About me:

"This mindful massage was a truly special experience. I felt deeply listened to, held with great care, and completely respected in my boundaries. It allowed me to relax deeply."

— Élodie, Darmstadt

For the first twenty years of my professional life, everything looked comfortable from the outside.

But deep inside, I felt that something was missing. My work no longer truly fulfilled me.

My body started to speak through pain, especially in my back and neck.

Have you ever heard of body wisdom? – Have you ever noticed that your body has its own wisdom? I hadn't at the time. And even if I had, I'm not sure I would have listened.

Deep inside, I carried a belief from childhood: that the body is simply a tool that should work, perform and keep going. Maybe you recognise this, too.

Listening to my body did not come naturally.

I could feel it while running, hiking, practising yoga or dancing. But when it came to listening to what my body was trying to tell me, I met resistance. That deeper kind of listening was difficult for me.

Through different body-based approaches and personal experience – including my training in Olfactotherapy® – I slowly learned to sense my body with more awareness, trust and gratitude.

My path to holistic massage began through dance – more precisely, through Argentine Tango.

For me, tango is much more than a dance. It is a deeply holistic experience. It has been part of my life for more than ten years and continues to shape the way I experience my body today.

Through friends from the tango community, I discovered the massage training of Christian Hiéronimus: Massage Conscient et Créatif® (Conscious & Creative Massage).

Already during the first days of massage training, something became very clear to me: massage was not only for my own personal growth or for my dancing – It was something I wanted to share.

I knew that I wanted to accompany people through holistic massage.

From that moment on, I continued learning and practising with great joy, presence and dedication: attending other massage trainings, supervision week-ends and of course training a lot with my friends here in Darmstadt.

I have trained in other valuable massage and bodywork approaches. Yet Conscious & Creative Massage remains the foundation of my work, with its deep roots in mindfulness and presence.

My vision: awareness begins in the body

Tango, holistic massage, bodywork and working with essential-oil scents have all helped me discover my body as a compass – and learn to trust it.

To arrive in your body is to arrive back to yourself.

Would you also like to feel more at ease in your body and reconnect with yourself?

My journey to massage – and to trusting my body

Before discovering massage & bodywork, I was introduced to scent work with essential oils, which is closely connected to body awareness.

Today, I often combine bodywork and working with essential-oil scents in my sessions: the experience can continue unfolding for you long after the session has ended.

Food, cosmetics... or scents?

At the end of my studies in food engineering in France, I made the unusual choice to complete my final project in a cosmetics laboratory.

I was curious and wanted to discover something new: the world of cosmetic product development.

This decision brought me to Germany for six months in 2000. During my very first days in the laboratory, I discovered something I had never realised before: a deep fascination for scents.

After graduating, I started my career in the cosmetics industry and soon afterwards moved to Germany, where I have now been living for more than twenty years.

I first worked in research and development for innovative cosmetic products.

A few years later, I decided to follow my dream of working directly with scents and spent a year in Grasse, in the south of France, training as a perfumer.

Once back in Germany, I continued to deepen my expertise in fragrance within the cosmetics industry for many years. Then, through a perfumer friend, I discovered the work of perfumer and aromachologist Patty Canac.

Once again, scents opened a new door for me— this time, towards supporting people on an emotional level. At the time, I had no idea where this path would lead me.

In 2019, I began a new chapter of exploration and learning: working with essentiel-oil scents.

Over the following four years, I completed extensive training and received certifications in Aromachology (Patty Canac), Olfactotherapy® (Gilles Fournil), Olfactocoaching® (Elisabeth Molina & Gilles Fournil), and Duftkommunikation - Scent Communication (Christine Lamontain, Jena).

Today, these approaches form the foundation of my work with essential-oil scents.

Finding your way back to joy through touch and scent

As an authentic, empathetic and mindful person, I would be honoured to accompany you on your journey back to yourself—and to the joy that naturally lives within you.

If you long to feel more ease, clarity and freedom, I invite you to explore my offerings.

"This was one of the most meaningful experiences I've ever had, and I'm so grateful I decided to give it a try. I hadn't realised how much stress I had been carrying from my work life, or how deeply I needed to slow down and take time for myself. After the session, I felt an incredible sense of calm, lightness, and deep relaxation. I'm truly grateful for this wonderful experience and will definitely be back."

— Sasha Darmstadt

Education

• Degree in Food Engineering (Microbiology & Food Technology), Brest, France

• One-year training as a Perfumer, Grasse Institute of Perfumery (GIP), France

Further Training in Work with essentiel-oil scents

• Certified Practitioner in Aromachology (Patty Canac)

• Certified Olfactotherapist® (Gilles Fournil)

• Certified Olfactocoach® (Elisabeth Molina & Gilles Fournil)

• Certified Practitioner in Scent Communication "Angewandte Duftkommunikation" (Christine Lamontain – Das Duftgespräch®)

Further Training in Massage & Bodywork

• Conscious & Creative Massage® (Christian Hiéronimus)

• Lomi Lomi Nui Massage (Terramedus)

• Tantra Massage (Marie-Jésus Sandoval, Luc Pouget, Christelle Bonneau & Raphael Gardat)

• Foot & Reflexology Massage (Karfried Kessler)

• Back Massage – TouchLife Method

• Bowen Technique (Bowtech®) – Bowen Academy Europe (ongoing until January 2027)

Professional Membership

• Member of the Professional Association of Health Practitioners within the German Society for Alternative Medicine (DGAM)

Education & Professional Training

“Manuella’s massage touched me effortlessly in a profound way, bringing back a sense of expanded awareness within just one session. Her mindfulness is not something she had to learn—it is deeply inherent in her nature. Thank you!”

— Raphaelle, Bremen

Contact@oessence.eu

0151 / 22 83 21 30

64287 Darmstadt

Reconnect with your essence

Contact

Manuella Jourdain

Gesundheitspraktikerin (DGAM)

Holistic Massage, Bodywork & Scent Work