Visit our booth at the Denver Dumb Friends League Furry Scurry event in
Washington Park, Denver this Saturday, May 1 from 9 to noon. We will be offering
10 minute mini canine massages for $5.
Misha May Foundation Benefit—bring your dog to Journey Books on May 2nd or
to The Whole Cat on May 15th for
a mini massage in exchange for a donation to the Misha May Foundation, which
benefits mixed-breed shelter dogs.
Click here for
details.
Summary
From the Land Down Under comes the striking new oil blend, Australian Blue.
An exotic combination of the recently discovered oil, blue cypress, along with
ylang ylang, cedarwood, blue tansy, and white fir, Australian Blue unites
ancient aboriginal wisdom with today's essential oil scientific knowledge. This
calming, uplifting and inspiring essential oil blend has sweet, earthy
undertones responsible for its calming and stabilizing effects.
Benefits
The aromatic plants and trees of Australia have been a part of the aboriginal
pharmacopoeia for thousands of years. While the many varieties of eucalyptus and
melaleuca are well known, a rare but even more ancient aromatic, blue cypress,
is now available in Australian Blue Essential Oil Blend. Unlike eucalyptus and
melaleuca oils, which are derived from leaves, blue cypress is distilled form
the wood of Callitris intratropica, the Northern Cypress Pine. Blue
cypress oil is believed to be the only essential oil in the world obtained from
wood that contains guaiol and guaiazulene, which give it a deep, azure color.
These constituents are similar to chamazulene, which gives Roman chamomile its
rich, blue hue and body-supporting effects. The warm, woody fragrance of blue
cypress has sweet, earthy undertones that uplift and inspire. The essential oil
from this tropical conifer also bestows and grounding and stabilizing influence.
This blend has been enhanced with the exotic fragrance of ylang ylang, the
calming power of cedarwood, the benefit of more chamazulene from blue tansy, and
the antioxidant power of the limonene in white fir.
Historical Information
Oral traditions indicate that the aboriginal Tiwi people of northern
Australia used resins from the bark of blue cypress as a skin wash for sores and
cuts, and for stomach upsets. They also took wood ash mixed with water and
smeared it over aching parts of the body to relieve minor pains. Blue cypress
essential oil has also been used as an insect repellent.
How to Use
For topical or aromatic use. Caution: Possible sun/skin sensitivity. Keep out of
reach of children. If pregnant or under a doctor's care, consult your physician.
Ingredients
As the base ingredient in Australian Blue, blue cypress (Callitris intratropica)
is an abundant source of sesquiterpenes. It has more than 90 separate chemical
constituents, including selinenes, guaienes, guaiol, lactones, eudesmols,
citronellel, geraniol, guaiazulene, and furanones. This blend also contains ylang ylang (Cananga odorata), cedarwood
(Cedrus atlantica), blue tansy (Tanacetum annuum) and white fir (Abies concolor).
Testimonial I bravely (or foolishly depending on your perspective) undertook a gall
bladder and liver cleanse at the same time. The detoxing resulted in a bad case
of psoriasis and eczema over 20% of my body. The itching was so bad I woke up
4-5 times a night scratching. I used Aroma Siez oil blend to reduce the itching
as well as a homeopathic ointment. I then tried the new Australian Blue blend
introduced last year by Young Living. Australian Blue contains the rare oil from
the Northern Blue Cypress Pine tree. This oil gets it blue color from
constituents that are similar to chamazulene, which gives Roman chamomile its
rich, blue hue and body-supporting effects. The blue tansy oil adds more
chamazulene for support of the skin and cedarwood provides additional skin
support plus calms the itching. The Australian Blue blend gave me instant relief
from the psoriasis and eczema and help heal the skin where the rash was to
return to normal.
-RJL
Another thing to consider is how the massage provider is taught to approach a
session—are they trained to do a “recipe” style of massage where they always do
the same strokes in the same order or have they been taught to customize the
massage to the problems the dog is exhibiting? The books and videos created for
the public as well as many of the massage schools teach a recipe style. A more
customized approach is generally more effective at helping resolve the problems
the dog’s problems and improving his movement as well as his general well-being.
If the massage provider is taught to evaluate the dog’s structure and gait as
part of their training, they can detect specific problems and address the
session to those. If the gait analysis is an extra service rather than a normal
part of the session, then the provider may not be trained to customize each
session to the dog’s specific structural issues. Your dog may also benefit from
massage providers who can offer home exercises to strengthen the dog’s problem
areas and can advise on what exercises and activities might be harmful to your
dog.
