Reflexology and Essential Oils

Reflexology and Essential Oils Lecture delivered by Vickie Roark of Roark’s Reflexology Health Center 30 Grassy Plain Street- Bethel, Ct. 06801 (203) ...
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Reflexology and Essential Oils Lecture delivered by Vickie Roark of Roark’s Reflexology Health Center 30 Grassy Plain Street- Bethel, Ct. 06801 (203) 448-8808 Lecture for: the Reflexology Association Of Connecticut Annual Business Meeting; January 24, 2010

Many persons have heard of Essential Oils. Mostly, this topic evokes the thought of walking into a room and being filled with the wonderful aroma that makes you relax and just feel better. Definitely something you like to repeat just to get away from this hectic world. Yet, essential oils are much more that just a relaxing smell.

Essential oils have many beneficial properties for ourselves and our clients. I am not an Aroma Therapist. In my intake process I explain this to each client and allow them to decide if they would like a small amount of essential oil used in their session. I do have them check a contraindications chart and write out any concern that they may have. This allows for a safe introduction of essential oils in a Reflexology session. My own introduction to essential oil use was accidental. Previous to learning Ingham Reflexology, my Husband, Rick and I ran a very small Janitorial company. He was hit head on in a car accident and became immediately disabled. I had to run the company alone for the next 6 years. Rick had two back surgeries and finally inserted rods and spinal fusion which allowed him to walk, however his constant pain led him to take pain pills and sleeping pills daily. He also developed severe depression. Quality of life was low for him. A friend was completing her practical hours for Ingham training and was working on Rick. This was his first break in pain in years. I immediately went to school and started working on him 4 or more times per week. I used the essential oil “pain blend” on the reflexes for his back. Within eight months he was off his pain medications and has not ever had to go back on. Early on in his treatment I began using essential oils which help process emotions and assist the glands of the brain. His case study showed significant improvement with the two tools of essential oils and Reflexology. How can such an impact be brought? I will explain through the use of some teaching charts. First, let me explain a little bit about some basic oil chemistry to help you appreciate the wonderful benefits available. This information is directly taken from the works of “The Chemistry of Essential oils Made Simple by David Stewart Ph.D., D.N.M (Page references for all quotes will be supplied at the end.) “Essential Oils do their work for plants before they do their work for us. They kill viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi that could harm the plant. Essential oils have been called the “life blood of the plant. They circulate through the plant tissues and pass through cell wall, carrying nutrition into cells and carrying waste products out. When Essential oils are applied to people, they do the same thing, carrying oxygen into cells and carrying waste products out. In fact, essential oils are one of nature’s best body cleansers. They can cleanse our cellular receptor sites of pharmaceutical drugs, petrochemicals, and other disruptors of intercellular communication. They can also chelate heavy metals and other toxins. Helping to remove and flush them through the liver, colon, sweat, lungs, and kidneys. They can also increase our ability to absorb vitamins and other nutrients. Regulators of Plant Functions Essential oils act as plant hormones, regulating plant functions and orchestrating the production of vitamins and enzymes. They act as messengers and supervisors within the plant that help coordinate and initiate vital plant activities. Essential oils can also do the same when applied to humans. They can act as neurotransmitters, peptides, steroids,

hormones, enzymes, vitamins, and other message carrying molecules (called ligands) which intelligently assist our bodily functions and help to restore or maintain wellness. Essential oils posses homeostatic intelligence. Homeostasis is the state where every vital biological process within a living organism is functioning as it should. It is a state of perfect wellness. Essential oils always work towards restoring and maintaining balance and homeostasis, first in the plants who create them, and then in the humans who apply them. To say that an essential oil works toward balance and homeostasis means that the same oil can work in different directions depending on the needs of the plant or person. Oregano oil (Origanum vulgare) will kill hostile microbes while nurturing those that are friendly….. Drugs are incapable of such intelligent discriminations and act only in preprogrammed directions, like robots, whether beneficial or not. (Quotes from pages 59 and 60) Part of understanding how essential oils can benefit the release of emotions, organs, glands or body systems has to do with the concept of how frequencies heal. “Here is how the frequencies of the oils work to heal us: Specific oils have many frequencies. When we say that an oil has a “frequency” what we are referring to is the ‘fundamental harmonic’ Of that oil…… When you play a specific note on a piano, like middle C, the frequency you hear as its pitch and register is 257 hz. But that piano note actually contains many frequencies. You just don’t hear them as pitch……The vibration of 257 hz is only the “fundamental harmonic” of that tone…… Oils, Vegetables, herbs, animals, and people all have fundamental mechanical, sonic, and electromagnetic frequencies. They also emit and resonate with hundreds of harmonics that give them personality and set them apart as distinguishable and unique…. Resonance occurs when two things vibrate in unison at the same principal frequency or frequencies. For example, you can place a tuning fork on one side of a room tuned to a bflat. Then place several tuning forks of different pitches across the room but with one of them also a b-flat. If you strike the one across the room, none of the tuning forks on the opposite side of the room will be energized, except, for the one tuned to b-flat. That one will hum in resonance with the b-flat for that was struck across the room even though it was never struck. It will simply start vibrating in tine with the other b-flat fork. That is resonance. This is sometimes called “sympathetic vibration.” It is also called “vibrational energy transfer” since the energy of the struck fork is transferred to the receiving fork of the same pitch…. Essential oils work in a similar fashion. The various organs, tissues, and cells of your body inherently possess certain pitches or fundamental frequencies. Oil molecules that resonate at the frequencies of, say, your pancreas, will administer therapy there. Oil Molecules that resonate with the brain will administer therapy there. Oils that do not have the frequencies of your pancreas or the brain will not resonate for these organs, but will transfer their energies to other body parts and tissues in harmony with them. …..This is why some oils work best for muscles, others for nerves. Others for bones, some for the

