About Aroma-Massage

I’m Cameron Babberney, the sole practitioner behind Aroma-Massage. I have been a registered massage therapist in Texas since 1995 and was internationally certified by the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy in 1996. My passion is engaging our innate healing forces through the use of fragrant plants and skilled touch. Hands-on application of carefully selected essential oils was my inspiration to study massage. Now my work primarily features deep tissue, fascial release, and acupressure techniques nestled within the soothing strokes of Swedish massage.

My aromatherapy training began in 1990 under Milli D. Austin who developed essential oil bath therapy. I assisted in her first intensive course in 1992. Milli has a wonderfully direct approach to the use of essential oils. The great value of her work is in her descriptions of how specific essential oils interact with the energy fields around and throughout the structural body. She introduced me to the process of dowsing for essential oils using a pendulum. I like this approach to custom blending, namely because many of my clients find it to be a more direct line to salient issues. Milli's work continues to inform my practice.

In 1994 I took a class on Marguerite Maury’s aromatherapy massage treatment. Her husband was among the biochemists who rediscovered aromatherapy early in the 20th century. Maury, a French cosmetologist living in London, was the first to apply essential oils externally. She emphasized the use of aromatherapy in skin care and massage and set the tone for its esoteric nuances.

I then studied aromatherapy with Kurt Schnaubelt, the German chemist who has founded the Pacific Institute of Aromatherapy (PIA) in San Rafael, California along with the Aroma Care line of essential oils. In 1995, I took Kurt’s Advanced Seminar on Scientific Aromatherapy, and completed the certification in 1996. I also attended PIA’s First Wholistic Aromatherapy Conference on therapeutic uses in San Francisco in 1995. The information more traditional aromatherapists have about blending, essential oil chemistry, toxicology, and medical aromatherapy is invaluable to me for a more empowered practice.

I am always fascinated by the similarity of intuitive energy-centered information on essential oils to more treatment-oriented information and chemical content. Bay laurel is a great example of how the healing action of an essential oil reflects its esoteric message: it illustrates the relationship between self-image and immune function. I am learning to paint a richer, more holistic picture of each essential oil. Aromatherapy is a huge body of information, which continues to seep in. One great advantage of the aromatherapy work we do before a massage is the chance to form a powerful connection between therapist and client prior to physical contact. I believe this time of sharing aroma, story, and intuition tempers and heightens the impact of bodywork.

My massage training includes semesters I and II at the Lauterstein-Conway School of Massage in Austin, Texas. This 550-hour course includes instruction in Swedish massage, hydrotherapy, anatomy and physiology, sports massage, deep massage, structural bodywork, shiatsu, and integrative bodywork. Through the years I have taken further study in shiatsu, deep massage with David Lauterstein, Touch for Health^®, Zero Balancing^® with Fritz Smith, MD; and myofascial release with Robert King of the Chicago School of Massage. I hope to complete certification in Zero Balancing in 2007. This acupressure/shiatsu-like protocol offers powerful simple ways to organize the energy and structure of the body and access a stronger, clearer sense of self.

From August 2003 to January 2005 I joined the opening staff of the Crossings Spa and Wellness Center. There I learned Balinese massage, two multifaceted Ayurvedic treatments, all manner of body masks and scrubs, lymphatic massage and Hot and Cold Stone massage. My time at the spa was a wonderful education in an idyllic setting among inspiring people. It taught me to truly value the individual attention and privacy afforded in my private practice. At Aroma-Massage I am able to use the tricks of my trade to their greatest therapeutic advantage.

My education includes a BA in American Culture from Vassar College and two years of graduate study at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, University of Texas.