In the early 1900s a French chemist first established the science of aromatherapy when he used lavender as a treatment for burns. Around the world aromatherapy and the use of essential oils for addressing illnesses is standard medical procedure. Here in Tidewater, aromatherapy is central to many healing practices. Let’s meet some local women who use aromatherapy in their practices and in their daily lives.

ENERGETIC PROTECTION
“When people hear the word aromatherapy, they think of a spa, and when I talk about essential oils, I think, medicine,” said Marilyn Stulb, 54, who uses aromatherapy, along with healing touch and sound therapy in her practice in Suffolk. The flight attendant and mother of two adult daughters first learned about healing touch ten years ago from a co-worker and followed up by meeting with a church friend who practiced healing touch. After a few sessions, she felt surprisingly lighter in spirit, more ready to laugh and let go. Marilyn decided to become certified to practice healing touch, endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Association. When one of her colleagues discovered aromatherapy, Marilyn found adding essential oils to her healing touch therapy was a perfect combination.

“The essential oils just fit together like bread and butter with healing touch,” Marilyn said. “I love the oils. They are simply another form of energy. When illness occurs, the energy of your body is lowered, and the oils help to facilitate building you up again.”

One of the most popular uses of healing oils is called the Raindrop technique, originally developed by Dr. Gary Young, who created a collection of concentrated organic oils. During a “Raindrop” treatment, the practitioner applies drops of certain essential oils along the spine, where they are absorbed into the skin within 20 seconds and into the cells of the body within 20 minutes.     

Locally, many therapists have learned this technique from Sandra Duggan, author of several books related to the readings of Edgar Cayce, massage therapy teacher, and owner of a healing practice.

“It’s very important that people understand that these plants are picked at the peak of harvest and processed in a way that the herbs are not crushed, unlike many scented products in the marketplace,” Sandra said. “The chemicals in these oils do very specific things, even killing germs, so that the body can summon its own defenses to heal itself.”

Sandra’s knowledge about oils as anti-septic, anti-viral, anti-fungal, and anti-bacterial is backed up by scientific research, especially overseas. She says now that Americans are encountering alternative healing practices, our system will slowly come to accept them.

“It’s only a matter of time for us to see these practices more regularly here, as people demand it,” she said. “It will come on a slow wave of change.”

Life coach and spiritual mentor Carylanne, another Virginia Beach healer, has been using the Raindrop technique for more than eleven years, trained by Sandra Duggan. She says Raindrop is central to her own practice and her self-healing.

“I get a Raindrop treatment at least once a month. It keeps me healthy and supports my spiritual growth,” said Carylanne. “The treatment is transformational because it balances and supports us on the physical level, and when a person is coming into balance, they become more courageous, more able to face obstacles and challenges in their lives.”

What Marilyn Stulb, Carylanne, and Sandra Duggan have in common is the deep belief in the oils’ power to treat our deeper, emotional, soul-based imbalances, as well as the outer diseases.

“The treatment has an ability to bring to the surface what is behind some of our blocks,” Carylanne explained. “When people are really ready, willing, and able, they can discover many things, such as what’s stored and suppressed in their emotions—and potentially, they can awaken to their purpose in life.”

Using aromatic oils is part of many faith traditions. There are many instances in the Bible of oils being used for curing and helping sick people, and oils have been part of Catholic rituals for centuries.

“I even pray over my oils before I use them,” said Marilyn Stulb, a member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Suffolk. She uses her oils when she volunteers with the healing touch team at Bon Secours DePaul Hospital. One of her favorites is the White Angelica blend, which she says, “clears away the negativity and leaves you with a nice little orb.”

“I carry it with me everywhere, especially if I know I’m going into a challenging environment,” she said, pulling a small brown bottle out of her purse. Marilyn poured a drop or two on her hands and rubbed them together. Then, she moved her hands through the air around her, above her head, and even circling her ankles. She said she also uses it on her clients at the end of a session, adding some energetic protection as they return to the world.

A SPECIAL BOOST
While the Raindrop technique is one way essential oils can be applied to the body, massage therapists know the value and power of adding them during massage. Sometimes the oils bring a special boost to a client along with the work of the therapist’s gifted hands.

Emily Wells, the owner of Wells Therapeutics in Virginia Beach, adds essential oils to her practice, guided by the client and her own intuition.

“I’ve been aware of the healing properties of oils for a long time,” she said. “Certain oils will help you relax, like lavender. Certain oils will boost your mood, like the citrus oils, and there are some that balance women’s hormones and help you heal from illnesses.”

During a recent treatment with Emily, the oils evoked physical and emotional responses in me. For example, my neck was very sore on the right side. After several minutes of kneading, Emily added a few drops of a blend, containing basil, marjoram, lavender, peppermint, and cypress, especially formulated for use on the muscles in the neck and feet.

The scent wafted up and reminded me of walking through an herb garden near a forest, and I felt my neck muscles soften. When she worked on my feet, Emily added a few drops of a blend of spruce, rosewood, blue tansy, and frankincense to the massage oil on her hands. She told me that this blend promotes self-confidence and grounding.

