A Beautiful Essential Oil Recipe and How to Track Oil Sales in Your Massage Business

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I've been a massage therapist for a loooong time. I've had lots of massage friends/colleagues get heavily involved in essential oils over the years, and while I've always enjoyed oils, I just never really got into them. Or at least, not at the level my friends did. (You know, basically carrying around a case of them everywhere they went.) I always thought "yeah, that'd be cool, but I just don't have the <time, money, energy, knowledge> to get into it right now."

Well, I don't know if I just needed more time in the field to familiarize myself with all other modalities and aspects I was interested in to the point of fatigue, or if the timing was just right, or what... but I've recently really gotten into oils. I'm not quite that girl with the case, yet, but I think I might be on my way. ;)

I signed up with DoTerra oils and have been getting new oils monthly. (This isn't a post about oil brands or why you should use one over the other or blah blah blah....I'm not interested in arguing that point and really just want to enjoy oils and it just so happened that DoTerra presented itself at the right time in my life when I was ready to finally take the plunge into the world of oils.)

It's been fun and I'm digging learning new things that I can apply in my practice as well as my personal life. (I'm in love with diffusing and roller bottles! Who knew?)

I'm in love with diffusing and roller bottles! Who knew?

I'm not to the point of offering any for resale to my clients yet, but it got me thinking about the MT's who do sell oils or other products in their practice. Wondering how to track your sales and record income from that?

It's actually pretty easy to do within Bodywork Buddy.

• First, create a service group of oils or whatever product you're selling.
• Second, add products (called services in BWB) into that service group, and have them set to "private". This will keep them from showing on your online scheduler as an option to schedule, but will still allow you to add them to a session record when a client purchases one.
• When a client buys an oil, simply create a new session record for the sale with the product as the service. Or, add a 2nd service line item in the session record for their massage appointment.

You can run a services report at any time to see how much of what product you have sold over the year. *Note: there is no way to track inventory within BWB. So if you have a huge amount of products in stock, this might not be the solution for you. But if you're a solo massage therapist like myself, this works great.

Thanks to Susan for this great pin!
https://www.mydoterra.com/susanmnilon

I've been creating my own roller bottles and thought I would share a little recipe with you I found on Pinterest. It's pretty yum.

• 30 drops of grounding blend (also known as Balance)
• 30 drops of calming blend (also known as Serenity)
• 15 drops of Vetiver

Fill remainder of the 10ml roller bottle with fractionated coconut oil, shake well and roll on to feet, back of neck, behind ears, or your wrists.

I've also found a cool podcast about aromatherapy where I can learn more while doing housework or working in the yard. ;) Gotta love that. Thanks to Hillary Arrieta of Gaia Bodywork for sharing this with me!
Aromatic Wisdom Podcast

So once I get more knowledgable on oils, I'm going to start offering them to clients and tracking it within BWB. In the meantime, I'm off to play some more with my new hobby.

I made a roller bottle recipe for heartburn for a family member and it's working wonders. So I'm a goner now. I will be that girl with all the oils, annoying everyone she knows with "have you tried essential oils?" and I CAN'T WAIT.
 😂

I will be that girl with all the oils, annoying everyone she knows with "have you tried essential oils?"

What are some of your favorite oil blends or what are some of your success stories with oils? Let me know in a comment here so I can try it out!

Cindy Iwlew is co-founder of Bodywork Buddy Massage Software, a complete online management solution for independent massage therapists that includes online scheduling. 

She continues to operate her own private massage practice since 1999. www.BodyworkBuddy.com

How Do You Find Balance?

I've recently gotten back into doing yoga, and it's been amazing. Over the past few years with doing Bodywork Buddy, I've slowly started spending more and more time on the computer and less time doing the things that fill me back up and take care of myself - like yoga. I didn't realize how much I was really needing this until I started taking classes again.


It's helped me be more in the present, not only in class and other areas of my life, but specifically in my massage practice. I've found myself working more slowly, taking more time in each stroke, and watching the clock less. Even changing up my routines and techniques more while really listening to my client's bodies. Of course, I'd like to say that I alway do this ... but after 16 years of doing massage, the truth is sometimes I'm just on autopilot. 


