1. Tell us a bit more about you and your practice as it is today? i.e. are you a solo practitioner or a business owner? If solo, what kind of an establishment do you work for, how large is it, what is the clientele like, what is the specialty offered? If it is a business that you own, kindly include the same time of relevant information that will give the reader a good idea about your establishment/practice. Please also include where you live and work?
My name is Cari Caraway. I am a family nurse practitioner. I currently am an independent contractor and visit patients in their homes. My main focus has switched from traditional medicine to a holistic approach. I help educate people on alternative treatment modalities using essential oils, specifically from Young Living.
2. Tell us why you chose to go into massage and at what point in your life did you decide to do so? What were you doing at the time? Where did you first hear about the massage career? What factors influenced your decision? What were you looking to get out of this decision?
I have not formal training in massage therapy but I am working closely with massage therapist. I am helping to train therapists on the therapeutic benefits of incorporating essential oils into their practice.
3. What were some of your questions and concerns before further pursuing your massage therapy goals? Talk about concerns with school and the profession itself.
Some concerns I had regarding essential oils and integration within my nurse practitioner practice had to do with legitimacy of the oil benefits. I was able to uncover many research studies backing up the use and benefits utilizing essential oils vs. traditional medicine practices. This was a natural progression for me as I wanted to have less side effects and a more holistic approach both personally and to share with my patients.
4. What is your specialty and what are the top three contributing factors to your success today?
I am a nurse practitioner with training in family practice. My background in nursing has allowed me to work in just about every area of the hospital and specialty practices within cardiology, allergy/asthma, geriatrics and weight loss. This has allowed me to be well-rounded and connect with all specialties in the medical field.
- I have been successful with the oils because I am a firm believer and user of them. I have many success stories that I can share with people.
- I have also had much success using social media outlets to get my message out to the masses. It has also been a wonderful medium to share information with others having successes with essential oils.
- My background in medicine and helping people has been very beneficial is sharing and teaching people about this alternative method for healthcare.
5. What do you like about your specialty? What do you like about what you do in general as a career? Why?
I love sharing essential oils because of the benefits I have experienced both personally and professionally. It is very rewarding helping others to learn about essential oils as well as earn an extra income.
6. What do you not like about what you do? Why?
There is nothing I do not love about my essential oil business. I have learned so much in the past year and have learned that I enjoy teaching others. It is very exciting too, every day is different and unique. I love working with people from all over too. Technology makes that possible!
7. If there were three things you could change about your work or the industry as a whole what would they be? Why would you change them? What would you change them to?
The only thing I would change would be getting information out to people as far as poor quality products that are so readily available in stores that are not necessarily pure despite the labeling. Our labeling laws are lenient and products/chemicals used in many products are not safe for human use and are not used in many other countries.
8. How long do you plan to practice and what do you plan to do after?
I plan to continue my essential oil business long term. I actually plan for this to replace my nurse practitioner position is the near future. I will stay in the holistic realm of medicine for the remainder of my career and teach others how to achieve a successful business using essential oils and Young Living.
9. Do you currently have another job or business whether full time or part time? Tell us a bit more about it and how you are able to juggle that with your massage career?
See above comments
10. What are some mistakes you made in your career pursuit that you’d like to warn other students about so they can learn from your experience and avoid it?
Be open minded to other options out there. Options and versatility make you more marketable in the workforce.
11. What would you advice someone who is looking at massage therapy schools? What do you recommend they look for and how? How do you recommend they determine whether the school is the right one for them?
If I was going back to school or just going to school for the first time I would look closely at holistic medicine and what programs are available. As our healthcare system changes it is great to offer people an alternative to health and wellness.
Preventative care is key and that starts with daily regimens, nutrition and exercise. I recommend anyone considering a career or school to visit the schools and shadow someone in the field they believe they would like to practice in to get a personal perspective on how it works in the real world. Ask a lot of questions and figure out what best fits your personality. Make sure you have room to grow with you career choice.
12. What do you recommend for someone who wants to go to massage school but cannot afford it?
Consider starting an essential oil business to earn money to cover your expenses for school.
13. What are your three biggest points of advice for an aspiring massage therapist today? What should they do/not do? What should they think about and consider?
Being in the medical field, and with all the changes forthcoming, I highly recommend you stay marketable and diversified. The more areas you know the more opportunities present themselves.
14. Any open thoughts / comments – anything else that you’d like to share about yourself, the massage industry, profession, future, etc? If nothing, make one prediction for the future of massage?
I would love to work with others personally to help them start their own Young Living Essential Oil business. We have wonderful training and mentorship programs in place to help folks succeed. Take a look at my website at www.theoildropper.com and please contact me for more details or to answer any questions you may have.
15. What is your passion outside of massage? What are your hobbies and interests which you pursue when you are not working? Tell us why you enjoy what you enjoy.
Outside of my essential oil business and nursing career I enjoy spending time with my husband and 3 sons. They are my pride and joy!
16. Tell us more about the essential oils you talk about and their benefits to patients/clients?
You will be seeing a lot of clients with tension, muscle soreness and straining to the musculoskeletal system in your field. Essential oils can be a positive adjunct to your therapy and treatments. They can ease occasional soreness and issues you will be dealing with. You can utilize essential oils into your massage techniques and create specialized treatments based on what the client’s need or want.
You could also become specialty certified in the “Raindrop Technique.” Raindrop Technique® combines the art of aromatherapy with the techniques of Vita Flex and massage in the application of essential oils to various areas of the body. This technique may provide a means of bringing balance and harmony to the body – physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Pure essential oils are so versatile you can also diffuse the oils during your session to help stimulate an even greater relaxing atmosphere while supporting body systems, while creating a “specialty massage” based on your oil selections.
Let me give you a couple examples of how I use oils. Our peppermint essential oil with 1 drop being equivalent in potency to 28 cups of peppermint tea has relieved my occasional head tension in less than 10 minutes with topical applications. I use a combination of essential oils in a capsule to treat my seasonal discomforts and have been able to discontinue other prescribed treatments. I use essential oils on my children to support their immune systems and have replaced other traditional treatments with essential oils.
Cari Caraway, MSN, FNP, ARNP-C is a Young Living consultant. You can find her at www.theoildropper.com. You can also connect with her on Facebook here.
Neal Lyons is a founding member and volunteer contributor at the MTSI Institute, an information based portal dedicated to guiding and assisting aspiring massage therapists establish a successful career in massage. Neal is a published author and has collaborated on several mobile applications that serve the massage profession. You can view his published work on Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble, Sony and Kobo. You can connect with him on Facebook, Twitter and on Google+
A message therapist who rents an office in the same building that I rent has recently started using essential oils that cause me to have migraines. Due to the migraines caused by her essential oil concoction, I have had to leave early causing me to lose wages. I have verbally asked her to refrain from exposing the common area to the scent and have recently requested in writing that she makes sure that the scent is utilized in a way that is contained in her office. She claims 95% of her patients come for aromatherapy. What training does a message therapist receive that qualifies them to provide aromatherapy as component of message therapy? Is the use of essential oils even within their scope of practice? Does the training include the ethical considerations of exposing non-patients who do not want exposure or who are harmed by the excessive and offensive scents?
Krys – is the massage therapist certified/licensed? We have seen many aromatherapy practitioners in this space practice without the appropriate education/training