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60 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j a n u a r y / f e b r u a r y 2 0 1 7 Resources Lawless, J. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Essential Oils. New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1993. Shutes, J., and C. Weaver. Aromatherapy for Bodyworkers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Health, 2007. Simon, D., and J. Travell. Myofascial Pain and Dysfunction: The Trigger Point Manual. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1998. Singh, E., and E. Ernst. Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial. London: Bantam Books, 2001. When targeting somatic conditions like myofascial pain and inflammation, spike lavender can be mixed with peppermint, helychrysum, clove, and thyme linalool, using St. John's wort as a carrier oil. Only now should the therapist do specific acupressure on painful sites. The UB channel now comes to mind, as most tender points are situated on or near it in fibromyalgia clients. Acupressure is performed down the entire UB channel, with both thumbs next to one another, at least 10 times (see image on page 56). Initial pressure on the first sweep down is minimal; each subsequent sweep down increases to 4–5 pressure out of 10. The therapist should linger on specific tender points for up to 10 seconds or more with minimal pressure, rotating in a counterclockwise rotation, and then move on. Finally, areas of the body that are hurting most at the time of the client's visit can be targeted sequentially. In addition to being sore all over, fibromyalgia clients always have specific areas that hurt more than others. Speculation is rife about the reasons for this phenomenon: muscle strain, weather, psychological or physical trauma, depression, anger, and so on. A practical reason for focusing primarily on a client's particularly problematic areas, as opposed to doing a general overall treatment, is time and endurance. A massage therapy client suffering from fibromyalgia may not have the stamina to endure a full hour of general massage or acupressure. The therapist locates the area, which may or may not be near a classic acupressure point. The TCM text The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine states that "… wherever there is pain, there is an acupuncture point." 5 The therapist applies a calming oil and follows up with acupressure. The protocol is exactly like the one performed on the head and spine, with the exception that it is done once and only repeated two times as a follow-up, after first moving on to other sites and then only returning to the first sites to check back in. After dealing with myofascial pain and mental stress, what remains are the issues of constant fatigue and depression. In TCM, lack of motivational energy and depression are caused by insufficient qi not moving the blood and lymph. The insufficient qi could have been caused partially by pain and trigger points that are the result of blocked or congested qi. Now the therapist has to proceed from the narrow focus of treating the client specifically for pain syndromes to the more general emphasis of boosting overall qi and blood and lymph flow. For this, acupressure points and channels that tonify and strengthen organs need to be treated. A good formula would be a combination of Kidney 1 and 3 with Spleen 6 and Stomach 36 bilaterally. This is followed by Large Intestine (LI) 4. Finally, GV 20 should be treated by rotating the thumb clockwise now for more energy, focus, and strengthening of all organs. The duration of treatment should be 1 minute each on these points. Essential oils for energy include black pepper, lemon, and peppermint. Cinnamon and ginger are options, but together can be too warming for fibromyalgia clients. The therapist should use one drop each per point and rub them in clockwise. This treatment should only follow after the initial use of calming oils. Because acupressure taps into the endocrine system, allowing for the release of dopamine, endorphins, enkephalins, serotonin, and other hormones that act as