It's been refreshing to see my work in a new light since doing yoga regularly. I wasn't expecting this result from starting up a yoga practice again, it's been a pleasant surprise. I'm really enjoying my massage work more lately, and I feel like I'm doing better work with my clients.


According to Karina Braun, Yoga will help you as a massage therapist to gain awareness in your body and help you to improve your posture and alignment while you work. Increasing flexibility while helping to prevent injury, yoga can help you do massage for years to come.

What other things do you do to help fill your cup and keep you balanced to be a better massage therapist?

Product Review: Nirvana 2in1 Massage Table

I've been using the Nirvana 2in1 Massage Table from Got Your Back in my massage practice lately and am loving it.

I'm pretty spoiled with having a lot of different tables at my massage studio because I use many for teaching Ashiatsu DeepFeet Bar Therapy classes. I like to switch up the table I use in my everyday practice and here's what I like about the Nirvana 2in1 table:

• The removable breast recess, which can then be put back in place for supine work. Or you can leave it out for different access to neck area while working supine.
• There's a nice little dip for the neck area when laying prone.
• Arm sling that is easier to add or remove than some others I've tried.
• The table top is cushy and the black color looks super sleek.
• Weight capacity of 550 pounds makes this table a good choice for ashiatsu work as well. (Static capacity is 2750 pounds.)

The only thing I've been having issues with so far is removing the face cradle, but I think it's just because it is still new and hasn't been removed a lot. (And really, there's no need to remove it often, I can simply drop the face cradle down when working supine.)

Overall, this is a great table - especially for the price! 

$339.00-$369.00 gets you:

• Table with breast recess cutout and neck contour
• Adjustable face cradle
• Arm sling
• Carrying case
• Limited lifetime warranty
• Shiatsu release

Are you in the market for a new table and have a limited budget? You can get a lot of bang for your buck with this table from Got Your Back.

Product Review: The Nirvana Mate 2

Order online

I've been trying out the Nirvana Mate 2 cushioning system from Got Your Back. What I like about using this instead of a breast pillow is that there is no need to remove it when flipping the client to supine. You can actually use the recess for better access to the neck (check out the video below at 1:00 to see what I mean!), or you can put the cut out back in if you prefer.



The gradual slope of the second half of the cushion makes it less noticeable than a breast pillow from the client's perspective. Place it under the sheets or your table warmer and it feels like it's just part of the table. You can also easily add in the cut out at any time for clients who don't need it while prone on the table.

Folds in half and is lightweight for easy travel or storage.

Got Your Back also has a helpful online class on Peak Positioning using different bolstering techniques that you may be interested in. 

It's FREE by the way, so check it out!

Favorite Things: Biotone Dual Purpose Massage Creme

I remember the first time I was introduced to Biotone's Dual Purpose Massage Creme.  I thought it was WAY TOO THICK to work with and what was up with that tube?  How was that supposed to be handy in the middle of a session?

www.biotone.com

Well, it simply took a few times of trying this cream to absolutely fall in love with it.  Rather than seeing it as a super thick cream, I now see it for the silky goodness that it is... it simply melts as you begin to work with it and it has a beautiful glide.  A little actually goes a long way.  I don't find myself having to constantly re-apply.

I thought the fact that it's not pumpable was going to be a major problem, but the tube fits in a universal holster.  If you keep the cap off and have it in your holster upside down, you can single-handedly squeeze the cream out right into your hand.   The fact that this is pretty silent compared to most pumps is an added bonus.  (As long as you have an adequate amount of cream in the tube.)

I've been playing around with using different creams in the last year after having developed an allergy to one and looking into using paraben free products.  I can honestly say that Biotone Dual Purpose has quickly become my favorite.  Even for Ashiatsu.

I still use jojoba oil for hot stone massage and massage cupping, and some other creams for swedish, but deep tissue work - it's Biotone Dual Purpose all the way.

Have you tried this cream yet?  What has been your experience?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Cindy Iwlew is co-founder of Bodywork Buddy Massage Software, a complete online management solution for independent massage therapists that includes online scheduling.

She continues to operate her own private massage practice of 14 years.
www.BodyworkBuddy.com