There is something about a spa that creates an ultimate relaxing aura as soon as you walk in the door. There is a multitude of factors, like the beautiful smiling receptionist who happily greets you, the minimalist design, the heavenly light colours and the sound of relaxing music paired with the calming water feature behind the counter. What an incredible ambience. Taking in all the sights and sounds. You are seated in the waiting area, you feel yourself relax as you begin to anticipate your upcoming treatment. Your eyes close, and with a slow deep breath in… the relaxing, lush and smooth scent of spa treatment lotions and potions surround you. As you let out a gentle sigh you soak up every minute of calm that surrounds you. Scent your space and create these relaxed feelings in other aspects of your life.
In the busy lives we lead today, moments such as these are both decreasing in availability but increasing in importance. The increased connectivity we gain from cellphones has led to an increase in daily demands. From maintaining a presence on social media to lengthening our workdays by up to three hours – there’s no end. As a result, we are left feeling more overwhelmed and stressed. We’re faced with the sense of not having enough time to slow things down, decompress and just take a minute to breathe.
The Benefits of a Breath
Relaxation is a part of cultural and religious rituals, particularly in Buddhism. Many studies identify relaxation techniques like mindfulness, meditation and yoga as yielding incredible benefits. The key factor within each of these methods is refocusing attention onto your breathing. This attentional shift both quietens the mind for mental serenity and provides physical relaxation through controlled and extended breathing. Physiologically this decreases the activation of the human ‘fight-or-flight’ stress system through the lowering of levels of Cortisol, the hormone responsible for the activation of the stress system.
We could write more about the benefits of an hour-long meditation and “that’s great” you may think. But it would do little to address the issue we all face of feeling short on time to invest in such activities. So it may be more helpful for you to read how to get the most out of a shorter relaxation session, for both you and your customers. This is done through your sense of smell.
Breaths, Bulbs and Brain: Your scented secret weapon
Aromatherapy has existed for years upon years, providing benefits from relief of stress, anxiety and depression to increasing performance and concentration. We know this, and now we also know the benefits of breathing to lower stress hormones. So what if we were to combine the two… Would it work? The answer is YES! The human body is a beautifully composed network of systems. The human scent centre, the olfactory bulbs, have in fact got a direct connection to the brain’s limbic system. “Ok cool biology lesson but what does that mean for my relaxation session?” Well, the limbic system is a part of the brain which is responsible for emotion and mood regulation, thus providing us with the ultimate scented secret weapon.
Can this work for your business?
Hospitality and spa research has placed scent as one of the key elements in guaranteeing customer satisfaction, repeat business and sharing experience by word of mouth. To increase experiences of relaxation and calm you need to use scent. Customers rate relaxation and calm as more important than the experience of joy or pleasure. Relaxation at Yoga studios, spas and even in company recreation rooms will have incredible benefits for your staff and clients. Aromatherapy has shown that fragrances induce both mood and emotional responses. These allow for, something acknowledged in Tibetan culture as, ‘Liberation through smell’ as a result of the effects of scent. The combination of aromatherapy scents and relaxation activities will allow for the calming breath and the relaxing scents to transport the mind of your clients and enhance the performance amongst employees.
Now imagine creating a zone in your workplace that takes your staff back to the space described in the opening of this article. Imagine how powerful this feeling of total relaxation would be to increase productivity in the day. Scent marketing and scenting a particular space with scents associated with relaxation can achieve this. This will have your staff feeling refreshed and rejuvenated. Here are a few scents to consider:
- Lavender
- Lemongrass
- Eucalyptus
- Jasmine
- Rosemary
This particular technique could also be used in different areas where people stop and take a second to breathe and be mindful, these spaces could be:
- Waiting rooms
- Yoga studios
- Stressful environments
To create feelings of positivity throughout the workplace, a fragrance enhanced breathing space is necessary. Workplace wellness is a rapidly growing industry so why not try something new? You can make the office space a happier, healthier and less stressful environment. Additionally, you may use it to your advantage in positioning your clients to enhance their experience with your company. Allow your company to make full use of your secret weapon for the benefit of both staff and customer.
Take a breath and choose your own scented secret weapon to scent your space here.