Tapping in to Clients’ Emotional Brains
As bodyworkers, we do a lot to manipulate our clients’ musculature into a submissive stress-free state, but what do we offer for their mental and emotional conditions at the time of their session? I am not suggesting that we add psychotherapy to our list of services, but often times if stress is at the core of a client’s frozen shoulder, hypertonic scalene, or rhomboid trigger point, no amount of petrissage, muscle stripping, or ischemic pressure will do.
The most profound thing I’ve learned from my experience with therapeutic grade essential oils is their unique ability to affect our “emotional brain.” Scent is the only sense that is able to contact the non-verbal portion of our brain responsible for storing our feelings and emotions. When we breathe oil molecules into the back passages of our nose, they travel straight to the amygdala (I apologize if this is conjuring up memories of Neurology class), which is the central headquarters of the limbic system. Here, all of your emotional experiences are managed and stored, and when the oil molecules reach this area they bring oxygen and phytochemicals which are able to trigger the processing of stored emotions that we may not even be consciously aware of.
To truly amplify your client’s therapeutic experience, I suggest educating yourself about high quality essential oils intended for invoking relaxation, calm, and balance. A cold air ultrasonic diffuser (never heat essential oils as it damages their molecular structure) is a great way to add subtle aroma-therapy to your sessions in order to help your clients reach the deepest possible levels of relaxation and healing.
I agree that sent is powerful tool to affect one’s brian and emtions, but I strongly disagree that “Scent is the only sense that is able to contact the non-verbal portion of our brain responsible for storing our feelings and emotions.”For one thing that I know well is music. Music can effect and move our feelings and emotions easily and powerfully more than sent, in my opinion. It not only effects our emotions (I bet everybody has such experiences) also effects our autonomic nerve system, such as heart beat, blood preesure, … We should never under-esteemate the power for music.Other tools, as I understand, such as Light, Color, Sound, also many forms of Energy healing, body movement, … all non-verbal, but all effects the brian and emotion and have profund therapuetic power! They utilize many forms of information, whether called viberation, frequency,energy or resonance… Many of those therapies can even effect ones in distance! Dear, Jennifer Lehman, don’t feel “heartbroken”! There are so many other ways your can reach into your clients’ “emotional brians”.Oh, wait minute, do we really can “tap into” somebody else emotional brians? I doubt that’s the right thing to do. Without the client’s permission or acceptance, no one can and should invade other’s “emotional brain”. As therapists, we can only provide centain condition, and wait the client to open up to us… Following question is “are you ready for it?”….Oh, well, we are getting into more and more subjects. Sorry I don’t have time to right article. But I think whoever read this will get my points.Thank you!Amma Liu
This article makes me heartbroken. I was in an accident in 2009 requiring me to leave my paralegal profession. I chose massage therapy to “pay it forward”. Not long into my recovery, I found out that I completely severed the senses that connect my nose and my brain! I cannot smell ANYTHING…from diapers, onions, sour milk, lavender, vanilla, etc. Could you tell me if there is hope that aromatherapy can do its job, even though I can’t psychically *smell* it?