mind, some for the emotions, ect. Aromatic oils transfer their healing to the various aspects of our being according to the music in their molecules…. There is a book entitled Cymatics, by Hans Jenny, a Swiss physician and research scientist that has to do with the effect of sound vibrations on both living and inanimate matter. One of the insights gleaned from Jenny’s research is that each organ of the body makes sound at specific frequencies. ….there is measureable sonic vibrations associated with each part of our bodies. (quotes from pages 187-189)

Note the following chart taken from page 182 Fundamental Frequencies of People and Things (Frequencies are given in Megahertz) Healthy Human Brain Healthy Human Body (overall)

71-90 Mhz 62-68 Mhz

When you have cold symptoms

58

When you have flue symptoms

57

When you have Candida infection

55

When you have Epstein Barr syndrome

52

When you have cancer

42

When you begin to die

25

Processed or Canned Foods Fresh Produce (depending on how fresh)

0 10-15

Dry Herbs

12-22

Fresh Herbs

20-27

Theraputic Grade Essential Oils

52-320

There are many compounds or constituents in essential oils. Alchohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, acids, esters, oxides, lactones, coumarins, furanoids and more. That is why the C.A.R.E curriculum is a three day intensive. We will only cover a few; phenylpropanoids, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes. We will call it P.M.S. Like a good football team, essential oils have a whole book of plays to be applied according to the needs and demands of the situation. Oils work in dozens of ways, mostly unknown and misunderstood, but their “PMS” battle plan is one of their best plays…. Here’s how PMS theory works.. When you receive a variety of oils by inhalation, orally, or through the skin, that includes these three classes of compounds, what happens in thought to be as follows: P- First, the phenolics clean the receptor sites. S- Second, the sesquiterpenes delete bad info from cellular memory 3- Last, monoterpenes restore or awaken their correct information in the cell’s memory (DNA) (quotes taken from pages 290-292)

Below are examples of Phenolic Oils, Monoterpene Oils, and Sesquiterpene Oils taken from pages 295-301 of ”The Chemistry of Essential Oils Made Simple” by David Stewart Phenolic Oils Wintergreen Birch Anise Clove Basil Tarragon Fennel Oregano Tea Tree Thyme Mountain Savory Peppermint Cinnamon

Monoterpene Oils 97% Grapefruit 93% 90% Silver Fir 92% 89% Bitter Orange 90% 77% Mandarin 90% 76% Orange 90% 75% Tangerine 90% 71% Balsam Fir 83% 70% Lemon 80% 63% Angelica 80% 50% Frankincense 78% 49% Celery Seed 77% 39% Cypress 76% 26% Parsley 75%

Sesquiterpene Oils Cedarwood 95% Patchouly 85% Sandalwood 83% Ginger 77% Blue Cypress 73% Myrrh 65% Vetiver 59% Vitex 58% German Chamomile 54% Black Pepper 53% Spikenard 52% Ylang Ylang 48%

Remember, PMS is only one of the many healing etiologies with essential oils. There are many processes by which aromatic oils work their wonders—some of which are not even chemical, but electric, magnetic, and vibrational. The multiple manners by which

aromatic oils work their healing magic is complex and is only beginning to be understood by scientists and aromatherapy practitioners. (quotes taken from page 301)

