Episodios

  • Which is scarier? Going offtrack or staying in a rut? What if you could disrupt the ego driven "norm" (the rut) by working with essential oils, the molecules of connectedness? In this episode, Dr. Florian Birkmayer shares the potential of working with essential oils to help us become whole by disrupting the Default Mode Network (DMN) and emerging from "wetiko" ("cut-offness").

    This is where '"Aromagnosis comes in. Aromagnosis is direct perception connecting us to the larger world through the messages carried by genuine, authentic essential oils. We explore how these oils help open access points to initiate innate healing and rediscover our personal myth. We discuss how powerful essential oils, not “nice smells”, can break through our intellectual barriers and open the door to emotional power.

    We also contemplate “wetiko” or “cut-offness”, the self-imposed isolation from our unconscious and nature overall. This isolation is often something we are not aware of (forgetting what we forgot to remember: connection and feeling) and is apparent in our welcoming of synthetic molecules into our bodies, homes and environment. We reflect on the Enlightenment-era philosophy of “I think, therefore I am”, and how it has led us to ignore our interconnectedness with the universe.

    Deeper into the episode, Florian expounds upon the power of essential oils and their role in mental health. He deconstructs the Default Mode Network (DMN), our personal “auto-pilot” mode, and how aromatics (and psychedelic assisted therapy) may help deactivate its ruts and create new neural connections. As an ex-psychiatrist, Florian critiques the traditional model of psychiatry, which often turns people into professional patients, and proposes an alternative approach that focuses on broader cultural and ancestral factors alongside working with essential oils (aka: aromas) to bypass the DMN. We delve into the importance of emotions as messages from our subconscious, and the concept of “heart awareness” as a means to tend to our emotional needs. We also discuss the teachings brought by essential oils molecules, expressions of an aromatic plant's soul.

    In the end, Florian shares that “if you are willing to face what your unconscious gives you [while working with essential oil allies], it will give you what you are ready for.” When we work with essential oils, each one is a teacher we can turn to on our lifelong journey of becoming whole to ourselves. We can change our culture of cut-offness by mindfully working with essential oils, the molecules of connectedness.

    Access Florian's work on Substack and his & Cathy Skipper's offerings at Aromagnosis.

    Selected Publications:

    Birkmayer F. with Cathy Skipper (2024) “Essential Oils for Psychedelic Therapy Support” (Available at amazon.)

    Birkmayer F. (2022). Essential Oils for the Wounded Healer: PTSD,

    Post-Traumatic Resilience and the Wounded Healer’s Journey. International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy. 11(3), p.37-41.

    Birkmayer F. (2021). Using Essential Oils to Enhance the Effects of Ketamine Psychedelic Therapy in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Substance-Induced Psychosis Two Case Reports). International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy. 9(4), p.15-22.

    Birkmayer F. (2020). The Molecules of Connectedness. International Journal of Professional Holistic Aromatherapy. 8(4), p. 51-57.

    Birkmayer F., Skipper C. (2018). “The Role of Aromatherapy in the Treatment of Substance Abuse and Co-Occurring Disorders”, chapter in Modir S. & Munuz G. (eds.) Integrative Addiction and Recovery, Weil Integrative Medicine Library, Oxford University Press, ISBN 9780190275334.

  • How do you “unveil the magic glow that flows right from the center of your happy heart”? This is something Kristina Siapkara, founder of Ierias Nama has explored since “cooking flowers” as a child—not knowing she was medicine-making while “cooking” those flowers.

    This spotlight on aromatherapy episode is intended to share how the power of ritual, frequencies (think physics) and working with botanical extracts and products made with integrity can uplift, rather than sap it.

    The Myth of Luxury Around Ritual

    Finding solace, direction and purpose in life doesn’t require privilege. Many believe it’s a mindset rather than having or possessing certain things, including “time,” before you can reveal your true nature. The relaxation, mental and emotional space needed to foster our direction, the magic within us, is not a luxury nor meant to be scheduled for “later”. Yet all of these good things are often viewed as luxuries we don’t make time for.

