05/01/2025
Kia ora māmā,
I'm looking for 1-2 hapū māmā who may wish to journey with me in receiving a discounted series of traditional Maya abdominal pregnancy massage.
I adore this massage protocol, though I find it is less taken up as it's a bit vague as to what it is.
"The full in-person Abdominal Therapy treatment involves an external massage of your entire abdomen, back, hips, and sacrum. Massaging these areas systematically and thoroughly optimizes the circulation of all the systems in your body. We call this NAVEL: Nerve, Arterial and Venous blood, Energy, and Lymph.
As our gift to you, your therapist will teach you how to perform Your Abdominal Massage (YAM) at home to support your health goals."
https://www.abdominaltherapycollective.com/about-abdominal-therapy
This is a beautiful, relaxing treatment to support the stretching uterine ligaments and hard working pelvis of pregnancy. It is a 90 minute experience, in which the māmā is reclined on the massage table, supported by many, many cushions and draped for comfort.
I'm mindful of cultural appropriation when calling this treatment "Mayan" and "traditional". But actually, it is. I trained with the Abdominal Therapy Collective, founded and instructed by Dr Rosita Arvigo DN, who apprenticed to midwife Miss Hortense Robinson and shaman Don Elijio Panti. You can read about these people, their incredible journey together and their ongoing cultural and environment projects here: https://www.abdominaltherapycollective.com/origin-and-lineage . There are some inspiring videos about them on YouTube also: https://www.youtube.com//videos
I would like to connect with māmā who are able to commit to 3x 90 minute sessions around 30 weeks, 35 weeks and 38 weeks. (Technique varies slightly as the baby comes to term.)
There can be more if desired. The cost is usually sliding scale $100-$120 per session, however I am offering the 3 session journey for $240 in total.
Please reach out to me if you are interested.
Ngā mihi nui,
Alesha
