Set up massage tables in your Los Angeles home or hotel room, add Young Living Oils and a Vita Flex Raindrop Treatment, and the space becomes an urban escape. “I like to think of the ambiance as the artistic side of the session. We create an environment full of aromas specifically chosen to address your main concerns, which instantly encourages your body and mind to relax and calm down, even before we've started the actual bodywork,” says Ozro Hepworth, massage therapist and yoga instructor of 15 combined years. He and partner, Dr. Akemi Rico visited us in our Los Angeles apartment following a Saturday afternoon of hiking.
The raindrop treatment received its inspiration from The Lakota, one of the seven indigenous nations under the confederated Sioux tribes from the Great Plains of the United States. It is their spiritual belief that one can channel the healing energy of the Aurora Borealis. Gary Young, founder of Young Living, discovered that using the essential oils, in addition to the Vita Flex technique, facilitates a subtle compounding, and spreads the healing energy throughout the entire body.
The technique is a method of applying certain essential oils to various parts of the body using specific reflexology and massage patterns. All this, minus the excessive pressure one expects from a deep tissue massage, the oils naturally soften muscles so less kneading is necessary, leaving you loose, limber and refreshed.
Said to have originated in Tibet, long before acupuncture, the technique—vitality through the reflexes—is a specialized massage for the hands and feet, utilized throughout the full body during this treatment. The masseuse (rain) drips the therapeutic grade essential oils along the spine and works the droplets into the skin with light feathering strokes. The strokes "open and tune-in" the central nervous system, while melding the oil compounds deep into the body.
The stroking on the feet, weird at first, really surprised and opened my senses. It is a process that can address structural realignment as well as emotional release, and the results can last for several days. Each session is tailored to an individual's needs by incorporating specific essential oils to address concerns.
The oils are non-toxic, organic, edible, and completely safe to have around babies, children and pets. Many ingredients go into the creation of the oils, including oregano, thyme, basil, balsam fir, cypress, wintergreen, marjoram, and peppermint, as well as the Young Living blends of Valor and Aroma Siez. Valor contains rosewood, blue tansy, frankincense, and spruce. Aroma Siez contains basil, marjoram, lavender, peppermint and cypress.
In our living room, Dr. Rico and “Oz” assembled a quaint scene of massage tables, a towel heater, and all the oils a spa could want for the treatment. Akemi, a doctor of physical therapy, a capoeira teacher, and yoga instructor, utilized her experience and soothing essential oil drops to work out Victor’s muscle spasms, soreness and overall embedded stress. “I always call the oils an indispensable addition to my ‘tool kit’ of treatment options,” she says.
Oz and Dr. Rico used a mixture of oils on us, including Valor, Peace, oregano, thyme and basil. Dr. Rico continued, “it will facilitate deep relaxation...a sense of openness and expansion...and because it was done at your home, it shifted the ambiance in the living space and provided a grounded point of reference for them to come back to after the intense and encompassing experience.” Indeed. The home was left with a lovely lingering fragrance and not having to get in the car to leave the spa was a luxury in itself.
To book a couple’s treatment ($340) or a single session ($175), call 424-259-2804. Mention JustLuxe to receive $30 off your first treatment.