    Linear Time vs. Whole Time

    Every being on Earth belongs here (yes, even the roaches and ticks). We’re all here, after all. We made it: we were born. Yet many of us human beings lose our direction, stumble down the wrong path and don’t know it. We get lost in and caught up in linear clock-time and ambitions, losing sight of Eternal time. This “softer” time encapsules spaciousness and what we’re a part of (nature, the universe) rather than separate from. This time includes our ancestors, myths, and the unconscious, which can be accessed through ritual.

    Stopping Time with Ierias Nama

    If you feel you lost your way from yourself and are looking for help finding your way back, there are people like Kristina in the world who are here to help. She’s interested in stopping time, creating time and working with the interconnectedness through frequency (high vibrational matter) to unveil and support your own innate state of inner beauty and bliss. This isn’t about turning back the clock or staying frozen in place—think of it like dipping your whole body-mind-spirit-soul into eternal time each day. This is why she created Ierias Nama.

    Episode highlights:

    Exploring frequency and considering how we need to make time to slow down. We can work with plants to do this, we can “borrow” their energy (their chemical and vibrational messages) to nudge us in a different direction. Kristina takes us through the 4 phases of surrendering & awakening that form the framework of Ierias Nama Skin and Spirit. Each phase is inspired by core elements and enhanced with a guided meditation. Look forward to exploring: Catharsis, Metamorphosis, Genesis, Ecstasy and many of the key aromatic plants that are included in each phase. The Importance of surrendering yet not giving up your power. This means: letting go of linear thoughts and listen to the inner feelings that tell you when something feels right. Kristina shares how letting go helped bring her deeply explored, years-long project, Ierias Nama Skin and Spirit, to fruition. Kristina invites you to make the time for yourself, to look in the mirror and give yourself a wink. To tell yourself that you’ve got yourself. One way is by working with botanical products made with integrity—and winking at yourself.

    Join us, I hope you laugh along with us at the end.

    Learn more about Kristana and Ierias Nama at ieriasnama.com & IG @ieriasnamaskin

    There’s a lot more to share. Please join us and leavecomments or get in-touch via email @ [email protected] | NYC Aromatica.

    Ciao for now!

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  • How to smell an essential oil. Are you like, "Yeah, right. I know how to smell. Thanks, but no thanks."? That's not what this is about.

    It's rather about tapping into powerful messages available from one drop of an essential oil and what that one drop (or two drops) can do--if attention is paid its due.

    This episode takes you through what to "do" with essential oils: focusing on olfactive aromatherapy. Yup, good old-fashioned smelling. We'll get into scent detection and reception, volatility, intensity and even solvent extracts vs essential oils.

    But that's only where the fun begins.

    Go to minute 11:30 for immediate access to one of my signature guided aromatic encounters: a guide to smelling.

    Trust me on this one.

    Don't forget to download the episode. Have this guide readily available for every time you want and need to connect with an essential oil.

    One to 2 drops of essential oil. That's all it takes to create change.

    Small is big.

  • Psychophysics and scent. What’s that all about?

    You’re reading this text, taking in visual information while simultaneously breathing in hundreds of scent molecules. How much of your attention is on those various aromatic molecules? How would you describe those scent molecules? Could those scents be considered art?

    Meet NYC-based academic and gallerist Andreas Keller who lives, breathes and contemplates these olfactory-based topics on a daily basis! With PhDs in neuroscience and philosophy and specializing in olfactory perception and psychophysics, Andreas revels in the messiness of scent so much that he opened one of the only Olfactory Art galleries in the world: Olfactory Art Keller.

    A vanguard of the olfactory art movement, Andreas explores “the scent problem”—how smell is not an analytical sense like the visual one, and how paradigms of perceiving, talking about and analyzing scent and olfaction are lacking in our culture. If scent perception isn’t analytical, what is it? Settle into the episode with some of your favorite (or least favorite!) aromas to find out!

    Be sure to say hello to ⁠Andreas at his gallery⁠ when you’re in lower Manhattan and give Amy a buzz to say hello and ⁠book a one-on-one aromatherapy experience⁠! Visit my Instagram post to see the artworks mentioned in the episode.

