It started with an instinct, a definite sense of companionship with plant and animal species from a young age. I had a deep feeling about energy and was able to sense where energy was stuck in a person or where something wasn’t theirs and had been somehow inherited or adopted. I knew when something was a burden that needed to come out or when a space felt empty and needed to be filled with nourishment and love.
I had many incarnations of using these skills to help people. I started with socially acceptable ways to help people: a young carers worker, support assistant, teacher, SENCO always feeling that my work was falling short because it wasn’t connecting with what I could see inside those I was supposed to be helping. As soon as I started working hands on in massage and Angelic Reiki I found that I was guided by physical sensations in the body to show me where the person was holding pain.
It wasn’t one event but several nudges that awakened my senses to aromatherapy: as a life-long sufferer of anxiety, I found in my early twenties that a good dose of Vetiver and Geranium would settle my nerves and help me sleep.
Lavender got me through many a job interview but I remember knowing I was only scratching the surface and needed to learn how to do this well.
When I finally studied aromatherapy and gained my diploma, I was amazed how spirit-led it was. I discovered how our ancestors jouneyed into the plant kingdom to find the properties of the essences they used. I felt connected to the Myrrhophore women who were the ancient Myrrh holders. People would come into my treatment room and a plant ally would pop up in my mind and take over. Then I began intuitively bringing these together, allowing my sense to guide me in massage to the cause of the pain or imbalance. Very quickly, I got images in my mind of organs and soul parts, memories of the person and plant allies would step forwards. I knew there was so much more going on so set foot on yet more training, My Shamanic Practitioner Training.
It was like coming home, I was reminded of psychopomp dreams I had had in my earliest years and finally met the ancestors I had only seen glimpses of. I have experienced the most profound journeys to meet parts of myself I had abandoned or rejected, brought healing and invited back. The soul always knows what it needs and aromatherapy is a beautiful tool bringing heart healing, pain relief, igniting energies and releasing others.
Many people work in aromatherapy for different reasons, I feel what I offer is a soul-led practice. I never know what is going to come up or who will step forwards to support me but the ‘aliveness’ of my relationship with plants has led me to feel very responsible and protective of them. It informs how I create my blends, where I supply my oils and has inspired me to connect more deeply to the plants around me. I know I am still always learning, dreaming, reconnecting to it in different ways. I am moving to a way of life inspired by this and know that in the future, the plant kingdom has so much to teach us about our food supply and medicine. It really is such a joy to have this connection and use it well with care and respect for our plant allies and Mother Earth.