Mind-Body Connection & Botanical Scent
Each morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most.
- Buddha
What are your favourite areas to apply perfume on? Do you change them depending on the occasion and type of perfume you are going to wear? Do you consider your skin as part of the ritual or even your companion, rather than simple surface to use and enjoy a certain scent? How often have you realised that your body is in fact an active participant of the process called ‘perfume application ritual’?
By increasing your awareness of the moment you will feel the tiny points absorbing and breathing through the botanical blend. I would divide a body into a few different parts, each of which plays a certain role in your interaction with your own body: hair, neck/décolletage/bosom/chest; different pulse points and off skin areas, such as clothing and jewellery.
Using various areas, you can create a purposeful conversation with your body:
Hair - using perfume on hair increases its sillage and air goes through every time you move; for me, it is an extension of your mental strength and natural instincts.
Bosom/Chest/Décolletage/Neck - a more sensual approach and, perhaps, a more popular area for fragrances. Your perfume may be more open for light and air, thus will transform into base notes quicker. The area offers a more intimate conversation and invites a person next to you to get closer.
Pulse Points - all other areas not included above, including small areas usually under skin creases or those above major arteries which can be easily located. By using hidden and unusual areas, you can extend the ritual by raising the awareness of the other body parts, very often neglected in your self-care.
Off skin areas such as clothing and/or jewellery - although being not your body, off skin application stays very close to you, the scent may not be that complex though (the temperature of skin makes perfume evaporate quicker and closely interacts with your skin chemistry, which is a well-known fact in botanical perfumery). Off skin application helps natural perfume last longe. In fact some pieces of your clothes do have part of your own skin aroma which mingles with the perfume, it is usually mellow, soft, aged which cannot be achieved on skin. As for jewellery, you have to make sure, oils and extracts can be used on it and will not stain or damage it. It is good to look for non-metal, natural diffusing materials which can be a built-in part of the piece, such as ceramic/fabric inserts, for instance.
Ask yourself some other questions (and add them to your daily journalling practice):
What are your favourite body parts/areas?
How do you take care of your body on a daily/weekly/monthly basis?
What is your body for YOU?
Spend at least a few minutes a day by studying, experimenting, applying botanical fragrances. By allowing your olfactory senses to be alert, you practice mindfulness which in its turn helps you relax and focus on the essentials of the day. Stoppered flacons offer slow reflective perfume rituals. Apply botanical perfume on different areas of your body to see how it will respond, for sensual, physical and mental conversations with yourself. For some areas, such as behind ears or neck, we will not really smell the scent ourselves, unless someone does, besides our nose gets used to a constant flow of the same aroma with time. So, for a purposeful perfume ritual, use those body points or areas which you can either bring closer to your nose or create an aura around you which can be achieved by applying scent on a few key points so that the fragrance wraps you around, for example, on your chest/bosom + pulse points along your arms + neck and behind ears. This can be done only using stoppered bottles, since they allow a more precise application so that you will not overuse the perfume.
‘During the past decade, Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) aiming at relapse prevention in depression has been developed and empirically tested. All exercises taught during MBCT are based on the development of a heightened awareness of one's body. The important role of the body is also stressed in a recently emerging interdisciplinary field of research termed 'embodiment.' - Don't Forget Your Body: Mindfulness, Embodiment, and the Treatment of Depression. Botanical scents have long been used for aromatherapy but taking into account their unstudied potential and their positive impact on our mood, mental health, awareness and other psychological, emotional and physical benefits, it is important to not only think of them as mood enhancers but also as essential tools in increasing our sensorial, in particular olfactory, and bodily awareness. By applying scent to certain points or areas, we help our mind focus on them, choosing the right aroma strengthens and deepens your connection to a certain bodily focal point.
You can introduce prompts or affirmations and, in my opinion, use them successfully for a more positive body mindfulness practice: Gratitude, Acceptance, Connection, Celebration, Reflection. Add other techniques, such as breathing, relaxation, nature observation and walks, your practice does not necessarily need to be static, slow conversations with yourself or your partner, anything which in your opinion may help.
The way you treat and respect your body, listen to it and take care of it, has a direct impact on your mental condition and the overall awareness of your identity as a human who deserves being loved and cherished. It is not always enough to think only of our body or only of our mind. The two come together if we talk about self-care. If you meditate, you have to relax your body in order to achieve a certain level of self-awareness.
To get a different perspective on your own body, experiment by applying botanical fragrance on some unexpected areas, make perfume application part of your morning/evening beauty regimen (yes, you can apply perfume only for yourself!), extend the process by adding to your favourite practices/activities, such as meditation, yoga, writing, sexual prelude, etc. Perfume is not and does not have to be a beauty product, moreover, botanical perfume, thanks to its complexity and precious ingredients, must be a medium to appreciate and celebrate yourself as part of the natural world.