation) and creating new neural pathways (memory reconsolidation). It focuses on clearing blocks so one can live their life’s goals vs. re-living and re-telling of one’s trauma.

5. When to use the Aroma Freedom technique for self-care vs. when to seek a trained practitioner for additional help.

6. The connection between pain in the body and emotions.

7. How this method is revolutionary in that it accomplishes emotional healing as it supports various aspects of life such as goal setting, stress reduction, relief from painful memories, and overall mood balance.

8. How to use the Aroma Reset technique, one of the six techniques that Dr. Perkus has invented. (Our DIY!) Listen in to have Dr. Perkus guide you through using the steps listed below.

The Aroma Reset Technique:

  • Picture a situation that is keeping you blocked.
  • Name the feeling.
  • Locate the feeling in body.
  • Identify the negative thought that goes with feeling.
  • Grab a relaxing oil and place a drop on your palm, breathe the oil into the situation, and notice what happens.
  • Assess where you are now, it will be one of three scenarios: (a) You are good to go. (b) Something cleared but there is a residual feeling. In this case, do another round. (c) You opened up a bigger issue. This means you should do either a full session of AFT or seek out an AFT certified practitioner for support.

9. Closing Questions: What Dr. Perkus does for self-care and what he feels we should ditch and replace it with for better health.

I have used AFT for myself and with clients with amazing results! Try it and share your experience in the comments in the podcast!

Click here to listen to this life-changing episode.

 

Links to learn more about Dr. Perkus, Aroma Freedom, and his various offerings:

 

Dr. Perkus’s Bio:

Dr. Perkus is a Licensed Psychologist with over 25 years of clinical experience and he has been guiding others in using essential oils for wellness support for over 20 years. He has extensive training in various therapeutic modalities including EMDR, NET, Polyvagal Theory, Somatic Psychology, Meditative Awareness, and Trauma Therapy.

Dr. Perkus has succeeded in integrating the best of psychology, neuroscience, and aromatherapy by creating a unique process called the Aroma Freedom technique. It has been described as the fastest, gentlest, and easiest method to dissolve negative thoughts, feelings, and memories with essential oils.

Dr. Perkus found the Aroma Freedom technique to be so successful that he left his private practice to teach and certify people in this method all around the world. There are currently over 800 certified practitioners in 39 states and 19 countries. This movement is growing across the globe due to its universal effectiveness in so many areas of life.

Dr. Perkus currently runs an online training academy for lay people and practitioners to learn how to use the Aroma Freedom technique with clients and with themselves.  He is the author of two books, The Aroma Freedom Technique and The Aroma Reset Booklet . He currently lives in Florida and New York with his family.

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Many blessings.

 

References

  1. https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(13)00771-9?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982213007719%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK557811/
  3. http://thenatpath.com/lobisco/naturopathy-stepping-outside-box-medicine/
  4. https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/retraining-brain-treat-chronic-pain
  5. https://nycim.com/neuro-emotional-technique-net/
  6. https://www.emdr.com/what-is-emdr/
  7. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapy-types/somatic-therapy

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Disclaimer: This material is for information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prescribe for any illness. You should check with your doctor regarding implementing any new strategies into your wellness regime. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. (Affiliation link.)

This information is applicable ONLY for therapeutic quality essential oils. This information DOES NOT apply to essential oils that have not been tested for purity and standardized constituents. There is no quality control in the United States, and oils labeled as “100% pure” need only to contain 5% of the actual oil. The rest of the bottle can be filled with fillers and sometimes toxic ingredients that can irritate the skin. The studies are not based solely on a specific brand of an essential oil, unless stated. Please read the full study for more information.

Thanks Pixabay and Canva.