Raindrop, What’s a Raindrop?

The Essential Oils workshop at the Trust Birth Conference in Nashville, TN in 2012 opened a whole new arena of wellness for myself and my family. I’ve met some wonderful people that have been an encouragement to me in so many ways.  Carrie Shepard was instrumental in teaching about the Raindrop Technique.  I was intrigued to learn more when she further described it detoxifying and helping with body discomforts. Since my daughter lives with excruciating pain from rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia daily, I am always looking for ways to make her more comfortable.  I was compelled to learn HOW-TO and to GET one. We watched a short private demonstration at the conference and then my friend in Northern Ohio had Carrie, a CARE instructor, come teach a workshop a couple months later.

The first time I did a Raindrop for my daughter she was able to get up and clean her home for 2 hours immediately afterwards. This is something she had been unable to do for a long time. I find it incredibly relaxing and beneficial both to give them, and even more so to receive them.

So, what is it? Raindrop technique was created by Gary Young as he worked with a Lakota medicine man. It uses Vitaflex and therapeutic touch in the application of specific oils both to the feet and to the back. The oils used (Thyme, Oregano, Wintergreen, Cypress, Peppermint, Basil, Marjoram and Valor) are immune enhancing, and supportive of the circulatory, respiratory, endocrine, digestive and nervous system.

Here my granddaughter Bella, is helping me do a Raindrop for her mother. She loves applying oils and receiving oils too.  I had the massage table set up in the family room for this particular application, but since then, I have set aside a room in our home which affords us much more privacy for the process.

Vitaflex means “vitality through the reflexes.”  It is a form of therapeutic touch that uses rolling and releasing motions of the practitioner’s fingers to the receiver’s body, which will activate the reflex points on the hands, feet and other areas of the body.  Energy is released through electrical impulses that are created with the motions of the fingertips to the reflex points.  This charge is then said to follow to where there is a break which could have been caused by toxins encountered or damage that inhibits the body’s natural flow of energy.  Vitaflexing with essential oils enhances the effect of this stimulation.

After being vitaflexed into the feet, these oils are dispensed in little drops from about 6 inches or so above the back, which fall in a dropping motion, hence:  Raindrop.  They are then feathered and rubbed along the spine and back muscles.  The whole process takes about an hour to complete and the benefits are realized both immediately and over the next several days.  The cost is comparative to an hour-long massage.

The CARE (Center for Aromatherapy Research and Education) has a program for certification of Raindrop practitioners and you can look on their website for a practitioner near you, or ask me.  I’ll help you find one.  I expect to complete my testing for certification this winter(2014).

For more specific documentation on the results of Raindrop, Dr. David Smith has written the booklet, “The Raindrop Study:  Statistical Outcomes and Experiences with the Raindrop Technique of Aromatherapy”  You can get a copy of it HERE.

Check the CARE website for a certified Raindrop Technique practitioner near you.