We’re on Hiatus and Here’s Why

We’re on Hiatus and Here’s Why

The last time you heard from us, we were talking about how white silence creates violence, and that black lives matter in aromatherapy.

(We still stand by all of this 100% and hope that this is only the beginning of a long overdue conversation.)

But in a twist of irony, we made a big statement about how we won’t be silent and well—we’ve been silent ever since. 

To put it colloquially, we posted and ghosted. 

We didn’t mean to. 

Shortly after posting our statement, my father, Sylla’s husband, O.V. Hanger, passed away unexpectedly on June 8th, 2020. Read more about the amazing man we’ve lost and want to remember 

In shock and devastation, we haven’t been able to do anything but be silent since. 

Now that we’ve had a few weeks to recalibrate, we have clarity on what to continue and what to let go of, temporarily or totally.  

Moving through the rest of this year, you won’t be hearing from us as much as we integrate this new reality into our lives.

We’ve paused the Atlantic Aromatic Library Membership for now, but we do plan to reopen it again, most likely in early 2021. Please join our email list if you want to know when doors to the membership will open back up again.

We also paused our Course Immersion, but we will restart it in August. If you’d like to join us for a Fall Immersion in the Aromatherapy Practitioner Course, this will be your last chance to study with us this year.

Registration is open, but only for a few students, as we only have a few of the essential oil kits that come with the course made right now. We can’t make any more at this time.

We’ll announce everything on our email list first. Subscribe here, and you’ll be the first to know about any updates.

I’ll be providing more updates in the next few days and weeks but wanted to write this first so you all know what’s going on with us.

We’ve received amazing support from our aromatherapy community during this time of deep grief and sadness. Thank you to everyone who has sent messages, packages, cards, and support via our meal train.

If you haven’t heard from us personally, you will. We’re taking our time to connect with everyone, as we need support throughout the coming months.

We’re trying to see each day as a new oppurtunity for growth and healing. I’m hoping that through my healing process, I’ll come out ready and able to help more of you as we all navigate the tough waters of this human experience.

Black Lives Matter in Aromatherapy

Black Lives Matter in Aromatherapy

Ever since I was a little girl, I watched my mom stand up for what she believed was right.

When she started learning that essential oils were hurting people through overuse orally and improper use on the skin (in the 1990’s … and yes, this is still happening), she started talking about it and never stopped.

She became one of the earliest and most outspoken advocates for essential oil safety, sometimes even fearing repercussions from people who wanted that information suppressed so they could continue to sell more oils. 

When 9/11 happened, she saw the effect that this disaster had on the lungs and psyches of those affected. Knowing that essential oils could help, she called all her friends for donations and started to work with an Emergency Response team in New York.

This began the United Aromatherapy Effort, Inc. a non-profit organization dedicated to collecting and disseminating aromatherapy products in times of great disaster, which still continues its work to this day. 

In both instances, she saw people in her human family that were hurting unnecessarily. 

She would not let herself stand by and watch. 

She did something about it. 

So hopefully my next point won’t come as a surprise. 

* * *

Aromatherapy is an incredibly white industry. 

I’m hard pressed to think of colleagues who are not white. There are a few, but they’re sprinkled within a sea of whiteness.

There are probably many reasons for that, not the least of which is financial accessibility, but the result is the same: our collective identity as aromatherapists is one predominated by white people. 

We’ve learned time and time again that this can cause a host of injustices and discriminations that may very well go unnoticed except by those to whom the injustice is being done. 

If white people don’t start listening, we’ll never know the harm we are almost certainly creating. I have to hope that most often it is unintentional

But still again the result is the same: people are being hurt, and they don’t have to. 

Starting to listen to what our non-white friends and family are experiencing is a good start, but not enough.

Those of us with white skin need to realize that we have a power and a privilege that we can choose to use with greater awareness. 

So not only do we have to start listening, we have to start speaking out. 

We have to start speaking to each other. 