Reflexology and Essential Oils Reflexologists will quickly see the beneficial link between working the reflexes of the feet and adding a few drops of essential oils directly to a reflex point. In chapter 20 of “The Essential Oils Desk Reference” fourth addition, you will be able to see a vita flex chart that looks very similar to a reflexology chart. Note their specific suggested application process for essential oils as quoted below; “Vita Flex Technique means “vitality through the reflexes.” It is a specialized form of hand and foot massage that is exceptionally effective in delivering the benefits of essential oils throughout the body. … It is based on a complete network of reflex points that stimulate all the internal body systems. Essential oils are applied to contact points, and energy is released through electrical impulses created by contact between the fingertips and the reflex points. This electrical charge follows the nerve pathways to a break or clog in the electrical circuit usually caused by toxins, damaged tissues, or loss of oxygen. As with acupressure there are hundreds of Vita Flex reflex points throughout the human body, encompassing the entire realm of body and mind, that are capable of releasing many kinds of tension, congestion and imbalances.” The hand outs that I to share today are based on “The Essential Oils Desk Reference Guide” compiled by Essential Science Publishing along with the foot Reflexology chart created by Lilian Tibshraeny-Morton in the book “Reflexology and Meridian Therapy, Moving the Energy. Take a moment and consider what we already know about Reflexology. All area of the body can be reached through an effective, safe, non-invasive tool. The reflexes of the hands and feet. Now add the layer of the five elements that Lillian Morton brought to the work of reflexology! Consider not only working with a western philosophy of a gland or organ having a reflex point but in addition, the emotion connected to the element of that organ may also create a blockage of energy. Essential oils are not mentally discriminating like us humans are. They will not stop at the reflex point and ponder if this congestion is because the physical organ is in need of help or the energy needs a boost. What is even better it that the oils have such a wonderful natural intelligence that they will simply apply their chemistry and vibrational healing qualities where the body needs it most. The rest is history. My wall chart is a simple combination of Reflexology, Essential oils and the five elements and their emotions. The top of my chart is the direct organ and what oils the E.D.O.R. shows has an impact on the organ or gland. The bottom portion uses the

emotions of the five elements and references for what oils show an impact on the emotions of those organs. This information was complied from the E.D.O.R, “Releasing Emotional Patterns with Essential Oils” by Carolyn L. Mein, D.C. and The Five Elements Emotion Chart by Dr. Bruce and Joan Dewe Professional kinesiology Practice International. I will provide further readings at the end of this report. These provide extensive proof of the relationship between mind, body and health. When begin a foot session I will do a quick palpation of the foot and “foot map” the areas of tender reflexes. This gives me a moment to arrange some oils which may help both the physical and emotional aspects of those areas. During the foot reflexology session I use a little bit of carrier oil. This allows the essential oils to have a carrier before their application to the foot or hand. At session end, I can use a q-tip to apply a few drops of the appropriate oils to the desired reflex location of the plantar surface of the foot. If I want the application to be on a dorsal reflex, I can hold the bottle and allow a drop to fall directly onto the dorsal site. This allows an electrical calibration with the clients field of energy. Then I wrap their feet up a warm moist towel which is cradled into a dry warm towel. This allows the oils to soak in and revives the feet. Using the charts in this way allows each session to be personal. The oil choice is for their particular session. My husband Rick, was the first case study I was able to follow. However, since then I have had so many clients comment on the benefits the feel from the use of essential oils. As for myself, there is a great difference in my level of energy after a long day of reflexology sessions. Yet you may wonder, it this a silver bullet? Or are there reasons for caution. Yes, and Yes. Let me explain. If you found something that helped you when other things had not, you might call that a silver bullet. That may be the feelings of a Client of mine who had a stubborn toe nail fungal that was finally chased away by a few drops of Thieves oil every night on the nail. Or, the Client who chased away her varicose vein with a few drops of lemon oil daily over the course of a few months time. Or the arthritic client who uses pain blend and Myrrh to help cease the pain in her hands. Or the person who couldn’t sleep and uses lavender on a cotton ball in her pillow. Or one wonderful client who could not get her dogs to go through a whole night without getting her up until she started diffusing peace and calming. Yet, as good as essential oils are, there are cautions. That is why I personally appreciate the education provided by C.A.R.E. I also encourage all to use the site www.essentialscience.net Purchase their Essential Oils Desk Reference. This gives you the oils uses, amounts, for what purpose and applications. Not all in the industry agree on all details. If you want to educate yourself on recommended warnings you may check at www.naha.org and click on the Aromatherapy cautions. I personally follow all contraindication information while working with a client and encourage them to have their own E.O.D.R if they are going to use oils on their own. During the reflexology session the amount of essential oil use is a safe, limited amount. However, the benefits are are immeasurable.

I hope you have enjoyed this introduction to the combination of Refelxology and the use of Essential Oils. This entire lecture will be posted on my web site www.roarksrefelxology.com You may also view a number of articles and research materials there. Enjoy! Vickie Roark Roark’s Reflexology Health Center 30 Grassy Plain Street Bethel, Ct. 06801 (203) 448-8808