Aromatherapy Massage
Stress Relief Massage with Essential Oils
Aromatherapy massage is a wonderful stress relief massage. It's a common way to administer healing, therapeutic essential oils. This type of massage therapy relies on smooth, fluid effleurage strokes.
Essential oils are used for more than just stress relief massage. They have been used by ancient cultures for centuries. The ancient Egyptians used essential oils not only to embalm the dead, but also as perfumes. The Greeks believed that the use of essential oils could make them smarter.
The development of aromatherapy into what we know today began with the French chemist, René-Maurice Gattefossé. One day, he burned himself quite badly. He stuck the burn into the nearest container of liquid. That liquid just happened to be lavender essential oil. He immediately noticed that the lavender essential oil lessened the sting of the burn and brought down the swelling. Later when he realized that the burn healed quickly and produced no scarring, he decided to look into the healing properties of lavender and other essential oils.
Madame Marguerite Maury (1895-1968) developed aromatherapy as we know it today. She established aromatherapy clinics throughout France, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. She would do a lengthy consultation with a patient and then mix up a blend of essential oils that was appropriate to their need. She came up with the idea of aromatherapy massage to administer the oils because she was not a doctor and couldn't give instruction on administering them orally.
Aromatherapy is used to treat the following conditions:
digestive problems
headaches
fatigue
congestion
stress
anxiety
menstrual problems
hormone imbalances
sleeping disorders
chronic pain
skin conditions
slow metabolism
...and many more conditions.
The essential oils used in the massage don't just affect you through scent. The essential oils used in the massage are obsorbed into the skin. Besides smell the skin offers another avenue for the medicinal qualities of the oil to enter your body.
When you get aromatherapy massage the therapist will talk to you about your conditions first. Then the therapist will mix up a special blend of essential oils with massage oil for your massage. The massage is like a standard Swedish massage. At the end of the session the therapist usually gives you the unused massage oil to use at home.
