Emotional Healing With Massage & Essential Oils

By Nyssa Hanger, MA, LMT, RYT
April 5, 2017

Emotional Healing With Massage & Essential Oils

By Nyssa Hanger, MA, LMT, RYT
April 5, 2017

You are massaging one of your long-term clients; they have a calm and serene look on their face, eyes closed, the epitome of bliss. Your gaze drifts away as your hands continue working, performing their well-practiced actions to relieve sore, tired muscles. Suddenly, you sense a change, a resistance in the tissue. When you look down you see your client’s face scrunched up, eyes shut tight, lips held together firmly with the ends turning downward into a frown. Their breathing is shallow and you begin to see a tear roll down their cheek.

Many massage therapists have had this experience, either as the person on the table or as the therapist (or both). We know there is a parallel between both physical and emotional healing: sometimes we have to feel worse to feel better. When a client has pushed back unpleasant emotions like fear, sadness, or anger, those emotions sometimes come out in a massage session. This can be a shifting point in the healing process for the client. Even though it can be painful for them to re-experience old emotions, we can be the support they need to get to the other side.

Though most massage therapists do not have the training or license to provide the therapeutic processing a mental health counselor could, there are additional tools we can use to create the opportunity for deep emotional healing. By adding essential oils to the kinesthetic experience of massage, we help the client access the space for deep healing within themselves.

SMELL & EMOTIONS

One aspect that makes aromatherapy unique is that it works with the part of the brain that interacts directly with the outside world: the olfactory nerves. The olfactory nerves provide a direct relationship between volatile molecules in the air and the limbic system, or emotional center, in the brain. When an odor molecule is detected by the olfactory nerves in the epithelial mucous membrane lining of the sinus cavity, a signal is scent to the brain and a cascade of responses begins.

The outcome of these responses will be dependent on factors such as: general physiological and psychological effects of the scent and particular memories the person might have associated with the scent. Scents also help by engaging our emotional-creative-intuitive brain and allow new connections to form. They will also encourage us to breathe deeper. Many who venture into yoga comment how surprised they are to see what deep transformation can occur from taking deep conscious breaths.

This combination of deeper breathing and the emotional triggering of scent, with its cascade of effects through the nervous system and other body systems, can provide a strong support for your client’s healing process.

ESSENTIAL OILS FOR EMOTIONAL HEALING

Though scents can elicit vastly different responses from person to person, there are some general qualities that we can attribute to the essential oils we use in aromatherapy. Here are three oils that I keep in my emotional tool kit in the treatment room.

One: The rose (Rosa damascena) essential oil is sometimes also called Rose damask or Rose Otto; it is also known as the “queen of all oils.” The soft, sweet floral aroma has the blossoming quality of a flower unfolding. This is not surprising since rose contains over 500 different constituents and has one of the most complex odor profiles of all oils. It seems to have a similar effect on the heart, opening a heart that has been shut down or cut off from feeling love.

I turn to this oil often for clients going through heartache or relationship issues. Rose can help calm the heart and is useful for insomnia, palpitations and nervous anxiety. More subtly, rose can open up a space for self-love and compassion.

Two: Frankincense is steam-distilled from the gum resin of Boswellia carterii, a tree native to the Middle East and North Africa. Frankincense has gained in its popularity these days, partly due to therapeutic claims that are sometimes only found in the resin, not the essential oil.

The resin was one of the first aromatics used by ancient cultures in incense, most likely used ceremonially and for spiritual endeavors. Frankincense essential oil has many therapeutic properties that act on the body, like being anti-inflammatory, anti-infectious, and analgesic. Furthermore, it can have a profound effect on the mind. Frankincense has long been used in meditation, contemplation, and prayer. It seems to both ground us while connecting us with the spiritual realm.

There is a transcendent quality that accompanies frankincense which aids us in going deeper within. In order to heal the trauma from the past, we must reconnect with it in some way; frankincense lights the way as we descend into the depths of our being and come out the other side, with our lessons learned and our wounds healing.

Three: Vetiver is from the aromatic roots of a grass, Vetiveria zizanoides, that grows in tropical climates like North India and Haiti. Found deep within the soil, vetiver oil is used traditionally for headaches, inflamed joints and skin-care. This oil has a deep, warm, and smoky aroma. It’s nourishing quality applies to both body and mind, helping to restore what has been lost. Gabriel Mojay equates the oil’s action to the calm strength of Mother Earth, providing us with a sense of belonging.

It is particularly good for people who suffer from perfectionism or self-criticism, a type of self-attacking. Vetiver helps to reassure a soul that feels threatened and helps a person to ground themselves into the reality of what is in the present moment. In addition to my own experience, the emotional profiles of these oils were drawn from The Blossoming Heart by Robbi Zeck and Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit by Gabriel Mojay, which are both great resources for the emotional qualities of oils.

These three profiles represent a small sampling of what is available through essential oils for emotional healing. I believe there is no “right” oil choice because of the vast range of essential oils available, and individual responses that each person has to each oil, which might even change over time!

Frankincense or vetiver might be the right oil for someone else’s heartbreak. Rose is also great for meditation. The three could also be blended together for a heart-opening, inner-seeking, wisdom-of-the-earth kind of blend. The best teacher is your own experience; your imagination is the only limitation.

IN YOUR PRACTICE

For utilizing the emotional healing available through essential oils, the easiest, and least costly method is inhalation. As little as a single drop is needed, and with some oils, just one drop on a cotton pad or tissue is strong enough to last for up to a few hours (or possibly longer) after the session.

You can also incorporate essential oils into your massage oil by placing 15 drops into one ounce of carrier oil. Since smell, memories and emotions are closely connected, scents can be used to recall positive experiences. You can also give the client some of the oil blend to take home with them. When the client smells the scent off the table, they can re-experience the massage.

If a client begins to have an emotional release it is best to let them have a full release before turning to our aromatics. Encouraging full deep breaths (without aromatics) can help the body release the stored energy on its own; I also recommend slowing or stopping the physical bodywork if the emotions are intense.

Usually the client will calm down within a few minutes and you can return to the flow of your session. After checking in with your client, you can use aromatics in the way described above. Even simple inhalation can help them recenter themselves, or gently provide the space for further release. Aromatics can also help you stay calm and centered too. For our clients caught in an emotional whirlwind, having someone present and by their side might be just what they need for their healing.