    Learn more about Andreas and Olfactory Art Keller at the ⁠gallery website⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠.

    Episode highlights:

    Re-learning from children on staying curious with scent rather than judgmental and "right." Understanding the “task” nature of smell, its evolutionary roots and why it is often hard to go deeper into scent as information. Exploring our psychophysical, multivalent relationship with scent: memory formation & retrieval, chemo-neuroendocrine impact, mind-body-spirit connection. Appreciating the ephemerally degradable qualities of scent molecules. Creating a scent perception paradigm: talking about, describing and analyzing scent in new ways outside of the default visual paradigm. Embracing the nature of scent and its perception as a lived, messy, evanescent experience that is intertwined with the malleability of memory. Opening up to Olfactory Art: why scent-based art doesn’t “belong” in traditional galleries and museums—yet.

    Ciao for now!

  • When you hear the word “goo,” do you think of skincare, sustainability, and psychoneuroimmunology? If you don’t you may think differently after spending time with Jodi Scott, co-founder of Green Goo and Good Goo!

    In this episode, Jodi shares insights into herbalism and a need in the OTC market for plant-based first aid care for our family medicine cabinets. She shares how important the foundational-herbalist process of creating macerations is to the company’s philosophy and how we can and should trust plants. I learned a lot about B-Corporations (Green Goo is one!), fostering a sustainability mind-set and how the continuous B-Corp certification process fosters a “learn more do better” perspective.

    We also get into the mind-body, holistic importance of skin care and health psychology (i.e., skin care is for everyone and not about vanity).

    As Jodi said and many of us herbal and plant people agree, weeds make good medicine. That certainly is sustainable.

    Websites and Social:

    Learn more about Green Goo and Good Goo (CBD focusedwellness). Green Goo on Instagram. Check out what Jodi's up to on Instagram and LinkedIn.

    Ciao for now!

  • Join Renèe Hughes and me in a lively conversation that spans her journey into wellness, what drove her to start the Aromaspecialists, psycho-aromatherapy, her “mood makeover method” and an overall roadmap for starting business ventures.

    “Begin with the end in mind and highlight your unique gift.”

    Starting a wellness-based business promises to entail excitement and challenges. How do you get your unique voice and offering heard through myriad marketing clutter and vie for the attention of potential clients? This is where someone, such as Renèe, who focuses on specialization through a wellness and business lens may come to the rescue!

    From talking business, to sharing case studies and thoughts on touching souls (yes, we go there), this is a conversation filled with golden nuggets for moving forward with your business, and shining where you specialize.

    Oh, and we definitely geek out about psycho-aromatherapy, the power of one-on-one engagement, ingesting essential oils, chemistry talk, touching souls and information that is “whispered from the plant.”

    Make a lovely cup of herbal tea and join us for a spell, being sure not to spill your cup as I did mine in the middle of the episode!

    Shout out! Sign up for the Client Attraction Clinic and stay tuned for the “Herbs and Oils Experience” summit.

    Website and Social Links:

    Web: Learn more about Renee and the Aromaspecialists @ https://thearomaspecialists.com/⁠LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/reneehughescoach

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thearomaspecialists/

    Free Guide, Write Like a Human: https://thearomaspecialist.com/writelikeahuman/

  • Frankincense. It's more than a word, it's about a plant, several plant species called "Boswellia" that create a healing resin humankind has had a special relationship and worked with beyond biblical times.

    Meet Robin Kessler, CCA, MIFPA, a certified clinical aromatherapist specializing in hospice care and the therapeutic application of Frankincense resin and its many extracts. She's definitely called the Queen of Frankincense for a good reason--tune in to find out!

    Get your favorite pen and pad of paper out to take notes! We get into the nuances between the different species and their resins and the importance of learning about a plant, including Latin names.

    Look forward to the immersive topic of extraction methods: from resin infused oils, Frankincense essential oil and hydrosol to the remaining biomass that can be powdered. Oh---and don't forget about incense--through smoke: the benefits of burning Frankincsense resin as incense.

    Have you heard all the buzz around Boswellic acid? Robin gives us the low-down and some wonderful success stories you don't want to miss.

