Advanced Certificate Course in

Aromatic Acupressure & Meridian Massage

with Alan Stuart

Aromatic Acupressure and Meridian Massage provides a practical, ‘hands on’ dimension to Oriental Aromatherapy. First developed by the Institute in the 1980’s, Meridian (or Acupressure) Massage is an approach to therapeutic bodywork based on the manual stimulation of the body’s Meridian system — the same network of vital energy channels used in Acupuncture. For anyone who practices massage, this dynamic treatment offers an exciting opportunity to deepen one’s effectiveness as a bodywork professional.

When incorporating the use of carefully selected essential oils, Acupressure Massage becomes Aromatic Acupressure. Aromatic Acupressure refers to the therapeutic application of specific essential oils to the Organ Meridians and Acupoints of Oriental Medicine, and emphasizes the energetic nature of their actions. Alan Stuart draws from many years of experience as a practitioner and teacher of Oriental bodywork and Aromatherapy. The emphasis of his relaxed yet thorough approach to imparting these skills is on helping participants to integrate them into their current treatment style.

There are three main ways in which Aromatic Acupressure may be applied in practice:

1. As part of a full massage treatment: Incorporating the stimulation of acupressure points in the whole-body massage application of essential oils increases the overall effectiveness of the treatment.
2. As part of selective or localized treatment: Where there is insufficient time or space to carry out a full-body massage treatment, a single essence or blend of essential oils – diluted in an oil, ointment or gel base – may be applied to one or several specific Meridians and Acupoints.
3. As part of client self-application: The practitioner, when dispensing a blend of essential oils in a carrier oil or ointment, may demonstrate to the client their daily application on one or more specific Acupoints.

COURSE COMPONENTS

• Bodymind intention – the importance of intuition, trust and energetic sensitivity.
• Integrating traditional Therapeutic Massage and Oriental bodywork techniques.
• The location and functions of the main Meridians or channels; their treatment through Meridian Massage.
• The location and actions of a range of important acupressure points; their correlation and combined usage with a variety of major essential oils through practical techniques of Aromatic Acupressure.
• A brief review of the energetic and psychological properties of several major essential oils as part of their correlation and combined usage with the Acupoints taught.
• Oriental exercises to energize and center oneself in preparation for, and during, treatments.

Entry Requirement
• Entry onto this course requires prior basic training in therapeutic massage.

The course includes detailed printed notes.
An Institute Certificate is issued on completion.

Alan Stuart
Course Instructor

Alan completed the Institute's Diploma Course in Aromatherapy and Therapeutic & Acupressure Massage in 1994, establishing a successful therapy practice in north London.

Together with his aromatherapist wife Juliette Preston, Alan produced organic essential oil products for women during pregnancy, and held regular workshops in aromatherapy in pregnancy for couples and for midwives.

Alan worked closely with Carola Beresford-Cooke and Gabriel Mojay in developing the Institute's unique approach to Aromatic Acupressure and Meridian Massage. He has been involved in teaching this approach since 1995 — as well as Qi Gong meditation and healing.

Alan gained considerable experience in aromatic product design for both private clients and aromatherapy companies, and has engaged in all aspects of product creation — from formulation, design and materials sourcing to production, marketing and distribution. He produces a range of specialised aromatherapy products sold worldwide, and has written a number of articles on the safe therapeutic use of essential oils.

Alan is former Vice-Chairman of the Register of Qualified Aromatherapists (RQA) and has served as a Council member of the International Federation of Professional Aromatherapists (IFPA).

LOCATIONS, DATES AND FEES

Location: Regent's College, Regent's Park, London NW1.
Dates: Saturday & Sunday, February 25-26 and March 24-25, 2012 (2 weekends).
Times: 10 am to 5 pm daily.
Course Fee: £350 incl VAT, payable through a deposit of £100 on booking, followed by the balance of £250 on the first day of the course.
Payments made on booking are non-refundable, but are transferable to any subsequent course.
Tel: 0207 708 2626 (2-6pm) or 0798 501 2565 (10am-2pm) for further info, or to make a debit/credit card booking.

Accommodation
For overnight accommodation near Regent's College, our course venue, we recommend that students visit the following website featuring several reasonably-priced local hotels:
www.hotels-london-hotel.com/hotels/marylebone

We can also recommend:

The Wyndham Hotel
30 Wyndham Street, London W1H 1DD
Tel: 0207 723 7204
www.wyndhamhotel.co.uk

York Street Hotel
22 York Street, London W1U 6PX
Tel: 0207 224 2990
www.22yorkstreet.co.uk

Mary Blewitt (Institute graduate)
39 Penywern Road
London SW5 9TU
marykblewitt@gmail.com