Aromatherapy has a long history with essential oils being used over many centuries by people seeking healing of a wide range of conditions.  The essential oils are pure aromatic essences extracted from a range of plant products: flowers, herbs, fruit and trees.  They have powerful healing potential with each oil having its own unique chemical composition and offering a range of possible therapeutic benefits from relaxing and balancing emotions when stressed, to mood lifting when feeling low.  Their properties can range from being antiviral and antibacterial to support the healing of various physical bodily systems to being antidepressant and sedative to relax and calm a stressed emotional system.   Oils are particularly beneficial when treating emotional issues and often in treating these conditions relief is found from areas of tension and distress in the physical body which give rise to aches and pains. 

My Aromatherapy treatment is a non-massage holistic therapy involving the creation of a personalised blend of essential oils in a cream, lotion or other carrier vehicle designed to facilitate your own body’s healing at a physical, emotional or spiritual level.  The blend is created following an in-depth consultation with you. 

What information do you need from me?

Aside from name and address information, I will need you to tell me of any significant medical history (yours and anything you know of any close family members); details of any medication or vitamin/herbal remedies you are taking; details of any allergies/sensitivities and any recent illnesses/operations. All data taken from you is held in strict confidence and in accordance with General Data Protection Regulations.

What will you do?

I will do an assessment of your general health and wellbeing, both as you see it and from my own perspective in observing and listening to you.  I will then suggest a blend of essential oils and their most suitable method of use for you (e.g. oils to diffuse or sniff from an aroma stick, cream to apply, or bath or hair products to use.  I will offer the oils to you to smell and approve.  It is really important that you like the smell of the oils suggested since none of us want to have a smell diffusing around us or applied to our skin that we do not like!  Once we have agreed the blend I will make up the relevant product for you to take away. 

Can you always provide oils that could help?

I have studied the therapeutic properties and benefits of over 60 essential oils as part of my training and have the majority of them available at all times and so, yes, generally I will have oils that have the potential to help you.  However, on the offchance that there is a complicated medical history or a condition/medication with which I am not familiar or feel it is not safe practice to treat, I will take time to research more comprehensively after our session and provide you with an option at a return visit. 

Can aromatherapy help me?

It is likely that aromatherapy will be able to help you.  Aromatherapy can help with a wide range of conditions, both physical and emotional in origin.  I have to date treated a range of conditions including: stress, anxiety, fatigue, insomnia, joint pain, post-exercise aches, menopausal symptoms, eczema, gastric conditions, burns, and coughs and colds. 

Do you use standard blends and where do you source your oils?

No, each blend I create is made specifically for the client that I am seeing.  There is no “one size fits all” approach with my treatments.  Essential oils are expensive to produce and, to make them more affordable, they are often adulterated with chemicals which compromises their therapeutic capabilities.   I only purchase and use essential oils from reliable sources and of proven high grade quality.

Refloxology holds that there are energy zones throughout the body that can become blocked or unbalanced at times of illness or stress, physical or emotional. A reflexology treatment involves placing pressure on reflex points in the feet or hands that correspond to organs, glands and body parts. Pressure on these reflex points can bring about changes in the energy flows within the body and release any areas which have become blocked or unbalanced. This allows the body to facilitate its own innate healing ability.

An Aromaflexology treatment uses the techniques of traditional reflexology combined with the healing potential of essential oils to create a very effective healing modality.  Aromaflexology was founded as a treatment in 1987 by Shirley Price, a well-respected aromatherapist and reflexologist,  as a means to healing of a musculoskeletal issue she was suffering with at the time.   Fewer reflex points are used in aromaflexology than in traditional reflexology but in combining the healing powers of essential oils and the massaging of a selection of reflex points in the feet, it is possible to positively dynamically balance the energy systems in the body to bring about deep relaxation and reduction in stress thereby providing an environment of healing for the whole physical and emotional body.

See below for an outline of what happens in a reflexology or aromaflexology session and the differences between the two in the way that I treat.

Will I be seated or laying down?

You will be asked to remove any footwear and sit in a reclined position such that your feet are slightly raised while your back is totally supported.  The same position will be adopted whether I am treating your hands or your feet.

Will the treatment hurt?

Where reflex points are out of balance or blocked in some way, there may be some discomfort as I push on them.  Pain at any point gives an indication of a physical or emotional imbalance requiring attention but it will not be felt for long and pressure will always be kept at a level that will be tolerable by you but heavy enough to effect release in the body.

What happens in a treatment?

In your first appointment I will take a full history from you and and find out the reason for your visit to me and what you would like me to work on for you.

In a full Reflexology treatment I can work on either your hands or your feet and the manner of the treatment will be the same. I am describing a foot treatment here for illustration purposes and because that is primarily where I will work. I will first wipe your feet gently to cleanse them and will then put on a cream or balm and massage them gently to relax them and bring your body into connection with your feet. I will then cover your left foot and start the treatment on your right, gently pushing or moving along on various points in your foot before covering that foot and repeating the process on your left foot. I will then uncover both feet, apply another light cream and give the feet a final relaxing massage. The treatment will take approx 1.5 hours on the first appointment and approx 1 hour on subsequent treatments.

In an Aromaflexology treatment I will first do the assessment part of the treatment (taking 10-20 minutes depending on findings). I will cleanse the feet and then push on various reflex points while asking you questions as to your general physical and emotional health at the time of treatment.  Any areas of pain are messages from the body and the information they provide, and that which you have given me, enable me to make up a bespoke massage cream for the rebalancing of the particular areas of the body requiring attention.  The treatment part of the appointment will then begin with the bespoke cream being applied to one foot at a time and each foot receiving a healing massage and work on specific reflex points using the thumbs in a circular motion.   You will be given a pot of your bespoke cream to take away and offered an opportunity to learn how to massage it in to one or two reflex points yourself on either your hands or your feet to continue to promote your own healing. 

How will the treatment make me feel?

Since we are all unique beings and respond differently to external stimuli, it is not possible to predict exactly how you will feel.  However, common experience is that the treatment is deeply relaxing, sometimes to the point of sleep, and in the majority of cases people report feeling considerably better at the end than when they arrived.  

How will I feel later?

In the 24-48 hours after treatment you may feel very relaxed and sleep well.  It is also possible, however, that you will feel tired and less well with a headache or other physical symptoms.  If this is the case it does not mean that the treatment “has not worked” or has harmed you, it is simply the body releasing and discharging any toxins disturbed as part of the treatment before settling into a new, more healthy, normal.   It is advisable to drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol and heavy food during this period to give the body the greatest chance of benefitting from the treatment. 

I cannot easily get out, can you visit me at home?

I can come and visit you at home if necessary and if you are within approximately 10 miles of my practice. I will bring with me my creams and balms and a selection of my most commonly used oils, together with my chair and other essential items. Please call me so that we may discuss your needs. There will be a small surcharge for this service.

I will continue to expand my knowledge base and learn new skills to enhance the experience of my clients.   Meanwhile, please, do not hesitate to contact me to answer any questions you may have or, better still, call me to make an appointment.  I would love to work with you to bring your body back into alignment, physically and emotionally, and watch any areas of dis-ease diminish.