I’ve often wondered how best to describe Raindrop Technique. I’ve studied many different modalities in my time, yet this one stands out above the rest because of both its uniqueness, and its eclectic roots.

If Raindrop Technique were an animal, it would have the head of a tiger, the nose of an elephant, the neck of a giraffe, the body of a griffin, the tail of a horse, and the legs of a lizard.

Why do I say this? It’s because it was created by Young Living’s founder, D. Gary Young, however its roots came from many different philosophies that he’d studied. And in a dream one night back in 1990, he had a vision of how all of these different elements could come together into one amazing “Master” technique.

Raindrop Technique is loosely divided into 4 steps. I want to help you fall in love with Raindrop technique as I have, so I’m going to spread this story over 3 or 4 bulletins, each one introducing you to another “layer” of Raindrop Technique – its power, how it’s performed, and the amazing experiences that each step unlocks.

Step 1: the Valor Balance

The first step of Raindrop Technique is a Valor Balance, so named because it balances the body’s electrical energy using the Young Living blend called “Valor”. The original blend of Valor was inspired by a combination of oils that the Roman soldiers wore into battle.

It gave them strength, courage and confidence…and because of the way in which smell gets associated in our mind with different experiences, it would have allowed the soldiers to feel rock solid and unbeatable every time they put it on, and for their adversaries to feel terror every time they smelled it.

One of the main ingredients in Valor is Black Spruce oil. Rather fortunately for us, Young Living’ssupplier of Black Spruce oil ended up closing their business. That did mean we were out of Valor oil for a couple of years…..but it propelled Gary into finding a new source of Black Spruce oil, and leading him to set up his own farm for this purpose – the Northern Lights farm in Canada.

Valor oil also contained Rosewood oil, which is now an endangered plant, so Gary ended up revising the formula a few years ago to include Geranium and Camphor instead (in addition to the Northern Lights Black Spruce, Frankincense and Blue Tansy….which gives it a stunning bluish-purple hue).

How to perform a Valor Balance

The process of performing a Valor Balance is quite simple – 3 to 6 drops of Valor oil are put into the palm of the giver’s right hand, and this is rubbed 3 times clockwise under the recipient’s right foot. Then 3 to 6 drops of Valor are put into the palm of the giver’s left hand, and rubbed 3 times clockwise under the recipients left foot.

Then the giver places their right palm under the recipient’s right foot, and their left palm under the recipient’s left foot, and holds like that for anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes.

If the recipient is face-up, this means the giver’s arms will be crossed during this step, and energy will flow between giver and receiver in a pattern that looks like an infinity sign (as shown in this pic).

The Valor Balance was inspired by Gary’s visits to Egypt, where he visited the Temple of Isis on the Island of Philae, and was privileged to see into a sacred room where ancient anointing rituals took place. These rituals were called “Cleansing the Flesh and Blood of Evil Deities”, and involved a recipient lying on a stone table, with a priest standing at their head and their feet, anointing them with oils.

In the early days, Gary used to teach us how we could have a second giver during the Valor Balance step, and they would have Valor on their palms, and place their right palm on the recipient’s right shoulder, and left palm on left shoulder. This would help to balance the energies of the recipient even faster.

In 2007, I was blessed to be one of 6 Raindrop Teachers invited to Ecuador to study with Gary in a special 4 day Raindrop Technique Masterclass, where he showed us in detail how he wanted each move taught. The aim was to create a standardized method of teaching Raindrop Technique around the globe.

At that class, Gary showed us how the energy balances in the recipient after only 2 minutes of a Valor Balance!

He had us feel for the ankle bones, put a thumb on each one, and bring the legs together. That would show us whether the legs were even or not. After 2 minutes of a Valor Balance, almost always the ankles were perfectly aligned.

Why would this be? It’s because the frequency of Valor oil matches the frequency of our skeleton, so the two get to “communicate”.

Valor tells the body to relax, and when it relaxes….I mean, really relaxes…our muscles let go and our spine sits in its perfectly balanced position.

The length of the Valor Balance does matter….

So if Gary says this balance can be achieved in 2 minutes flat, why would I then be saying we continue for 2 to 15 minutes? It’s simple. Although the body has relaxed enough within 2 minutes to appear more balanced, there is still a deepening effect that occurs after that. I find that if I hold a Valor Balance for 10 minutes or longer, almost always the recipient is asleep by this point.

That’s why the Valor Balance is such an excellent way of pampering family members who are stressed or having difficulty sleeping. It’s also a beautiful ritual to help you connect with children at bedtime.

Simply give them a 5 to 10 minute Valor Balance as they first go to bed. Not only will it relax them deeply and help them get the restful sleep that they need in order to rejuvenate their body – it also gives them the chance for some “one on one” time with you, being loved and nurtured.

I’ve had such amazing reports from families who have done this with their “difficult to get to bed” children. After a few nights, the children ask for it every night!

And even though it’s called a “Valor Balance”, it can also be done with other oils – so if you don’t have Valor yet, don’t let that stop you! Choose any relaxing oil such as Valor, Frankincense, Cedarwood, Sacred Sandalwood, Lavender, Northern Lights Black Spruce, Geranium, Peace & Calming, Valerian, Petitgrain, Roman Chamomile or RutaVaLa.

