Valentine's Day with Thai Yoga and Ylang Ylang EO

Normally I don't care about Valentine's Day. I think I took it seriously when I was 14? Yeah, that sounds about right. It always seemed more about over priced jewelry and cheesy cards.

Then you find yourself in target, you are passing the $1-3 section, annnndddd they have adorable heart stamps! The next thing you know, you are making cheesy valentine's day cards with your kids.

So now I am into Valentine's day...a little bit.

However, I am still not into overpriced jewelry, I prefer something better.

Thai yoga and essential oils are obviously better! If you have never heard of thai yoga you are missing out! Not only is it one of the oldest forms of massage, but it is easily one of the most effective! Through pressure, kneading, rocking, and passive movements your whole body gets the work it needs to relieve achy muscles, increase range of motion, relax, and improve your overall well being. Some people view massage as a luxury...it is a need! And if you use these simple techniques with your family members, it can help with bonding because skin to skin contact is necessary for humans for development and healthy relationships. Interesting isnt it?!?! I love how we work!

Essential oils also have numerous benefits down to a cellular level and today I want to go over ylang ylang since I will be discussing using it in combination with the thai yoga techniques I want to share with you! This oil can be used with ANY age and helps relaxation, calming, crying, stress, blood pressure, anxiousness, and of course libido (thus why it is often thought of as the lover's essential oil). I use this one pretty regularly in my own life for myself and for my daughter to help her relax because shes not a fan of going out in public. It also helps bonding when I use it in a thai yoga session with anyone in my family. I love this oil!

For the techniques prepare your essential oil ahead of time. I use a glass container of some sort and only make a small amount at a time.

1 tbsp of coconut oil with 10 drops of ylang ylang.

Ylang ylang also blends well with wild orange, vetiver, geranium, and sandalwood.

Thumb walking and rocking of the feet.

Without trying to sound like a weirdo, I think feet are actually a really cool part of our body and they deserve some serious love! They ground us to the earth, they are the support which we depend on, and the areas of the feet (as crazy as this sounds) relate to other parts and organs of the body! Trust me, the hardest part about deciding to be a massage therapist was getting over the feet (so much so it took me years to finally "get over it" and go to school!) so I get it, I do, but I challenge you to recognize how important the feet are and pamper your family members by working on their feet. They will love it!

Have them lay down in a comfortable place on their back, position yourself so their feet are in front of you, bend your knees and prop yourself up on your toes, and have your legs wide enough their feet are in between. Place your hands with your fingers on the tops of their inner feet and your thumbs on their soles. Once you feel you are in a comfortable position, place a small amount of oil in your hands and rub your hands together then place your hands back on their feet. Using your body weight, start rocking your whole body side to side and your hands naturally will start rocking their feet. When you rock you automatically add pressure without muscling it and thus avoiding getting super tired really quick. Once you have this down, start moving your hands from the heels of the feet up to the toes so your thumb walks up the foot, then back down. Continue until you have thumb walked the whole foot. **Follow your breath! Full inhales and exhales.**

Shoulder Rocking.

This one is pretty cool because you can pamper anyone in your family with this one pretty much anywhere! And this one gets a ton of brownie points, A TON! I recommend having them at least seated for this one so you find yourself a little bit above them so your arms can comfortably rest on their shoulders. First gently rub some of the oil blend onto their neck and shoulders. Then rest your forearms (the soft fleshy part, NOT the boney part!) on their shoulders where you feel a big muscle (trapezius). Make sure when you are doing the shoulder rocking not to rock over boney parts, that will hurt! Have your wrist and hand relaxed, no fists! Now start rocking your body using your body weight to put pressure on the shoulders. **Follow your breath! Full inahles and exhales.**

Thumb Walking on the Hand.

This one is awesome because you can seriously do this anywhere as long as you are facing them. I use this one with my daughter all the time for all sorts of things from being upset to helping her wind down for bed with an essential oil like lavender and my SO asks for one of these every single day, his current favorite essential oil is Aromatouch by DoTerra. Massage on the hands is the ultimate winner! For this one have some of the oil blend on your hands, have their hand resting on your fingers so your thumbs are placed on the palm, then apply gentle pressure and walk your thumbs from the palm out to each finger tip. Continue for each finger. **Follow your breath! Full inhales and exhales.**

I hope you have a wonderful Valentine's day!

**Disclaimer: I am disclosing that this article is not to diagnosis or treat you. This is not to be used in place of medical care. If you believe you have a medical condition, please discuss this with your medical provider.**