ABOUT US:

It may be hard to believe, but when we founded the Aroma-Science Institute (ASI) for aromatherapy education and certification in Raleigh, NC, 15 years ago, there were only several holistic health modalities available mainly homeopathy, acupuncture and chiropractic.  Massage Therapy was quite uncommon and Aromatherapy was virtually unknown. In retrospect, the rise of the holistic health movement has been and still is none other but revolutionary! Many holistic modalities have sprung up virtually overnight, however aromatherapy has made a “detour” for about a decade catering to the wonderful and much needed today spa industry, but thereby developing a somewhat less “serious” image. Now Aromatherapy is in full swing to gain the prominence and recognition it deserves as a bona fide holistic health care modality.

Within a few years our efforts in North Carolina paid off and reflecting back, I feel blessed to have had the pioneering opportunity to help raise the aromatherapy consciousness and introduce this fine discipline to so many wonderful people who were enriched and transformed by it.

ASI blossomed to offer a large variety of aromatherapy courses and workshops, from skin care to research methods, which were conducted at massage schools and healing centers all over the east coast. The institute attracted students nationwide as well as from overseas and as a NAHA (National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy) regional director we started to offer NAHA TAP certifications and NCBTMB continuing education credits as well. In 2002 ASI co-organized the first NAHA Expo-conference on the East Coast.

It may not be a coincidence that it was while teaching aromatherapy courses at the Edgar Cayce Institute that the profoundness of the spiritual and intuitive aspects of essential oils deeply impacted me. About 3 years ago I went on Sabbatical to California for a period of meditation, reflection and introspection in a little town close to Yosemite. It was there where Intuitive-Spiritual Aromatherapy, ISA, was inspired and integrated into our Home/Self Study program. The program caters to the physical/emotional and spiritual needs of our time. The course still contains all the fun hands- and nose-on assignments and scientifically the course has retained its robustness. The new course however focuses on developing the intuitive skills necessary to feel the oils’ energies, to sense how they would work together in synergy and how to create a formulation to fit another person’s energy body. The ISA program has become the educational focus of ASI and the availability of other products and services can be found on the products and services page link

I feel that essential oils are a gift to humanity representing the foundations of health: beauty, freedom, fun, joy… Imagine a society where individuals are in touch with their intuitive higher self and exercise their right for self-healing with the natural gift of essential oils... I am grateful to all my students past, present and future that feel the same way and are faithfully passing on the torch, creating a better life for their clients, friends and loved ones. We are welcoming you to join our ever expanding family!

Dr. Naomie Poran

Is the founder of the Aroma Science Institute and the “Science” behind the company’s name. She has several academic degrees in the Life Sciences, B.S. in Horticulture where she specialized in Flower cultivation, A Masters in Immunology and Microbiology and a Ph.D. in Chemical Ecology from the University of California, Davis. Dr. Poran’s main academic specialization is in olfaction – (the sense of smell) and has conducted research in the field at SUNY (State University of New York), NCSU (North Carolina State University), UNC (University of North Carolina) and her own Biotechnology company “SemioChem Corporation”. She has developed a popular academic course entitled "The Mystery of Smell and its Role in Health, Communication, and Culture" for NCSU and taught Physiological Psychology at UCD. Dr. Poran is the recipient of various scientific grants from NIH (National Institutes of Health) and the NC Biotechnology Center for her chemical communication research. As a passionate aromatherapist she served as NC and CA regional director of NAHA (National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy) and is a certified provider of continuing education courses in aromatherapy (NCBTMB Category A Provider # 158497-00). In addition to state-of-the-art education, she also provides health consultations where she unites 25 years experience in aromatherapy and herbal medicine with her skills in Iridology and other energy healing techniques. Dr. Poran is a popular speaker and offers live courses and workshops worldwide.