The Raindrop Technique
Further Experience, Further Observations
I’ve been giving the Raindrop Technique for a few years and I’ve found it’s all that Gary Young and his multilevel marketing company says it is. Kind of.
I need to point out that this great technique is surrounded by so much Young Living propanganda that in my opinion it's both more and less than what the YL salesfolk products say it is.
What does this mean? A huge discovery is that I find the technique works just as well with non-Young Living essential oils as it does with the over-hyped oils from YL. (same is true with the equally over-hyped Doterra, the snippy rival to YL in their perpetual feud). My clients get identical results from other other manufacturers' oils as they do from YL oils. This is because most essential oils on the market, if they are not synthetic, are good substances. Saying it another way: it's not the namebrand and their marketing that make the oils helpful. Essential oils (except the true junk) are INHERENTLY good.
I want to keep my costs down so more people will find out what the Raindrop Technique does. My clients have reported to me they have been helped with candida overgrowth, pneumonia, flu and cold while it relaxes and soothes the back and spinal muscles.
Another thing I found out was that yes, people definitely get 'taller' during the Raindrop Technique as claimed by Gary Young, often adding 1/8 to 1/2 inches to their height during the treatment. The caveat here is that I have begun the informal practice of measuring my clients before and after all bodywork, and I find that swedish or relaxation massage on the back without essential oils makes people temporarily even taller than the Raindrop Technique alone.
This increase in height was predicted by the founder of the technique, who originally intuited that virus and bacteria infection cause contractions in the muscles of the back which then pull the spine either left, right or downward and thus make people 'shorter'. And though his intuition was proven to be correct years later, I know that there are many explanations for shortened spinal muscles. For instance look at anything written by Leon Chaitow, DO, ND and you will see there are numerous reasons why a person can 'grow' from bodywork and massage. There are innumerable reasons for back pain, muscle shortness and the resulting decreased height. It isn't always (or ever?) viral and bacterial infection.
At the risk of repeating myself, I simply took ‘before and after’ measurements of my clients and in this informal proceess I found that wholebody massage therapy (including trigger point therapy, cross fiber friction and effleurage) of the paraspinals, quadratus lumborum, gluteals and hamstrings, and cervical muscles resulted in the greatest gains in client height (avg of 5/8 inch over estimated 150 instances). This seems to indicate that elongation of the spine may be due to simple relaxation of the muscles that support the spine, rather than the killing of virus and bacteria in those muscles, though that may be happening as well.
Another discovery I made with the Raindrop Technique is that it’s best to choose a different selection of essential oils based on what the client needs. In my last newsletter I listed the seven oils recommended by it’s originator. I have found that the oils used in the technique must match the client complaint. Why use a relaxation oil when fighting the onset of cold or flu? As a result, I tailor each session to each client and use the oils that accomplish the goals set by the client.
An example I had a couple clients in July with cold and flu, and respiratory issues. They requested I use oils known for that purpose. Therefore I used appropriate essential oils and both clients reported a clearing of symptoms and greater ability in breathing. One of these clients also had an extreme overgrowth of what i was told was candida which manifested as fatigue and large dark patches over his upper back. He asked that I use oils known for fungal infections amd candiida. I did so and after the treatment he told me the patches were lighter, itched less and his fatigue was lessened in frequency, duration and depth.
For simple relaxation I use most of the oils that Young recommends. However I do not use the same oils along the spinal reflex points of the foot as I do on the back. This allows a greater number and range of oils to be used in the same session, with the idea that this will effect a better outcome.
Raindrop technique is awesome for most people who experience it. But I find most of the information given by its founder and his company, his competition and the skeptics needs to be sifted to separate the hype and the vitriol from the facts.
If you want to experience this massage technique, let me know and we'll have a discussion to decide if it's appropriate for you. We'll set up an appointment and you can decide the truth with the power of your own experience.
-Dan
(written 3/05 edited 10/18)
