Right now, a bumper crop of lavender is being harvested for a lavender and sugar scrub ($155) that leaves one's skin feeling silky smooth, and fragrant aromatherapy oils are being extracted from the garden's rosemary and thyme plants.
Aromatherapy involves the diffusion of aromatic oil into the environment.
"A lot of people have stress in their life," she said, advising fragrant, herb-based aromatherapies coupled with reflexology, shiatsu and amma facial massages to lift one's spirit.
About half of Dr. Neuhaus's patients opt for the free massages, which take place during treatment and include aromatherapy, with fragrant essential oils like lavender, citrus and mint rubbed onto bare feet.
HERBAL BATH CRYSTALS Soak your sore muscles from summer sports in a warm bath with the fragrant benefit of natural aromatherapy using Gigglemug Bath Crystals.
InnoGear Aromatherapy Essential Oil Diffuser, $26.
Though not a primary heat source, fragrant woods provide the ultimate aromatherapy.
My first stop was the National Institutes of Health's site at www.nih.gov, where I learned that aromatherapy (the use of fragrant substances to improve mood or health) is a complementary treatment used in conjunction with conventional medical approaches.
If the bottle says "fragrance oil", "fragrant oil", "perfume oil", or even "aromatherapy oil" the chances are this is a synthetic product.
Fragrant, textural, pretty in bloom and ever ready to provide aromatherapy with the brush of the hand, these plants thrive in hot, dry locations and can take care of themselves.
If the words "aromatherapy" or "essential oils" evoke images of hippies dipped in fragrant oils surrounded by burning incense in the pursuit of inner peace and zen, then you're not alone.