At one point during the massage, I noticed that my sinuses closed up a bit, so Emily sprinkled a tissue with a blend containing clove, lemon, cinnamon, eucalyptus, and rosemary and placed it under my nose. With such a blend of comforting aromas, I experienced a sense of home and wellness, and I was breathing through my nose again very soon.

Emily added a mini-Raindrop treatment to the massage. Using a trio of individual oils—oregano, thyme, and basil—she sprinkled drops along my spine and feather-stroked them across my back with her fingers. I couldn’t help thinking that I would smell like a pizza when I went home!

The reason aromatherapy is so powerful is biological: when smells move up the olfactory nerves in our nasal cavities, they connect to the limbic system of the brain where our memories and emotions are stored. People respond to aromas because they trigger releases of chemicals to our brains, like endorphins and enkaphalins, which reduce pain and increase feelings of wellness, and serotonin, which helps us relax. Adding essential oils to a massage is a perfect marriage of the therapy of trained, healing hands and the gift of these special scents to release our tensions.

THE LIFE BLOOD OF PLANTS
In Virginia Beach, the use of essential oils in wellness has been a mainstay for those who follow the teachings of Edgar Cayce, a healer from the early twentieth century. He culled world-healing traditions into formulas, which address joint and circulation issues, upper respiratory problems, and increase the effectiveness of massages, which Cayce believed were integral to maintaining excellent health. The Heritage Store is this area’s center for Cayce’s formulas, though they are used all over the world.

This month, several new aromatherapy products are being released. One is designed to relieve our frazzled, busy self-chatter and calm our heads. Anya Wolfenden, the Heritage Store’s co-ordinator of education and marketing and a trained massage therapist with a master’s degree in wellness education, explained its ingredients and purpose.

“Cayce suggested two formulas for the relief of headache tension, what I call ‘cranial tension,’ Peppermint Spirits and another blend called Temple Healer, which contains camphor and lobelia, said to alleviate or lessen those nagging, negative thought cycles we have,” she explained.

Now the two products have been combined into a roll-on product, which can be applied to the temples, the neck, or the occipital space at the back of the head.

“It is, without a doubt, the best way to release cranial tension in my experience as a massage therapist,” Anya said, awaiting the finished products at the Heritage Natural Market on Laskin Road.    

Anya insists that people understand how highly concentrated these oils are; they should be used in moderation. Many people have a tendency to overdo the application of scents, even natural ones.

“These oils are the life blood of plants, and when they are made, hundreds of pounds of plants are used to make very potent healing oils. They should always be diluted,” she advised.

GAINING CONFIDENCE
For centuries, humans have delighted in fragrances. From ancient Egypt, Rome, and India to modern times, we have sought plants whose scents and chemical compositions promote healing. Aromatherapy has also entered the world of beauty and can be found in spas and salons that offer far more than a new hairstyle. Aveda Salons across the country offer complimentary “Sensory Journeys” to every client from the moment they open the door. At Best Body Company in Virginia Beach, an Aveda salon, owner Pam Best says it is a key to her clients’ experience.

“We believe in aroma, touch, and breath—in the salon chair and in the treatment room,” Pam explained. “When a guest comes into our environment, they are offered a cup of tea—an invigorating mix of peppermint and licorice root. They get the aroma from the tea, and they taste it. Then we offer a hot towel, infused with an essential oil that is balanced to bring in heart and harmony and because we know these oils help to eliminate germs.”

In 2008, Aveda introduced a series of Chakra balancing oils and sprays. Today, clients can experience a Chakra Ritual featuring essential oils in one of the quiet treatment rooms.

Heather Dennis, 39, facilitated my chakra journey beginning with laying out a set of cards printed with Sanskrit letters and colorful numbers, each one pertaining to one of the chakras, the energetic “wheels” located at certain points of the body. As I gazed at the cards, Heather asked me to choose three. Then she brought three small bottles of oils that matched the numbers on the cards, and while I closed my eyes, she passed the open bottles under my nose. I chose one that felt “right” for the moment.

Heather invited me to rest on the treatment table in the room and massaged my neck, shoulders, and décolletage area, carefully smoothing the oil into my skin. The whole treatment took 15 to 20 minutes, but if felt like I had disappeared and returned in that brief span. I had selected the blend for the third Chakra, composed of lavender, fir balsam, and lemon. That chakra is said to be the center of motivation, the place where we draw the power to achieve goals and gain confidence.

Heather told me that sensory experiences like massage and aromatherapy are called holistic because they actually connect to everything in our lives from our thoughts to our actions and decisions. As I reflected on her words, I realized that the night before, I had moved confidently through a situation that could have been more challenging. Perhaps the oils added a final piece of clarity to that chapter of my life.

While we may think that anything that smells “nice” is aromatherapy, all the healing practitioners offer a caution. Synthetically produced items, like candles, laundry powders, deodorants, and many body care products can be harmful, causing allergic reactions and even chronic breathing problems. And, since our skin is the largest organ of the body, everything we apply to it goes deep into our cells. Naturally sourced herbs and their extracts are the best choices, the women I interviewed advised.

The more we learn, the more we can use aromatherapy to bring balance to our moods, healing to our bodies, and peace to our spirits—for ourselves and for those we love.

Kathleen Fogarty is a frequent contributor to Tidewater Women and lives on a farm in Virginia Beach with her husband, John.