    Bonus? She spent years researching and creating a special anointing oil of Biblical proportions which included consulting with a Rabbi and Priest.

    Learn more about Robin and her offerings here:All things Frankincense (and more!): website: https://www.robinsresinsplus.com/#/ & Facebook

    Aromatherapy consulting: website: https://www.rbkaromatherapy.com/ & Facebook

  • This episode's title could also be "how to smell an oil", but that doesn't read as good in my opinion. This episode topic has been on my mind for years, but recent correspondence with an aromatherapist and physiotherapist based in Switzerland (thank you, Katrin!) prompted me to take thought to spoken word and make a Venn diagram (I love diagrams, charts and tables!).

    In a nutshell:

    Pondering "scientific"/clinical + "empirical" aromatherapy. Spike Lavender--a special guest appearance. Liking and disliking. Being an observer. Scent detection and reception. Embodiment (reception). Intersection of spirit/mind/emotions/mood/body/soul Scent is chemical information and multifaceted.

    Links to Reference:

    You Are Not Your Emotions Article

    The World of Lavender Class

    Lavender Plant Talk Video

  • This Spotlight on Aromatherapy episode features my friend and co-host of the former Irreverent Aromatherapy podcast: Bekki Fishelson Kuber, founder of Blue Marble Botanicals.

    Get ready for a lot of laughter, irreverence and getting into hot- topics such as "this is good for that" and aromatherapy shower discs (bombs).

    Look forward delving into the following topics during our conversation:

    Tornado chasing (yes, for real!) How "Wellness from the Earth" is more than a tagline. Cures, ailments and how holistic aromatherapy may fit in. Stepping back from making therapeutic claims. Blending seasonally such as Bekki's Solstice blend with Frankincense, Myrrh and Blood Orange and loving it for what it is. Starting a business based on a passion: aromatherapy, "the world needs this!" Staying curious: featuring Amber "essential oil", making mistakes and learning from them. Ask questions: contact suppliers. Marguerite Maury and the "Individual Prescription", featuring Patchouli (shout out to: Spiritual Sky!) Soap Box topic: Aromatherapy candles ("there's no way there's Sandalwood oil in a candle!") The specialness of essential oils. Shop Local! Finding special suppliers such as Wild Root Acres. Yes, we go there again: the specialness of essential oils. Shower bombs & washable products with essentials oils: don't go there (essential oils down the drain!?)

    Learn more about Bekki and her special offerings at BlueMarbleBotanicals.com and on Facebook.

    Thanks for tuning in! Stay in-touch with comments and questions.

    Ciao for now!

  • Greetings, friends of Luna Aroma! A place and space where aromatherapy meet the moon! This 12th & final Luna Aroma session still finds us in the throes of Little Spirit time, thrust into Cold moon time for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere. This is often a time of personal darkness, confronted with being with oneself during colder, darker weeks and months of the year. Distractions are possible, but are they worth it?

    Surrender, connection, respect, reflection and expansion are qualities we may cultivate to nurture our mental and spiritual strength. These qualities and themes of this moontime may be fortified with the expansive resins such as Frankincense. But let's not limit ourselves to resins such as Frankincense from the equatorial areas--there are the numerous conifer tree friends that offer just as much to support expansion and clarity to help us surrender and see.

    As the calendar year draws to a close, so does the Luna Aroma series with today's 12th New Moon of the year and final Luna Aroma episode. Thank you if you have spent time with me during one, two or more episodes. This was, and still is, a personal inquiry that will continue on its own in a different form.

    Here's the link to my article on transformation that touches on aging and the concept of beauty through the metaphor of the Luna Moth.

    "To the moon, Alice! To the moon!" Ciao for now!

  • This eleventh episode of the Luna Aroma series finds us in Little Spirit moontime. A time still near the “thin veil” and for giving thanks and focusing on spiritual growth. I feel that Eastern Red Cedar and its essential oil support us this time of year, with its personality of quiet, protection, pausing, seeming immortality and the wisdom of being ok with not knowing.

