When your sport or deep tissue massage clients come to you with tired, aching, overworked muscles, add a touch of the spa to their treatments by including aromatherapy. The following essential oils are especially well-suited to deep-tissue modalities, and can help address your clients’ specific conditions.

First impressions are everything, so as soon as your client is comfortable on the table, it’s great to start the session with a little aromatherapy to set the mood of the massage. Select an appropriate essential oil or blend, place a few drops into a small amount of carrier oil or lotion in the palms of your hands, rub them together for a moment to warm up the molecules, then cup them ever so carefully near the nose of your client and ask her to take three slow, deeply inhaling breaths.

I have always believed in the powerful healing ability of plants, which evolved into a lifelong study. With my understanding of using essential oils (EOs) to bring balance to the mind, body and emotions, I was able to see what a difference they made in my life and the health of my family. I wanted to make the beneficial use of incorporating EOs easy for the average consumer without needing the years of study or understanding of all the safety concerns that can be part of using EOs.

Beginners in New York, this week I am interviewing Cary Caster, aka the Essential Oils lady behind the popular aromatherapy-to-go brand 21 Drops. With a solid background in ethnobotany and aromatherapy studies, Cary has agreed to share some of her secrets about how to use essential oils safely, the ways in which aromatherapy can be a great help to treat minor ailments, and why you should never ingest essential oils (despite it being all over Instagram. Don’t do it. Trust me on this one.)

Today we are bombarded with synthetic fragrances that mimic the smells of nature, and many of them are not as healthy as they may seem. 

Many people work long hours and book loads of personal activities, which leaves them drained and constantly preoccupied. Yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises help us manage our responsibilities with more calm and ease, but essential oils can really bring us one step further. Certain oils help lift our emotional states when we are overwhelmed and downtrodden with responsibilities.

It all begins with an idea.

It all begins with an idea.