What about giving animals a Valor Balance?

Yes, a Valor Balance can even be performed on animals with equally stunning results – especially dogs and horses. Cats are in a bracket of their own – usually you’d be diluting oils if you were going to use them on a cat, and make sure it’s only the Young Living brand that you use, because of its commitment to absolute quality and purity.

When you are working on an animal, adjust the quantity of Valor oil according to the size of an animal – so a horse, donkey, mule or camel would be like a human, receiving up to 6 drops on each rear foot. I like to place it on the fur of the coronet band, just above the hoof itself.

On a dog, you’d use 1 to 3 drops under each rear foot. Check out Susan’s testimonial about this at the end of this bulletin.

It’s a great stand-alone technique for any bodyworker

The Valor Balance is also a fantastic stand-alone technique that can be used at the beginning of any other modality.

It’s such a powerful and relaxing tool that it became the first step in Gary’s Emotional Clearing Technique, and also for the Egyptian Emotional Clearing Technique (which was my adaptation from Gary’s original emotional clearing ritual).

A friend of mine who was working as a Shiatsu therapist always gave a Valor Balance at the beginning of every session, and many massage therapists do the same. Why? It’s because it sends the recipient into such a deep state of surrender that every other move you perform on them after that point is more effective – your modality can get in deeper and achieve better results, because the body is so relaxed and in a state of receiving.

Yet the benefit is not only for the recipient.

When we give a Valor Balance, whether from the feet or the shoulders, the relaxing effects also come to us as the giver.

As we relax with the peaceful aromas of the essential oils, our own breathing and heart rate slows. The aroma carries us into a meditative-like state, where we are more still, and more present to the experiences around us.

And because of the way that essential oils impact on the limbic region of our brain (the centre of memories, emotion and intuition), we find ourselves in a deeper state of “communion” with our recipient, and more able to sense and know things about them of which we aren’t consciously aware.

This is one of the mysteries of essential oils. As we inhale any aroma, including an essential oil, it triggers receptors in our nose, and sends a signal to our brain. Yet it completely bypasses our conscious brain, and goes straight to the limbic region of the brain, the seat of our subconscious.

This is where we hold our memories and their associated emotions, so it’s not uncommon for memories and feelings to come to the surface during a Valor Balance (and any other process using therapeutic-grade essential oils like those available from Young Living).

The limbic region of the brain is also the site of the Hypothalamus, which controls all things automatic in our body. This helps explain why our body relaxes in the face of beautiful smells that remind us of nature. It’s as if we are actually there, walking through the forest, experiencing the relaxation we feel in connection with nature. Of course our heart rate and breathing slows in response to that relaxation!!!

This is why essential oils like Lavender oil have been used in hospitals to help patients achieve more restful sleep, and why oils such as Orange and Geranium are diffused in maternity wards to assist first-time mothers to relax more deeply through the birthing process.

Valor Balance testimonials

Jen writes: When I was attending the Raindrop Technique Masterclass for the first time, Artemis was teaching us about using our intuition during a Valor Balance, and selecting an additional oil to anoint the person with (while the Valor Balance was taking place). I was on the table, and Artemis chose Inner Child oil for me. She applied it to my navel while my giver was conducting the Valor Balance, and immediately I was taken back to when I was a child and I was being pushed on the clothesline by the kid next door. He was a bully and would offer to push me, but then be horrible to me and say nasty things. I distinctly remember lying on the massage table, and consciously letting go of that memory and the hurt! I felt so light and a huge shift from the Valor Balance, I will never forget it!!!

Artemis writes: I still remember giving a Valor Balance demonstration at a Mind Body Spirit festival. We had chairs lined up along the stage, probably about 8 of them, and we invited members of the audience to come and sit in them while my YL friends and I demonstrated a Valor Balance. Most people receiving it sank into a very relaxed state, despite the busy festival environment. But one woman burst into tears. She had no idea why she was crying, but the Valor Balance took her there. I’ve always said that the Young Living oils are intelligent – they know what we need, and sometimes we are so afraid to let go, we keep ourselves so busy all the time, that it takes a moment of gentleness like what she experienced on stage in order to open the floodgates.

Susan writes: Fazette and I had a Young Living stand at the Australian Dog Agility National Grand Prix competition in Tamworth. It was held in a massive indoor arena, filled with people, dogs and noise.

I’d been asked by one of the competitors if I could perform a Raindrop Technique on her jittery dog, a black Toy Poodle who wasn’t coping with the chaos of the environment.

I began with the Valor Balance. Because it was such a small dog, I put just 1 drop of Valor oil under each of its rear paws, rotated 3 times clockwise, and then held my right hand under its right paw, and my left hand under its left paw.

I was working on a table, only metres away from a very busy walkway. There was a lot of noise and high energy from all the people and dogs passing by.

Despite this chaotic environment, after a minute or two of giving the Valor Balance, the toy poodle was sound asleep. His owner was absolutely amazed at the transformation in him – it was like he was a completely different dog.

Click here to read Raindrop Technique – Part 2

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