Professional canine massage providers should also receive a sound scientific
education in canine health topics such as anatomy, physiology, orthopedic
pathology, structure and movement, first aid, breed characteristics, behavior
and nutrition. With this background, the provider can work competently alongside
vets and other animal health professionals. They will be able to discuss your
dog’s health issues intelligently with your veterinarian. If they are lacking in
sufficient knowledge of anatomy, they could actually harm your dog during the
massage session. For instance, they could end up putting too much pressure on
sensitive nerves, organs and glands or pressing muscle against sharp points of
bone, bruising it.
Another advantage of a comprehensive, professional education is that it helps
the provider look at the “big picture” of your dog’s health instead of just
focusing on the massage session. This holistic approach can be more beneficial
to your dog than a provider who just focuses on the massage session. It can be
very helpful if the provider can discuss with you other topics related to your
dog’s well being such as nutrition, exercise, behavior, etc. If the provider has
new clients fill out a comprehensive health intake form about your dog, this is
a sign of a professional and holistic approach to your dog’s well being.
Professional providers should also maintain written records of each session
detailing their work
A professional education will also help the provider avoid hurting your dog
through ignorance of critical information such as the conditions that may be
worsened by massage. Massage is not a “cure-all” for all conditions and it is
contraindicated in some situations. The professional provider has been trained
to recognize when it is best to avoid massaging a dog or to just do a light
massage. For instance, dogs with kidney or liver problems cannot process the
toxins released by massage and can be made worse. Also, puppies under four
months of age don’t have fully developed kidney function and can only tolerate a
short, light massage. Doing massage on an injured tendon could prolong the
injury by spreading the fibers apart that are trying to pull together to heal
the area. Providers who don’t have information such as this can inadvertently
harm your dog.
If the provider offers other holistic modalities besides massage, this can
enhance the session as well as provide alternatives if your dog cannot receive
massage. For instance, Reiki energy balancing done in conjunction with the
massage can enhance the effectiveness of the session and help the dog relax. It
can also be done in place of massage if the dog cannot tolerate massage, has a
condition that may be worsened by massage or is too scared to be massaged.
Flower remedies can address emotional issues the dog is experiencing and enhance
the effectiveness of energy balancing techniques.
Finally, look at how your dog responds to the massage session. Does your dog
enjoy it and do you see improvement in his well-being after several sessions?
You may see some temporary increase in soreness immediately after sessions but
in the long-run you should see improved mobility and reduced pain if the massage
is done correctly. Do you feel comfortable with how the massage provider handles
your dog? They should be sensitive to how your dog is responding to the session
and change what they are doing if your dog is responding poorly. If they are
pressing too deeply on your dog’s muscles and causing excessive pain, they
should have enough understanding of dog behavior to recognize your dog’s subtle
signals of discomfort. Unlike humans, dogs can’t tell us when we are hurting
them in a massage session. Your dog will benefit most from work by a massage
provider who is sensitive to your dog’s reaction and has a good understanding of
all aspects of canine health.
This month we feature a periodical, rather than book,
The Whole
Dog Journal. If you have a dog and only have time to read one magazine or
newsletter a month, this is the one to read. There is no advertising in The
Whole Dog Journal so the articles are totally unbiased (like Consumer Reports).
The 24-page journal contains in-depth articles on all aspects of holistic dog
care and includes an article every month on positive training by Pat Miller. I
read it cover-to-cover every month as I find the articles informative and
interesting.
The Whole Dog Journal is described on their website as follows: "offers
well-researched, in-depth articles about all aspects of dog care and training.
We feature natural care, diet and training advice, information about
complementary therapies like chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and homeopathy,
and advice from experts in the field. We also test, review and evaluate
products, a task we can take on without fear, for we are 100 percent
subscriber-supported; we do not and will never carry advertising."
Since the Whole Dog Journal is subscriber-supported, they prohibit
photocopying of their articles for distribution to students and clients. So we
are unable to copy the great articles for our clients. Therefore, the best way
to benefit from the journal is to subscribe to it yourself and save all your
issues, as it is expensive to buy back issues. There is even a charge for
subscribers to access back issues on the web (the current issue is free on the
web to subscribers). If you put your journals in a 3-ring binder (the journal
comes with pre-punched holes), you will have a great reference on holistic dog
care.
Nothing on this website has been evaluated by the FDA. This information
is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Please
see a qualified healthcare practitioner for any disease or illness.
Part
2 (Conclusion)
