Aroma Acupoint Therapy, or AAT (as we like to call it) is a gentle, completely safe and yet profoundly effective treatment modality that utilizes the energetic potential locked within pure essential oils. Treatment involves placing particular oils on specific acupoints or reflex zones on the body in order to trigger energetic changes in the individual that will bring her back to a state of balance. Aroma Acupoint Therapy works on the basis of mutual resonance through the systematic and intentional combination of essential oils and acupoints, resulting in a more significant clinical effect than using either of these treatment methods alone.

How Aroma Acupoint Therapy Works

How does Aroma Acupoint Therapy work? The basic premise is that essential oils, being energetically just as active as acupuncture points, have the ability to stimulate the points in a similar way as needles. However, the difference between them lies in the fact that unlike acupuncture needles, essential oils are also able to provide a content of information to the point that will suggest a particular type of therapeutic action. The basic aim is always to select an oil that possesses the same function as an acupoint; an oil that will activate a particular point function. So Geranium oil (Pelargonim x asperum), for instance, is a female hormonal regulator in women with reproductive weakness that is a perfect match for points such as SP-6 and CV-4, as these poins have the same function. However, Geranium is also a mucostatic agent that has the effect of helping dry up vaginal discharges, and as such is appropriate for application onto points such as CV-6 and SP-10 in women with a damp or congestive condition in the pelvis.

Conversely, because each acupoint has more than one action, there a several oils that could potentially be used with it, as the situation would demand it. An important acupoint such as CV-17 at the center of the chest can be oiled with a nervous sedative oil such as Marjoram (Origanum maiorana) or Helichrysum (Helichrysum angustifolium), as this point has a good calming effect on the whole system. It is often used in states of acute anxiety and agitation, especially when there is an emotional component present. Equally however, CV-17 can be oiled with respiratory restoratives and stimulants such as Siberian fir (Abies sibirica) and Black spruce (Picea mariana) to enhance the point’s excellent tonifying and strengthening effect on the lungs and bronchi. This type of combination is highly beneficial, for instance, in individuals with constitutional lung weakness, in chronic respiratory infections or for states of grief; these are all conditions where lung energy is weakened and will benefit from this powerful oil-point synergy. In all these cases, the essential oil is able to effectively and safely engage and amplify a particular acupoint function.

The mechanism of action at work here is unproven, as Aroma Acupoint Therapy is a very new treatment modality. Still, there are several theories that would help explain the bodymind’s often immediate response to oil-point treatment as well as this therapy’s longterm effectiveness. One is that the oils are able to activate peptides connected with the points that through the meridian energy pathways transmit the suggested action to specific target tissues, organs, and so on. The simplest explanation, however, is the universal principle of reciprocal resonance. Oils and points possessing a similar quality and function will energetically resonate with each other and create a particular sonic vibration. This would be the same as the sound created when a peptide docks into a receptor site. This is essentially how a therapeutic effect is achieved.

The Aroma Energetics of Esssential Oils

The basic framework for the use of essential oils in Aroma Acupoint Therapy is a clinical, empirical model of the energetic properties of essential oils based on their aromatic or fragrance qualities. The oils are broadly divided into high, middle and base tones, corresponding to their rising, circulating and sinking energetic movements, respectively. Within these lie the specific categories of their aroma qualities, such as Pungent-Fresh, Pungent-Spicy, Green-Sweet, Green-Lemony, and so on. So Rosemary oil (Rosmarinus officinalis), for instance, is a Fresh-Pungent oil with secondary Sweet and Green qualities. Every aroma category has specific energetic and functional properties that all oils belonging to it have in common. So Fresh-Pungent oils are generally stimulating, energizing, uplifting, awakening and warming. They are used in weak, cold and damp conditions with their typical symptoms of fatigue, cold extremities, etc. (see also below). Roman camomile (Anthemis nobilis), for another example, belongs to the Green-Sweet oil aroma category and is usually chosen for its cooling, relaxing, pain-relieving and centering effects that are typical of this category. Within an oil’s group function then lies its own separate functions, which span specific physiological actions, psychological functions through to spiritual functions. Any of these may be engaged during treatment. 

The Treatment Sequences

Aroma Acupoint treatment consists of just one or two drops of an essential oil being lightly applied to the acupoint with a finger or cotton swab and held in place for a short amount of time. The practitioner will select one or more treatment sequences or patterns that typically involve activating between three and eight points. In the context of bodywork, this may be followed and/or introduced by massage, deep tissue work, etc. In the context of acupuncture, this may be optionally followed by needling the points. Although Aroma Acupoint Therapy lends itself beautifully to being used alongside these other types of treatment, it does not rely on these for its effectiveness and successfully stands alone as a method of treatment. The practitioner will choose to perform one or more treatment sequence per session. These are named after the most prominent symptom in the pattern, e.g. Racing Mind, Neck and Shoulder Tension, PMS with Heat, Emotional Withdrawal, and so on. They are organized according to an underlying syndrome of energetic or functional imbalance. The treatment sequences are specific to modern-day patients, their health concerns and their frank disorders. They are particular to what we actually see in the Western clinic day in and day out. Once the practitioner gains greater experience and comfort levels with the treament patterns, she will know when to modify the pattern to give a more individualized, client-tailored treatment. On the basis of increased knowledge of the oils on one hand and the acupoints on the other, she may select other point-oil combinations appropriate to the treatment. 

Evaluating the symptoms the client presents is performed using the Six Condition diagnostic assessment, a user-friendly diagnostic system that Peter again developed over many years of practice and research into the diagnostics of traditional Chinese, Greek and Ayurvedic medicine – the three extant world systems of energetic medicine. The symptoms may be mental, emotional or purely physical and form syndromes of energetic imbalance. The main axis of imbalance seen in our society is the axis of the Tense-Weak conditions, which is based on hyper- and hypo- functioning of the nervous system, respectively. Commonly seen as well, however, are symptoms of imbalance between the Hot-Cold axis, based on hyper- and hypo- functioning of the body’s warmth-circulatory system; and the Dry-Damp axis, based on tissue hydration and fluid balance. 

The symptom evaluation itself includes not only what the client reports but also an assessment of her facial complexion, skin quality, muscle tone, breathing, voice, pulse quality, physical movement, likes and dislikes as regards food, drink, climate, and so on. These all together tell the practitioner the nature of the imbalance in terms of the Six Conditions and will point to possible treatment patterns. Once treatment is underway, the practitioner will monitor its effectiveness by looking for positive signs of change in the client’s complexion, their brightness of the eyes, sound of the voice and improvement of the pulse quality, as well as improvement of actual symptoms. It is not unusual to find improvement in all of these diagnostic parameters by the end of a successful treatment and, in some cases, very soon after all the oils have been placed. The pulse in particular can respond very quickly to the rebalancing effect of oils applied to a judicious selection of points. This is because the pulse registers the functional changes taking place in the vascular autonomic system.

Aroma Acupoint TherapyTM © Peter Holmes & Tiffany Pollard 2011