This course explores several aspects of oil massage including

• The Ayurvedic or Indian approach to using herbally medicated oils called abhyanga
• The Chinese and East Asian use of liniments or alcohol based ointments that brings herbs to the muscles
• The use of essential oils in massage often called Aromatherapy
• The various strokes and massage techniques that can be used with oil massage

Ayurveda is the ancient medicine of India and is the oldest system of medicine in the world. Ayurveda uses herbally medicated oils to balance a person’s constitution, help with the effects of old age, help with joint pain and many more applications. During the course we discuss these Ayurvedic oils and diagnose your constitution so that appropriate oils can be used to suit your constitution. We use oils sourced from Organic sources only.

Ayurvedic oils are powdered herbs mixed with oil and are not designed to smell nice but are designed to bring herbs into the body through the practice of Ayurvedic oil massage called abhyanga.

Chinese Herbal liniments are herbal oils that have been mixed into an alcohol based mixture or balms based on beeswax or other materials. We discuss some of the commonly used Chinese herbal liniments and how they are used. They are generally used to relax muscles and to alleviate pain. There are quite a few different types of liniments from Tiger Balm to Zheng Gu Shui. Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia also use a lot of liniments to relive pain and helping to loosen muscles.

 

Understanding Base Oils and Essential Oils.

We cover the use of base oils and essential oils in Swedish massage and aromatherapy, and look at how to blend essential oils to make a an oil blend that will suit the needs of your client. We look at base oils such as almond oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, sunflower and safflower oil, avocado oil and apricot kernel oil and their properties and how to combine them with essential oils to make a nice blend. We cover many essential oils that are not covered elsewhere such as oils from Australian native plants such as Buddhawood, various Wattles and Eucalypts, Myrtles and native Sandalwoods as well as the more common essential oils such as Lavender, Cedarwood, Peppermint, Frankincense etc…

We look at how to use these oils in a massage oil blend as well as how to use them to clear your massage room of negative energy or to brighten the mood of your room, as well as for first aid uses and household uses.

Oil massage

We show you how to perform a simple oil massage using either Ayurvedic massage oils or a blend of essential oils with a base oil and how we can find and get rid of tension using a simplified form of Raynor massage mixed with oil. This oil massage will cover the feet, legs, back, shoulder, arms, neck, hands and abdomen and chest on men. We will also teach you about proper draping and the various types of techniques that can be used with oil massage.