    Episode Highlights:

    7:04 Highlighting Eastern Red Cedar Essential Oil 15:10 Recommended Yoga Pose 16:07 Guided Aromatic Encounter with Eastern Red Cedar 22:40 Poem: 'The Orchid Flower' by Sam Hamill 23:57 Poem: ‘Autumn’ by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

    Look forward to my upcoming Plant Talk write up on Eastern Red Cedar. In the meantime, check out the "Plant Talk" on Juniper Berry @ nycaromatica.com!

    Ciao for now!

  • Welcome to Luna Aroma, where Aromatherapy meets the Moon.

    This 10th episode of Luna Aroma invites you to settle in and descend to the realm of liminal spaces, darkness and crossroads. Places and spaces where Persephone and Hecate among other archetypes may guide us. This is an invitation to revel in the marked transition from late summer's end to the bittersweet falling leaves of full-blown Autumn. Which brings us to root season, a time to harvest root medicine such as Ashwagandha, Valerian, Angelica and Cohosh. And get grounded with all of the root essential oils, notably Vetiver.

    Come along as my guest! I'll take you through seasonal themes, a guided aromatic meditative encounter and a poem I feel touches upon this moon-time's qualities. Although this time of year might bring slight sadness and longing with the increasing darkness and chill in the air, it also invites us to approach life with wonderment and curiosity. Root essential oils such as Vetiver are here to support us no matter what.

    Episode Highlights:

    9:15 Introducing themes of Wonderment and Curiosity 11:00 Roots and Root Oils 13:55 Highlighting Vetiver Essential Oil 16:15 Recommended Yoga Poses 17:15 Guided Aromatic Encounter with Vetiver 24:50 Poem: 'Hades and Persephone' by Carol Tufts

    Links to Articles and Classes

    Vetiver Essential Oil Profile: Vetiver Essential Oil - NYC Aromatica

    Hecate and Autumnal Themes: Hecate Illuminates Transitions and Darkness - NYC Aromatica

    Online Aromatherapy Classes: Aromatherapy Online Classes - NYC Aromatica

    Ciao, for now!

  • Welcome to the 9th Luna Aroma Session! There is so much to share and love about this time of year, including Goldenrod and Asters. Things start to slow down this time of year, simmer and humm. The days are still warm and the sun still intense, but there's a different quality, one that Goldenrod exemplifies.

    Join me during this episode to be an observer and invite Goldenrod's conviviality, its energizing and fortifying qualities into your mind-body-spirit-soul. Each Luna Aroma is an invitation to spend time with yourself and the world outside: a connection to nature and the celestial sphere.

    Episode Highlights:

    Beginning Intro and The Power to Decide How You Feel (Article in the WSJ) 5:51 Official Beginning: Introducing Goldenrod & Late Summer 12:10 Recommended Yoga Poses 13:00 Guided Aromatic Encounter 18:58 Impact of Aromatic Molecules 20:40 Insect and Bird Friends of Note 22:55 Poem: Goldenrod by Ian Parks

    Links to Articles and Classes

    Goldenrod Plant Profile & Video: Goldenrod Essential Oil - NYC AromaticaArticle You Are Not Your Emotions: Myth of the Emotional Brain

    Class: Making Herbal Teas & Tisanes, Cold and Hot!

    Ciao, for now!

  • Welcome to the 8th Luna Aroma Session! This time of year, mid-summer, has a lot going on; a bittersweetness as days grow shorter. There's still an abundance of growth, but things are slowing down, simmering. They aren't as urgent as they were only a few weeks ago. We're entering a time of maturity, protection and holding. These are themes that fit with Carrot Seed essential oil and the plant who bears the seed, the lovely "Queen Anne's Lace." I feel there's a sense of loss as we turn into mid and late summer--a loss of sun, childhood. Maturation acknowledges this but doesn't cling to it, it rather propels us forward. There is still much work to be done, life to live and moontimes to experience.

    Here's my invitation to you: go outside and lovingly gather a few Queen Anne's Lace flowers and seeds and take out your bottle of Daucus carota essential oil. Then sit with me, as I guide you through an aromatic encounter followed by a self-penned poem about Queen Anne's Lace and the heavy-lightness of life. Remember, after this there is so much to experience and enjoy. There is only one end.