Knowing that this audience is mostly white people, I need you all to know that I can not be silent on this issue. 

(Please do not comment with #alllivesmatter. That’s not the point. That is actually, again probably unintentionally, contributing to the issue that I am taking a stand against. If that’s confusing, please read here.)

Moving forward, I’m holding aromatherapy to the standards of justice and equity that we need to hold to every aspect of our lives, so this world can become a safe place for all our brothers and sisters.

This means we’ve got to do the work here in our community, too. 

I want to be transparent in how I’m addressing this issue in our school and our industry. 

These are the actions I’m taking:

  • I’m actively engaging in self-critique to further investigate my own cultural biases so that I continue to eliminate them as best as I can. 
  • I’m engaging my students in conversations on how we can create more inclusivity, diversity, and equality in our program. I’m listening deeply to what they’re saying.
  • I’m engaging in conversations with colleagues to help promote anti-racism in our aromatherapy community. I’m listening to the stories and experiences of BIPOC in our community to better understand their experiences and hear what they would like to see changed in aromatherapy.
  • I’m learning how to create space for BIPOC, as I work on moving from “Allyship” to “Accomplice”. I’m actively engaging in creating this space in all areas of my life, aromatherapy will be no exception. 
  • I’m considering how to make scholarship opportunities available to BIPOC who might otherwise be unable to join our program due to financial constraints.
  • I’m listening for other ideas (especially from BIPOC) for how we can make our aromatherapy community a safer place for everyone to participate in, contribute to, and be supported by. 

As a family business, we see all of our students, potential students, and followers as a part of our aromatic family. 

It is important to us that is a place where everyone feels like they belong and have a voice.

Seeing that our whole human family still has work to do in this matter, we’re committed to bring this work home to our aromatherapy community. 

* * *

If you’re confused by my sentiments, have questions, or want to know more, I’m making myself available for one-on-one dialogues about this issue. Please email me at

in**@at***************.com











Any unhelpful, destructive, or hurtful comments will immediately be removed from this thread here on the blog or any of our social media accounts. (See note on zero-tolerance above.)

I ask that you honor the importance of these necessary conversations. 

How to Learn Aromatherapy At Home

How to Learn Aromatherapy At Home

Considering the current state of things, there’s a good chance that you have more time on your hands than ever before. 

If you’re like me, then you’re also taking time to reevaluate your health and how you spend your time. I feel that this a unique opportunity to learn how to better take care of ourselves with the help of aromatics.  

Growing up with essential oils, I never knew a world without them. They were always the first tools we turned to for healing, and they were always a part of my daily life. 

And yet I continue to learn how I can use aromatics to improve my health on all levels.  

But listen, you don’t have to get a certificate or do a particular level of training before you can start learning how to use essential oils for yourself. 

Plus, the more you learn how to help yourself, the more you’ll be able to help others. 

So let’s learn some aromatherapy basics together. 

These lessons contain everything you need to begin using essential oils safely and set yourself up for a lifetime of learning. 

These lessons are free and were offered daily on our Facebook Page at 12pm ET through April 30th

Lesson One: How to Study Any Essential Oil

So here’s what I want to know:

What essential oil did you choose and what did you learn?

Let me know by leaving a comment below. We can all learn more from each other. 

Lesson Two: How to Listen to Your Body

Lesson Three: How to Use Essential Oils Safely

Lesson Four: How to Get Started Healing with Aromatherapy

Aromatic Reflection

Aromatic Reflection

Winter is the time of year where we’re called to slow down and be still. It might not seem that way with holiday season sprees, year-end deadlines, and new year jump-starts. But it’s very important to continue to find stillness in the whirlwind of winter.

Luckily, our oils are wonderful companions that constantly beckon us to take a moment for ourselves. One of the simplest ways to use essential oils safely is through inhalation. The act of stopping, sitting, smelling, and reflecting can provide just the kind of “time-out” that you need to restore your energy, reset your outlook, and continue.

