What It’s Used For:

Supporting deep, natural sleep

Helping to ease stress, restlessness, and mental overactivity

Encouraging a grounded, relaxed state before bedtime

Nourishing and moisturising tired, overworked feet

Supporting evening routines and healthy nervous system balance

The Oils at the Heart of the Cream:

Spikenard

Spikenard is one of the most ancient therapeutic plants known to humankind. Despite being little used in modern times, it has been valued for untold millennia and appears in the materia medica of all three of the world’s major medical systems: Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, and Greek medicine. It is also one of the few aromatic substances used since prehistory across cultures in traditional perfumes and cosmetics. Ancient civilisations from Egypt and Babylon to Greece and Rome all worked with spikenard.

Spikenard has a unique, mysterious fragrance — earthy, rooty, mossy, sweet, and damp, like rich soil after rain. Because of this deep, grounding quality, it has long been used for sacred and ritual purposes. In ancient times it was highly esteemed as a powerful emblem of spirit, transience, and divinity. It is mentioned in the Bible and was used to anoint Jesus’ feet. In Buddhism, spikenard is used in meditation practices, and during the Tang dynasty Buddhist monks travelling from India brought the sacred root back to their central kingdom.

This essence offers physiological, psychological, and spiritual support. Spikenard belongs to the large valerian family and shares many properties with vetiver, which is also included in this cream. Like vetiver, spikenard works deeply through the roots of the body.

Traditionally, spikenard has a tropism for the brain and cardiovascular system. It is a strong cerebral sedative, known to help ease anxiety, restlessness, and insomnia, and to support the neurocardiovascular system. In energetic terms, it is particularly effective at draining excess or pathogenic heat from the head and drawing it down into the body — especially into the feet.

Because it is a root oil, spikenard is associated with themes of worrying, obsessive thinking, oversensitivity, and the difficulty of letting go of old wounds and resentments that have become deeply embedded.

Spikenard was used in the anointing of Jesus’ feet at the hour of his death, and has long been valued for its ability to help the spirit descend into the body — acting as a channel between heaven and earth.

Its volatile oil is known to influence GABA receptors in the brain, which regulate waking and sleeping. By reducing the strength and duration of neuronal signalling, spikenard quiets the mind and relaxes the body. With its woody, floral, and slightly animalic scent, it became the heart of this blend: timeless, earthy, and deeply calming, with natural sedative and soporific effects.

Vetiver

Vetiver is another key oil in the cream, with deep earthy and Rooty fragrance . A tropical member of the grass family, it is distilled from the roots of the plant and carries the scent of the tropical jungle. Vetiver is especially suited to individuals who run weak, tense, and hot. It is deeply restorative, cooling, and relaxing, supporting the nervous system through gentle sedative action.

Vetiver works across four core systems — the nervous, endocrine, gastrointestinal, and immune systems — making it particularly suitable for chronic deficiencies that arise from long-term stress. It is a classic oil for physical burnout and is also known for its benefits in women’s hormonal conditions and PMS. Like spikenard, vetiver is considered a “root of the earth” oil, a gift of Mother Earth that helps draw awareness down from the head and back into the body.

To further support the blend, valerian root was added. Valerian has long been used to help severe anxiety, distress, and nervous system imbalance, and its relaxing properties naturally complement the grounding effects of spikenard and vetiver.

Origins of the Formula:

While studying traditional aromatherapy texts and exploring the ancient and spiritual roots of plant medicine, Martine became drawn to historical foot-anointing practices — rituals in which precious plant oils were applied with care to calm the mind, ease anxiety, and support the body during times of emotional strain.

Again and again, one oil appeared throughout these traditions: spikenard. Valued across cultures, it was used sparingly and with great intention for its grounding, calming, and restorative qualities.

Guided by Five Element Theory and its application to aromatherapy, Martine began working with spikenard to support individuals burdened by emotional pressure, injustice, and mental overactivity — people who carry tension deeply and find it difficult to fully let go. Within this framework, these patterns are often associated with a “wood-type” constitution: driven, sensitive individuals who are particularly affected by stress and internalised frustration.

In traditional theory, spikenard is linked to the liver and gallbladder energy pathways — systems associated with emotional flow, release, and the ability to rest. When these pathways are unsettled, sleep can become disturbed. Sleep, in these traditions, is seen as the time when the body and mind soften, reset, and restore balance.

At the same time, a close friend of Martine’s was struggling deeply. Sleep had become elusive. Stress had settled into the body as constant tension, discomfort, and pressure — the familiar experience of emotional overload and an inability to switch off.

One evening, recalling these ancient practices, Martine gently applied spikenard to his feet.

The response was immediate.

Breathing slowed. The body softened. Restlessness eased. Within minutes, he fell into a deep, uninterrupted sleep — something he had not experienced for a long time.

Moved by this experience, Martine began refining the formulation with care and intention. Drawing on both modern aromatherapy and traditional elemental understanding, she focused on grounding oils suited to wood-type constitutions and those prone to chronic stress, frustration, and long-held tension.

What emerged was not simply a sleep cream, but a night-time ritual.

Today, the Relaxing Sleep Foot Cream is trusted and used by many of Martine’s patients and customers, particularly those experiencing ongoing stress, nervous tension, and disrupted sleep.

Directions for Use:

Before sleep, gently massage a small amount into the soles of the feet.

Allow the cream to absorb, calm the nervous system, and support the body’s natural transition into deep, restorative rest.