    Episode Highlights:

    0:00 Intro and Thoughts on Aromatherapy, Connection, Sustainability 4:28 Luna Aroma officially Begins 7:22 Excerpt about Carrot Seed Oil (read more in the article, link below) 13:55 Guided Aromatic Encounter 20:20 Poem: On Queen Anne's Lace

    Plant Talk Article: Carrot Seed Essential Oil - NYC Aromatica

    Ciao, for now!

  • Smudging with Sage, burning Frankincense in a censer, lighting incense to visualize and symbolize your thoughts rising to the heavens through smoke. These are only some of the botanicals and ways aromatics help us connect with the divine. What is the divine, the sacred? There may be debate about that, but I think we can all agree it is something that is bigger than us that also includes us. Incorporating aromatic botanicals--not synthetic fragrances--such as essential oils, hydrosols and raw plant material help us connect and commune with the present and sacred time.

    This episode shares thoughts on why and how essential oils are powerful chemo-sensorial connectors. Amy touches on distillation, quintessence, the multivalent qualities of essential oils and how they connect mind-body-spirit-soul via the unseen (i.e., tiny, volatile lipid loving molecules). Further into the episode, explore how aromatic botanicals span and connect continents, cultures, ancestors and time. Even deeper is the sacredness of sex and its connection to scent reception and communication through DNA.

    Aromatics are molecules of communication. As I’m writing this it occurred how they are also yin and yang at play: penetration and reception. The airborne scent molecules float around until they dock on nerve endings and receptor sites. Smell, scent molecules, help attune with deep knowing. Aromatic botanicals are keys to help us connect with the divine.

    I hope you enjoy the episode. Stay in-touch with comments and questions: [email protected].

  • This episode features Thunder moontime, when the hot and humid days of summer are often visited by thunder, lightning and rain. This is a time, like most times, to contemplate change. But this time is different. Lighting and thunder are sudden and drastic. They are poignant symbols of change and transmutation. Think of something in your life that weighs on you, that you are looking to change, to shift. Thunder moontime, lightning time, can metaphorically assist along with the powerful essential oils featured in this episode.

    Categorically, I feel, essential oils assist in change. They are agents of change: whether a temporary shift in mood and mind states or helping bridge the false mind-body-spirt gap, assist with grief or usher in new beginnings and adopting new habits in exchange for old ones (to name a few states-of-being). Are you ready? Get your Rosemary, Laurel and Sage (common, clary and white) essential oils or plants to sit with during this episode's Guided Aromatic Encounter. The Three Sages also spur a contemplation on the Triple Goddess, something you don't want to miss. The episode winds down with a poem that has made my heart sing since I came upon it a few years ago: "The Other Women" by Twyla M. Hansen. Who might the Other Woman be? Tune in to find out.

    Below are links to relevant articles and videos mentioned during the episode:

    Key Article: ⁠Aromatherapy for Transformation Plant Talk articles: Laurel and Rosemary Access Plant Talk videos featuring Rosemary, Laurel and Clary Sage

    Ciao, for now!

  • Welcome to Strawberry Moontime! As we near the Summer Solstice it is time to prepare for and embrace the warmest times of the year by turning to cooling and hydrating botanicals such as cooling fruits! This episode is packed with juicy ponderings: from spirit and transformation, the poem "Meditation on a Grapefruit" by Craig Arnold and "What is it we want when we can't stop wanting?" But more on that once you get into the episode...

    Look forward to themes about sharing abundance and life's riches (e.g., strawberries!) & turning to cooling botanicals such as members of the Rose and Citrus families. Particularly Lime, a cooling aromatic botanical that is indicated for "restless heat." We also look to the Rose family for its fixed seed oils to help sooth & nourish our skin; and its fruit (e.g., strawberry, raspberry) to bring us hydration. There is so much to share!!!