You’re sitting here reading this blog, so go ahead, grab an oil from the shelf, and try this:

  • Let Go. Relinquish yourself from whatever task is currently at hand, but don’t worry, you’ll get back to it. Just give yourself permission to pause, disengage, and return to your center.
  • Get Comfortable. Sit back in your chair or find a more comfortable seat or position. Maybe lay down on the floor (set an alarm for a few minutes if you’re afraid you’ll fall asleep).
  • Take a Deep Breath. Place a drop of essential oil on a cotton ball, tissue, handkerchief, or inhale from the bottle. Be sure to wave it back and forth while inhaling, alternating nostrils. Perhaps take a few deep breaths this way.
  • Observe. Just watch what happens in your internal world. Can you invite in more relaxation? Are there memories emerging? What emotions do you feel? What does your heart say?

You can write your experience down in a journal or just let it sink in. Continue until you’re ready to return to your to-do list, but do so with a lighter heart and greater awareness.

Keeping a Beginner’s Mind

Keeping a Beginner’s Mind

At the heart of a mindfulness practice is the idea of the “beginner’s mind.” This means that no matter how long you’ve been practicing, you are encouraged to approach your experience with the mind of a beginner. Essentially, you’re encouraged to let go of preconceived notions, past experiences, and how this compares to last time. Instead, you’re urged to try being in your experience right now.

I like to apply this to my practice of working with essential oils. Sure, I’ve used Lavender a million times. But what if I take a moment right here to sit with it as if it were my first time? What does she want to say to me today? It’s amazing how much I learn from going back to simple practices. Sometimes it provides more than what I read in a book or learn in classes. One of my favorite things to teach to students is knowing how to trust one’s inner wisdom.

You have to keep learning until you get past the point of feeling like you already know it all. Then you can come back to being open to the wisdom right in front of you.

Aromatherapy Beginner’s Training Program

As we expanded our advanced training in the Aromatherapy Practitioner Training Program, I started feeling like some of our students would benefit from a course that was more geared towards beginners. I wanted to provide a strong foundation for practicing at home and making products with essential oils.

For the past year, we’ve been working on a brand new course that will be offered starting in March and running through August of 2017.

The Aromatherapy Beginner’s Training Program is an in-depth introduction to the art and science of aromatherapy. The course consists of 4 weekend workshops (totaling 50 hours of live training) and another 50 hours of independent study projects, totaling 100 hours of guided training. The focus of this curriculum is not only on how we use essential oils, but also on how we support our bodies’ natural healing mechanisms.

Learn more about this program here.

Starting Somewhere

Starting Somewhere

I’ve sat in my mom’s aromatherapy classes throughout my entire life. First as a child, when I tagged along as a “helper;” then as a newly licensed massage therapist, encountering her class as a student for the first time; and most recently as an instructor, teaching classes myself.

My mom is always encouraging students to go out and teach introductory classes themselves. She’ll say, “The best thing you can do once you leave this class is to go out and teach a class yourself. Just an easy, one-hour class for your friends and community. That’s when you’ll really learn how much you know, and it will give you ideas on what else you can learn.”

Each class includes people with different energies and experience levels. I love facilitating the education of the group while addressing each person’s specific needs. After our first year of teaching together, I’ve explained the three main topics in the intro class so many times (what is aromatherapy, what are essential oils, how do they work, and how do we use them) that the right words roll off my tongue with little effort. I’m thrilled to share this platform with my mom. She still chimes in with deeper explanations when needed. Then I get to learn more!

Sometimes when students gain a bunch of knowledge about essential oils, they still feel like they don’t know where to start. We know from experience that you simply just start where you are.

You begin.

For some, that means talking to their friends and family about what they learned. For others, it may mean choosing one oil each day to use and discover. Others may make and use an aromatherapy blend for their next massage. Whatever it is, you begin wherever you are … as I am doing right now.

This is my first blog with the Atlantic Institute. I hope you enjoy it! I’m grateful I have begun. : )