Feel the Scent: The Healing Power of Movement and Fragrance
For our ‘Feel the Scent’ Fragrance campaign, we spent a day with Roya Carerras. Roya is an Iranian-hispanic artist, dancer and choreographer who battled with cancer and is now in remission. Her daily movement practice - soft movement at first - was a huge part of her healing journey and brought her deeper intune with her body whilst she was in recovery.
We spoke to Roya about her journey, her movement practice and the importance of scent in both her day to day and recovery process.
What’s your first memory of scent?
My earliest memory of scent is waking up in the morning and seeing my dad making chai Earl Grey tea with fresh made bread, feta cheese. That was our daily morning breakfast together that we would eat as a family, a Classic Persian breakfast. Scent is like memory. Scent echoes the past. But it can make you feel like you're here right now.
How does movement make you feel?
Movement makes me feel liberated. Movement makes me feel connected. Inside of myself, whilst also at one with everything around me.
How would you describe your relationship with your body?
My body is the boss. I feel like my body leads me. My relationship with my body is interconnected.
What is your earliest memory of dance and movement?
My earliest experience with movement was growing up watching my mom dance and teach.
You have gone on quite a journey with your health, can you tell us about that?
I've had quite a journey with my health. I’ve been a caretaker for my mom who battled cancer and unfortunately is not with us anymore. And then three years later, I was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer and stage one breast cancer. Finding out that I have a BRCA1 variant. We did about six rounds of chemo, a total hysterectomy and a double mastectomy and it was challenging. But I'm really deeply grateful that I had been training my body all these years and I had been working both spiritually and physically. It was able to carry me through. Now I’m here and we move through.
How did this affect your dance practice and relationship with your body?
What I went through with my health, it only affirmed what I already knew. It affirmed that all that exists is this very moment. It affirmed the importance of being one with your body, listening to all the micro details and just taking as much care as possible. It's really the only way that I can show up for myself and for my community.
How do you use dance and movement as meditation?
Stillness ironically brings me calmness. But I've been able to find a way to move my body and also find stillness. Moving my body makes me feel calm and equally sitting in silence with my body makes me feel peace.
How do you use scent as therapy?
As a movement artist, an improvisationalist and a facilitator I'm always looking for ways to calm my nervous system. Scent has always been one of the most important resources for that. A lot of times I use essential oils or sage.
How would you describe the scent of Functional Fragrance?
Functional Fragrance has such a calming warmth to it. Not only does it make me feel confident, but it It makes me feel like I'm in nature. Like I’m holding nature close to me, while I'm floating around this crazy city.
Feel the scent. The future of fragrance is here.
Functional Fragrance
Your anti-stress fragrance supplement with calming green cardamom and cilantro.