Pregnancy & Postnatal Massage: Discovering the creative art of healing wellness.
There’s no denying it; I love having a massage! Throughout my adult life I have explored this traditional approach to maintaining my mental and physical wellness when on holiday, as well as regularly here at home. Time on a treatment couch is one of the best ways I know to unwind and reconnect with my body. Through my pregnancy, cancer treatments, and all the life in between, I know that the nurturing touch that I receive through massage treatments has helped me to release tension, anxiety and stress, and enjoy the restorative rest and sleep that I have needed.
Over the years I have been interested in how I can help my postnatal and antenatal Mumma’s with massage, and then, this year, I had the chance to host and train in Creative Healing with Dr Marie Gowri Motha, through the Gentle Birth Method.
There is nothing more comforting than touch to help lift the tension that we hold in our bodies, and as you change throughout your pregnancy and beyond, light massage can help reconnect you with your body. The Creative Healing Course is a method that allows you to relax and come back into yourself. In this blog I am going to share with you my journey through this incredible training experience, and how I am able to bring this caring therapeutic practice to you in your home.
As I walked up the steps in my garden, the roses bobbed up and down in the spring air, while the sun actually made an appearance and I could hear the voices of women laughing and sharing their stories around the outdoor table. We had taken a break for lunch in the sunshine after a morning of learning; fascia release and energetic realignment to increase the flow around the body had been our subject matter and it was good to feel the air around my body as my mind started to collect all the mental Post-It notes. The girls and I compared thoughts and shared food together, expressing the love of being birth practitioners, as well as what it is like to work as a doula on a daily basis.
It is rare for us to be able to spend time in a small group, to share our experiences and our growing knowledge over an extended time. Four days together drinking tea, wearing cosy socks and learning the art of touch, and hearing each other’s stories gave us a closeness based in a deep sense of trust that allowed us to start our own healing. As well as the practical, work knowledge we were given through the course, I don’t think I was prepared for how deep we were able to go with our own processes, which allow us all to be healthier and more informed Doula practitioners. Our passion is to bring nurturing wellness to you, and we carved out four precious days in our schedules to meet and learn, share and grow together so that we could nurture our own bodies and minds, so that we could go away and offer more to you and your families.
I went into this training course with a very clear goal: by the end of the four days, I wanted to know how to safely apply touch to different areas of the body so that it can release tension after spending the night holding babe, pacing your hallway, lifting, carrying and trying to breastfeed when all you want is to go to sleep and not wake up for ten hours!
We know that touch can reduce anxiety, release happy oxytocin vibes, and bring us closer to feeling calm. Massage allows our breathing to deepen, and our mind to ‘drift’ and enjoy some meditative time-out. The benefits massage has on the muscles and fascia fill the shelves of multiple practitioners, and we know that regular therapeutic touch can help calm the nervous system and help our bodies process trauma. In short, massage should be given and received on a regular basis to help our wellbeing for our bodies, minds and emotions.
So for four days we spent time with Dr Gowri, a third generation massage and wellness teacher and scholar, who taught us through the Gentle Birth Method, which was developed by Joseph Stephenson back in the early part of the last century. Through tried and tested touch based release, we were shown how to help your body find restoration and balance, break down congestion within your soft tissue and bring you back to a place where your body will naturally find ways to look after itself and restore healthy function.
During pregnancy and after birth, your body changes exponentially, and to be able to help you find your own space within that metamorphic state is an honour.
Due to my own health history with breast cancer, and going through a full hysterectomy, I was able to ‘model’ throughout the four days of learning; we could see how fascia scaring could be helped through the techniques, and I was able to gain a greater understanding of how healing touch can help people who have struggled through their own physical journeys.
With Dr Stephenson’s words of wisdom in my mind, I now look at my hands with new appreciation; I carry creativity within them, which allows me to offer you creative healing. There is no routine to how the Gentle Birth Method form of massage is applied, and therefore I can trust the connection between my mind and my hands to offer you the best treatment for your pregnancy, the hours after labour and for the year beyond. I am so excited to share more about The Gentle Birth Method and Creative Healing and it is now firmly in my 'doula tool box'. As I delve into the practice and knowledge further, I will be sharing it with you here on the blog, as well as in my newsletters.
Thanks so much for being here with me, and I look forward to caring for you soon,
Love, Sam xx
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