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Learning About Aromatherapy

If you find you are interested in incorporating aromatherapy into your practice, Alexandra Fisher, a New York City-based massage therapist, and Christine Dille, massage therapist and owner of Pressure Massage & Aromatherapy Studio in Hoboken, New Jersey, suggest thinking about signing up for a course or workshop. "What you'll learn in a class isn't so much about the properties of each oil, as that can be looked up in books," says Fisher. "It's more about how to blend, how to learn to trust your judgment, how to figure out when to use your intellect and when to use intuition."

Dille agrees that while books can offer a wealth of information on essential oils and their ideal uses, working directly with an instructor can be invaluable. "I'd done a lot of reading and experimenting on my own, so I thought I'd breeze through my aromatherapy training," Dille explains. "But I ended up being surprised by how much I didn't know. So, if you really want to work closely with clients and go beyond general aromatherapy massage, I'd say taking a course is the way to go."

But whether you become a certified aromatherapist or simply integrate a few essential-oil blends into the occasional session, exploring aromatherapy can breathe new life into your practice. Fisher and Dille both report that adding aromatherapy greatly increased their clients' positive associations with their time on the table. Here are some additional scents you can include in your practice:

  • Sweet orange: Not only a powerful mood-booster, sweet orange can tame stomachaches and cramps, partly by acting as a carminative (helps expel gas from the body).
  • Bergamot: This citrus oil, responsible for giving Earl Grey tea its sweet scent, helps rev up your immune system. Perfect for relieving cold and flu symptoms, this oil may also lift depression and ease anxiety.
  • Neroli: Native to the Far East, this oil, derived from orange blossoms, has traditionally been used to clear toxins from the blood. Soothing to the digestive system, neroli also helps with nausea, indigestion and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
  • Myrtle: A massage with myrtle may be especially useful during the winter season, since the immune-enhancing oil is known to build up resistance to cold and flu, as well as lessen respiratory disorders like asthma, bronchitis and chronic cough.

Editor's Note: Information regarding the healing benefits and properties of these oils comes from Jennie Harding's book Total Aromatherapy Massage.