NHR Organic Essential Oils - About Kolinka Zinovieff

About Kolinka

Kolinka Zinovieff qualified as an aromatherapist at the Institute of Clinical Aromatherapy and studied a postgraduate course at L'institute des Sciences Phytomedicales. He also trained as a craniosacral therapist with the CrOA (Cranial Osteopathic Association) and at the Upledger Institute. He was on the inner council of the BCMA (British Complementary Medicine Association).

Kolinka has written "Essential Health -The Complete Aromatherapy Guide" to enable you to use essential oils even without any previous knowledge of aromatherapy.

He founded NHR Organic Oils in 1993 which is now one of the largest 100% certified organic essential oil companies in the world.

In 2006 Kolinka set up the Mill Retreat Centre in northern France www.millretreatcentre.com which is now a centre of excellence for groups to run workshops and events from all round the world.

2012 Kolinka set up the NHR organic essential oil school, teaching an advanced diploma course on how to distill and grow your own organic essential oils and use a GLC Chromatograph, all onsite at the new school. Also exploring the subtle side of aromatherapy too, combining the scientific with the intuitive to create and exciting in depth study of essential oils.

I was led to aromatherapy and my interest in essential oils by experience of illness that lasted four years. It showed me that illness can enrich our lives and help us learn life’s lessons in a more fulfilling way. Even though there is great pain and difficulty involved, I would simply emphasise that illness can, if we allow it, at times, be an opportunity to change our lives for the better.

For me, being ill for that time gave me an opportunity to put aside all the old habits and ways: a chance to start life afresh. I began to feel a new sense of an inner respect which involved honouring the body’s need to be ill while at the same time looking at the root causes for the condition.

Sometimes illnesses have obvious causes which may be of an emotional, mental, environmental or energetic kind. At other times they can be a lesson in letting go of the mind and accepting the body’s need to be ill. There does not seem to be any easy solution but our attitude can make all the difference. Our view of illness as an enemy that needs to be suppressed and got rid of at all costs, may change to one where we perceive it as a friend. Then we can begin to feel it is offering us an opportunity to learn about ourselves and a chance to make our experience of life richer and more rewarding.
Aromatherapy is one way in which we can begin this process of healing and nourishing ourselves at all levels: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. I hope you enjoy using nature’s healing essential oils.

Article - August 5th Guardian paper travel section

Kolinka Zinovieff, aromatherapist

Interview by Maia Adams
Saturday August 5,
The Guardian

What are you working on right now?
I am launching a new range of organic baby and pregnancy products (nhrorganicoils.com), so I’m researching all the most nourishing organic ingredients, my first baby is due at the end of August which is very exciting.
I’m also working on an online "wisdom meditation course" with Michal Levin (MichalLevin.com), a comprehensive course to help transform and balance one’s whole life. Michal is an extraordinary energy and wisdom teacher who I’ve been working with for many years and who is helping to transform many peoples lives.

Where would you rather be?
I have just bought a beautiful 18thC mill in Picardy, France which I am renovating at the moment. In the most lovely green rolling hills similar to the Sussex downs surrounded by water.

What's so special about it?
The mill has a beautiful ten acre lake with swans, surrounded by poplar and willow trees, and a lot of wild life, as well as large over grown grounds full of wild boar, deer, otters, trout and lots of brambles, it is a nature paradise that has been wonderfully neglected. This summer I was broodily guarding a family of baby coots that came out of the their shells as I walked past.

What would you do there?
At the Mill in France, I am setting up a Retreat Centre. The world and all of us are so desperately in need of inner nourishment. I would row my boat on the lake and watch the trout swim up the river. I am Pisces and have always loved being by water. The Lake is full of pike so I am hoping they will not eat the baby coots and ducklings by the time I return in Autumn. I am also working on a hydro-electric generator to restart the old mill wheel, which is exciting and quite a technical challenge.

Where would you stay?
I would stay at the Mill, which was a huge old cheese factory built in elegant chateau like style, that only that French can do. It has 25 rooms. The Mill is available to rent for retreats.

What's the one place you'd like to see before you die?
A place where kindness, care and authenticity are more important than selfish power and materialism. A place where we can all work together to be the greatest we can be. A place where trust is taken for granted over fear. I know it sounds very idealistic, but I think it is time to dare to make changes in the world, both within ourselves and within our own communities. The awful paralysing doubt that says you alone can make no difference is no longer appropriate, we can all make a true difference, and more than that it is becoming vital that we do.
If I had to choose an actual location then the Isle of Raasay in the Inner Hebrides. It's miles from anywhere with no electricity, - just the most spectacular views of the Cuillin mountains on Skye and the sea all around.