Massage With Essential Oils
The Massage Step By Step:
Back:
Butterfly Shoulders: Before being give an aromatherapy massage, always wash off any anti-perspirant or deodorant. This is particularly important for this movement as it drains the lymph towards the major lymph glands in the armpits, the axillary glands. This movement relaxes the shoulder and disperses tension.
- Place one hand at the bottom of the shoulder blade (scapula) with fingers splayed and the second hand poised to follow on the same side.
- Brush the hand up and out in a smooth fanning movement. Follow with the second hand, work all round the shoulder blade and out over the shoulder, toward the armpit. Repeat the whole movement four times, then work on the other shoulder.
Forearm Sweep: Kneeling at the side of your partner, turn the head away from you.
- Place your forearm alongside the spine with your elbow just above the buttocks. Clasp the working hand with your other hand for support and stability.
- Using the flat bone of the forearm (the ulna), slide all the way up the side of the spine to the top of the shoulder ridge. Lift the arm off gently and repeat twice from the beginning. Then turn your partner’s head and work on the other side of the spine, using the opposite forearm.
Draining: Sit to the side of your partner, facing across the back.
- With hands together and palms raised, place the fingertips at the side of the spine, just above the coccyx (tail bone).
- Keeping the fingers together, pull them toward you down the side of the back. Repeat the movement all the way up the spine, ending at the base of the neck so the final movement pulls across the shoulders towards the glands in the armpit.
- Repeat with the other side of the spine. You can work the opposite side without changing your position by reaching across and brushing away from the spine, or you can move around your partner and repeat as above, if it feels m ore comfortable.
