Below is listed the range of infused herbal oils that can be added onto your massage.

Read more about infused herbal oils, and complete a mini quiz to select which is best most indicated oil for you here.

Lavender

Well known for it’s calming and relaxing properties, it is soothing to your mind and body.

For those who feel uptight and tense, Lavender is beneficial as it helps to soothe anxiety but also to relax tight muscles. It also contains some anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties.

Lavender is well suited to those with a dominance of Air and Ether elements, such as those closer to a Vata constitution.

Rose

Cooling and calming, rose oil balances excess heat in your muscles, joints and nervous system. It can lend both strength and softness to your nervous system. Think of the image of a rose with it’s delicate flowers which reminds us to embrace our softness, yet it is surrounded with sharp thorns that help to remind us to maintain our barriers.

Rose has an affinity with women’s health and the reproductive organs and has been used traditionally for menstrual concerns and period pain. It energetically assists in clearing and healing trauma that sits in this area.

If this is something that resonates with you, you may like to incorporate abdominal massage into your treatment with rose oil.

Rose is also vulnerary (wound healing), anti-inflammatory and astringent which makes is a lovely choice for skin that needs tightening and soothing.

Rose is well suited to those with a dominance of Fire and Water elements, such as those with a Pitta constitution.  

St Johns Wort

A classic nerve nourisher, St Johns Wort oil soothes all aspects of your nerves, helpful for those with tension, nerve pain and sore muscles, and is also healing to your skin.

It is well known as a herbal extract for it’s use as a mood balancer however it also offers some aspect of this as an oil infusion, providing a protective and restorative element. It can be helpful for those who experienced ‘frazzled’ nerves emotionally or have been going through high amounts of stress.

If you experience nerve pain, this can also be helpful to apply topically as an oil.

These pretty little yellow flowers will make a stunning red oil when infused.

St Johns Wort is well suited to those with a dominance of Fire and Water or Earth elements such as those with a Pitta or Kapha constitution.

Rosemary and Lemon

This blend is warming and stimulating to your nervous system, muscles and circulation. Rosemary is a popular choice for those with cold, sore muscles or who need some extra support with their blood flow such as those with cold hands and feet, fluid retention or feelings of stiffness and sluggishness.

An old wives tail says to place a sprig of rosemary under your pillow to enhance your memory, which have elements of truth as rosemary has been used as a herbal extract to support brain health and cognition. It is also commonly use to support the livers detoxification processes and to stimulate the digestion.

The blend of rosemary and lemon is well suited to those with a dominance of earth and water elements, such as those with a Kapha constitution.

Calendula

Deeply nourishing to the skin, this golden oil has anti-microbial and soothing properties and is renowned for it’s healing abilities.

Calendula is considered to be one of nature’s best healers, it has antimicrobial and vulnerary (healing) properties.

Those with skin concerns would benefit greatly from the use of this oil, such as those with eczema, dermatitis, dry skin, acne or aged skin.

Calendula is well suited to with a dominance of the elements earth and water, or air and ether, such as those with a Vata or Kapha constitution.

The post Herbal Oils appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.

The use of whole herb infused oils came about from my desire to blend my love of herbal medicine into my massage practice. Herbs provide so many healing properties which I longed to introduce to my massage clients. And so I developed a small range of herbal infused oils for my massage clients to select from based on what their needs at the time are, as well as choosing what is most constitutionally indicated for them. Whole herb infused oils can enhance the already impressive effects of massage, from providing a deeper level of relaxation and muscle release, to deeper emotional and constitutional healing.

Herbs are broad and generous in their gifts, the different constituents contained within the plants provide a complex action, one of the reasons why the list of actions of a herb is often a paragraph long, and also why if one particular constituent could in isolation cause a side effect it is often found alongside another constituent which negates that harm. When herbs are extracted in their whole form I belief their true power is most received.

In modern herbal medicine herbs are traditionally used as an ‘herbal extract’, which is a blend of a water and alcohol extraction base at varying percentages. This is used as it has been found to extract the biggest variety of compounds within the plant (such as the phenols, polyphenols such as flavonoids, saponins, fixed and volatile oils, resins and alkaloids) to achieve the biggest benefit. Some plants actions are attributed to different components and such require a different ratio of water:alcohol in order to extract it. In the end it provides a complex but and somewhat whole reflection of the plant.

Compare this to an essential oil which takes a specific compound within a plant (the volatile oil) and focuses on this. In order to extract a volatile oil in sufficient quantity an enormous amount of plant matter must be utilised to prepare this extraction.

A whole herb infused oil is prepared different, and it infused a whole herb into a base oil to extract mostly the oil, but also some water soluble properties of the plant. The result is a cross between a herbal extract and an essential oil.

Unlike essential oils which require vast quantities of plant matter to create, whole plant oils use less herbs while conveying a broader range of healing components into the oil. This results in a subtler fragrance and produces more diversity of benefits when applied to the skin.

Body Oiling is a practice that has been around for many many years, it is most well known from it’s roots in Ayurvedic medicine as a practice termed Abhyanga

Benefits of regular body oiling.

• It stimulates the lymphatic system which benefits your immune health assists your body in removing waste matter and reduces fluid retention.
• Moving stagnation in lymphatic system is important for people who have sedentary lifestyles
• Through both the massage and some of the properties of the oil it helps to tonify muscles and ease tension
• Calms the nerves
• Balances the constitution/dosha when the correct oil is chosen by providing opposing elements
• Oil is heavy and has a grounding character, making it helpful for those who need this act of grounding emotionally and energetically
• Grounding is helpful for those who have more air elemental characteristics i.e Vata
• Body oiling can help to ground someone who has tension and anxiety, and the oil soothes the nervous system
• When applied through massage or the act of self body oiling Oil helps to provide a layer around you, it creates boundaries, which is helps for those who are highly sensitive to the world around them

“Oil massage should be used daily, to ward off old age, 
exhaustion and diseases of vata. It bestows good vision, 
nourishment of the body, long life, good sleep, and healthy skin.”

Astañga Hrdaya Sutrasthana 2:8-9a

In addition to the benefits from the herbs used, the base oil can be therapeutic. We use organic cold pressed sesame oil rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory nutrients, making it nourishing and healing to the skin. It is light in nature so absorbs well, and contains many beneficial fats to improve your skin’s integrity.

Your skin absorbs much of what is applied to it, so you need to choose carefully what you use on your body. The act of body oiling not only benefits the skin, but allows beneficial oils to be absorbed, bypassing your digestion and going directly to where they’re needed. Your nerves are coated in myelin sheath which is made from proteins and fatty substances, and oiling helps to nourish these, helping to healing and regenerate your nervous system.

Body oiling helps soothe the nervous system and energetically is considered to provide protection.

Benefits of Massage

Massage helps to improve blood flow to muscles, reducing pain and stiffness and improving the body’s healing ability. Tight muscle fibres and adhesions can be softened and released. It also assists in relaxation, reducing stress and tension, whilst helping to ground you.

Choose the herb oil that is most suited to you and add it onto your massage for $7.

If you would like to book a massage with a herbal infused oil, please contact the clinic to organise an appointment.

Make An Appointment.

Complete this quiz to find what oil is best suited to you, or click here to read through the whole list of options.

Which Herbal Oil is Right for you?

Make An Appointment.

The post Infused Herbal Oil Massages (with Quiz) appeared first on Alison Mitchell Naturopath.