    Below are links to articles, videos and classes mentioned during the episode:

    Articles on Transformation: Root Chakra Rituals | Finding Alchemical Gold | Myth of the Emotional Brain Class: Achieving Wellness Through Detox, Intention & Aromatherapy Article on Beautiful Seed Carrier Oils Video: Plant Talk with Yuzu and Amy Anthony
  • This Spotlight on Aromatherapy episode features Amy Galper; a published author and expert in clean beauty, formulation, aromatherapy and essential oils. She is the founder of the former New York Institute of Aromatherapy, the first in-person aromatherapy school in New York (where I earned my certifications)!

    This episode tackles some big topics that Amy is immersed in every day, from the dynamically expanding market of clean beauty, differentiating a business, sustainability, aromatherapy, formulating and providing coaching and educational know-how on entrepreneurial ventures on the aforementioned topics. There’s a lot to learn from Amy; tune in to join us!

    Look forward delving into the following topics during our conversation:

    The evolution of clean beauty, what it is and where it’s going. How essential oils fit into clean beauty through the lens of sustainability What it takes to set your business apart from other businesses How the world of aromatherapy and essential oils has changed over the past 20 years and the need for essential oil education Aromatherapy certification standards and choosing a school Making aromatherapy accessible and sustainable The importance of olfactory aromatherapy and how scent is an overall part of well-being (And more, of course!)

    Learn more about Amy and her offerings at amygalper.com and on Instagram as amygalper. Listen to the episode to learn how to get in-touch with Amy G!

  • Flowers are blooming, frogs are croaking, and it is time to engage your sense of PLAY! This episode celebrates Flower moontime and all that comes with it, including when "all plants display their spirit sides for all the world to see." More on that in the episode!

    How can we be serious when there are baby animals frolicking about, insects buzzing around and plants to interact with? This episode celebrates Flower moontime: by shedding seriousness and supporting what it takes to be ourselves and connecting with the world around us through aromatic plants. Go ahead, set some time aside to bask in the springtime playfulness of German Chamomile; a plant that I feel allows us to open up, let go and partake in a sense of play that may be hiding within us. How so? Connecting with the solar plexus through German Chamomile just might do the trick.With so much fecundity abounding during this moontime, e.e. cumming's poem "you said" seemed fitting and is featured towards the end of this Luna Aroma Episode. "The air of spring smelling of never and forever," is one of the lines. There's a lightness to spring, with it's yellow-green hues, that can make one almost giddy, do you agree?

    Read more about German Chamomile & it's essential oil and join me in the garden for Plant Talk video sessions on NYCAROMATICA.com @ Plant Talk Video Series - NYC Aromatica or on my new YouTube Channel: NYC Aromatica - YouTube.

    Ciao for now!

  • Welcome to Amy Anthony's Spotlight on Aromatherapy series featuring Cathy Skipper whose insights on embracing your unconscious to become your true self are thought provoking, exciting and empowering.

    Find yourself a quiet space for Cathy to guide you through the realms of alchemy, working with the unconscious and recognizing and reclaiming the feminine. When does a woman step into her true power? Why do we need initiation rites? Tune in to learn more.

    Following are only some of the insights Cathy shares during our conversation:

    Importance of liminality and transitions; navigating the edges. Perimenopause is a time, a developmental stage of a woman's life, a shamanic initiation. "To know yourself is without danger." How can one fully heal if one doesn't support the psyche and acknowledge the human isn't just a physical body? What does it take to know a plant...by realizing it is a soul-to-soul connection. "The analytical mind has a role as servant, not as master." "If we don't befriend the unconscious, it controls us."

    Cathy is an international teacher, plant person and healer who brings 30 years of teaching, healing, and plant experience, her highly-attuned intuition, and her mastery at ‘seeing the person within’ to all her work. "All my work is based on my own journey as a wounded healer. I coach and teach from a place of experience. I am totally familiar with navigating the unconscious realms, the ancestral realms, the plant and animal realms. I am a menopause midwife, helping women rebirth themselves as they go through the initiation of menopause into their wise-eldership."

    Sign up here to join her free Guided Journey on June 1, 2023.

    Learn more about Cathy and her work at aromagnosis.com and cathysattars.com. Watch videos on the AromaGnosis YouTube channel. Get social on Instagram by following @cathy.skipper & @the_alchemy_of_menopause. Get a copy of her book on the Alchemy of Menopause.