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Future MERIDIAN WORKSHOP: Sat. 13 March 2010 - Presented by Jessica Hart ELSKE MILES - AROMATHERAPY WORKSHOP: CONGRESS 2009 Nestled in the Central Drakensberg, The Nest proved to be the perfect venue for Congress 2009 with 43 delegates taking a 3 day break to refresh and commune with fellow therapists.
The keynote speaker, Elske Miles, is originally from Johannesburg but having studied and worked in France for the last 15 years she brings a charming European flair and knowledge of the French school of aromatherapy back with her. She also gave an introduction to Phyto-energetics – a new aromatherapy discipline using the bio-electric specificity of each essential oil she co-developed Michel Odoul. It involves the application of essential oil blends on meridian lines or on specific acupuncture points. (See NEW!! “La phyto-energetique” from France in the December 2008 ASOSA journal). She was delighted to be sharing her knowledge with us and we were grateful for the very informative albeit brief lectures and workshops. As mentioned by previous overseas speakers, Elske reminded us that in South Africa we have incredible plants to market worldwide as major healers for all. She also noted the standard of professionalism that we as an association are trying to promote, and the importance of working within our scope of practice.
Jessica Hart presented a workshop “Calculating your worth” in pursuit of getting therapists to complete spreadsheets recording their income and expenditure etc. This data is required to submit to the Board of Health Care Funders. The ultimate goal is to receive recognition by the BHF and standard fees to be set for Therapeutic Aromatherapy treatments. All therapists were urged to complete their forms. The Annual General Meeting was held at the end of the first day. A proposed change to the constitution was carried forward to a special general meeting since the quorum was not sufficient. The existing executive committee was re-elected and new committee members voted in are Mariet Du Plessis and Antoinette Iglauer On Saturday Yoland Irwin presented “Uptake Mechanisms of Essential Oils” in which she focused on the uptake mechanisms of essential oils and three conditions which need special consideration, namely epilepsy, pregnancy and diabetes. She highlighted precautions, and challenged our preconceptions. This set the tone for the rest of the morning’s “Dispelling the Myths”. Mariet du Plessis, with her experience in an oncology practice, ably tackled “Don’t massage cancer patients” and demonstrated techniques for assisting with lymph drainage. She also encouraged us to look at toxicity claims objectively –are they in the right context and correctly researched? As a widely experienced nurse, midwife and doula, Ziets Roots dispelled the myths of when and how to massage in pregnancy. She demonstrated massage techniques and gave precautionary advise. Donna Ness elaborated on the little understood condition lymphoedema – its causes, the myths surrounding it, and how to manage it. We were all moved by her presentation and struck by the tragic effects of this incurable but manageable condition.
Elske Miles brought us up to speed with the “Biochemistry of Chemo-typed essential oils”. These essential oils add complexity yet clarity to the use of essential oils therapeutically – I did not know that Thymus vulgaris can be distilled in 13 different ways resulting in 13 chemo-typed thymes! Elske told delegates that she works only with chemo-typed essential oils – 100% pure, 100% natural, integrally distilled. The themed dinner-dance on Saturday evening was a huge success with delegates dressing up as their favorite essential oil! There were many roses amongst the kaki-bos, and overall winner was Christina Auerbach as the stunning English rose she is! We also had fun making up necklaces from our well stocked goodie bags – a big thank you to all the sponsors for their generosity. On Sunday morning Elske squeezed in an impromptu workshop showing us the pressure points on the ear that can be stimulated to great effect. Two lucky delegates received a box containing her harmonizing Phyto-energy blends for yin/yang balance and the five elements.
The congress ended with 3 practical interactive workshops: In “Practice management” Suzette Davis detailed what it takes to run a successful and ethical practice in terms of record keeping, financial management and planning. Joanne Gilbert led us through the potential quagmire of “Business Ethics” with some interesting scenarios which I wish we had more time to discuss! For those of us stumped by the ‘do not advertise’ regulations, Yavanee Singh gave very inventive tips of what you can do in “Advertising” whilst remaining professional and within the law.
All in all a very successful congress – thank you to the Executive Committee
for all their hard work and energy. Absolutely Essential - Debbie Carter
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