Alstonville Remedial Massage

Book online at: www.emmadanchin.com

Build a solid foundation of self care as you prepare for motherhood

Parenting is demanding and it starts from day one! From the moment you conceive, your body gives you certain limitations on what you can and can't do and it can be all consuming. For example, there are many herbs and medicines that are not allowed during pregnancy and usually you will need to change your exercise and take it slower as you will be fatigued. It is quite an adjustment to go from essentially doing what you like when you like, to having to permanently consider another being and the impact your choices are having on them! In my experience, it is wise to prepare carefully for this time in your life, as it can be precious, sacred and deeply evolving, or unplanned it can be bewildering, overwhelming and scary; you can feel burdened by the responsibility and quite frankly, it can be tough.

YOU are precious and sacred as the gorgeous woman that you are and often as women we deviate from this innate knowing of ourselves. Life events, trauma, relationships with family and partners where we are not seen and honoured in the feminine glory that we truly are but instead unseen, disregarded and treated as less; all shape the way that we are with ourselves and we can lose touch with our innocence, sensitivity and fragility. Instead, we choose to interact with others in a hardened, toughened way, in an attempt to protect ourselves from further hurt.

6-9months before you plan to conceive, consider booking in for a Preparation for Parenthood Program. With Emma's guidance, you can design your own specific program theme, what types of sessions would be of most support and their frequency. Usually we begin with a bodywork session. We will address fundamental Women's Health topics like:

• Bringing awareness to your body and learning simple tools to re-connect
• Noticing the impact your lifestyle choices have on your body
• Restoring ownership of your body, health and well-being
• Planing your daily rhythm as part of self-care
• Deepening self-care to self-love and self-honour
• Placing yourself first
• Looking at the ways in which we have been living as a woman and what is possible and in fact very natural for us
• Recognising your sensitivity
• Claiming your delicate womanly nature as your birthright
• Building a foundation such as this as you prepare to conceive, considering all aspects that you will need to support yourself - physically, nutritionally, emotionally, practically and financially - provides the confidence and stability to enter this significant new phase of your life with ease.

Fertility issues due to irregular cycles, fibroids, polycystic ovarian syndrome and digestive issues are addressed by developing a self-care plan such as this, which may include the additional support and referral to a qualified nutritionist. Emma has had experience working with clients dealing with infertility issues such as these and seeking to fall pregnant, and then joyfully supporting them through their subsequent pregnancy.

Pregnancy Massage Benefits

Pregnancy is a time of rapid change and requires your full attention. Massage is a wonderful support for pregnant women throughout each stage and can begin in the first trimester.

It is important that any massage you receive while you are pregnant is provided by a massage therapist specifically trained in massage for pregnancy.

Emma has extensive pregnancy massage experience, and as a devoted mother, she enjoys working with women during their child raising years, supporting them with the demands of motherhood and family life. Please contact her with any concerns or questions you might have with regard to massage during pregnancy.

First trimester

In the first trimester, nausea - 'morning sickness' or sometimes 'all day sickness, nausea and vomiting' - fatigue and anxiety are common and can be super intense. For first time mum's, the first trimester can be particularly stressful as you are uncertain of what to expect. These symptoms, especially morning sickness, can bring you to stand-still - literally - affecting your capacity to work, enjoy your relationships and affect your eating, exercise and sleep routines. It can be tempting to just want it to go away and 'get through' to the second trimester with promises of feeling better.

Your body is harnessing all of its energy to make a new person. It is using all of the available nutrients and reserves from your body to build a healthy baby. It is up to you to take deep care of yourself during this time so that you do not get depleted. It is worth considering the purpose of all of this - what is your body trying to tell you? Could this 'stand-still' be exactly what is needed right now?

If you haven't been living in presence with yourself, moving sensitively with respect to your natural delicate qualities and in connection with stillness and your rhythms that are a woman's natural way, pregnancy will amplify this to us. Like a loud speaker, all of the ways in which we have not been living in this way will be obvious and in our face, uncomfortably so. We will feel how we have not cared enough for ourselves in the way that we are eating or exercising; how we keep pulling towards being tough, being busy, always ticking things off the list and being stubbornly independent! With all this motion constantly enticing us with its momentum, our pregnancy is calling us deeply from within, to surrender to stillness. To stop, to feel ... the good with the bad; to allow ourselves to feel fragile and to recognise the strength in this. To bring more presence to ourselves. To let go of needing things to be a certain way. And to give ourselves space. Space to feel and confirm ourselves just as we are, without needing some sort of external confirmation from our actions.

Receiving healing and massage during this time is powerful support to navigate this journey of re-connection back to the sensitive woman that you are, providing a non-imposing space to feel what is needed and let go of what is no longer needed and feel strengthened by connecting to, uncovering and living from this wisdom found deep within us.

Second trimester

The second trimester is a celebration . You've made it to the magic 12 week mark! Your pregnancy is now well established and most likely your morning sickness has stopped. This is the time to focus on developing your self-care and self-nurture rituals so that you can be the master of the quality of energy and presence you bring to your day and your relationships. This is the energetic support that you need to take responsibility for giving to yourself and to your baby, because once your baby is born, you will have a lot less time and so building familiarity and confidence with these simple acts of self-support will stand you in super good stead.

In session, we begin to use the pregnancy massage pillow so you can lie face down with your belly fully supported and your massage can continue as required, assisting you to accommodate the changes you are experiencing in your body.

Third trimester

Can you really be 28 weeks already? It is going fast! The nesting urge is well and truly underway, with your thoughts consumed by the labour and birth and ensuring you are practically ready in your home to welcome your baby. But how busy are you? Have you honoured the earlier phases of your pregnancy to bring more space and stillness into your day? Or is that momentum train still charging ahead?

Healing and massage sessions during this time support you to connect to your body and drop into the spacious and steadfast stillness within you; to feel and experience your grace and beauty as a woman and to deepen your presence with yourself. The more connected you are to these aspects of yourself, the more prepared you will be for labour and the subsequent post-natal phase.

Physically, discomfort is common in the 3rd Trimester from compensation for the growing baby but equally, with all that relaxin in your body, it responds quickly to massage. Remedial massage during this time is a great support to your circulation and suppleness , as well as simply connecting to your physical body and letting yourself feel your baby, and you as distinct from your baby. It is commonly a time when we retreat into the sanctuary of our mind and thoughts, and we can do with some help to reconnect to and listen effectively to the body, which can be harder to do when we are carrying a baby but so important to honour yourself in this way.

Post-natal massage

Most women find it difficult to get back into the clinic at the time they need it most and after working intimately together leading up to the birth, it is commonly a time when their focus shifts from themselves to their baby and they forget about taking care of their own body. Your birth experience can often leave you with very tight neck, shoulders and back - which you may not even be feeling? - and coupled with the fatigue of 4 hourly sleep cycles, constantly carrying and feeding your baby, it is self-loving to arrange care for your baby for 2hrs and come in for a massage. Or alternatively to arrange a home visit if it is in the first 6 weeks after birth and you want to stay close to the nest. You may not be able to drop as deeply into the session, with a heightened vigilance designed to protect and care for your baby, this is absolutely fine. It will be a different experience, it may be better to have a shorter session at this time, but it is definitely worth making it a priority.

The lower back area can become quite depleted and the hip muscles get get tight, as you re-learn to use your abdominal muscles. Getting back in touch with your tummy is important during this time, gently getting back into gentle exercise and especially ensuring that you are eating a high quality nutrient dense diet, which takes planning and preparation but once you are in the swing of it, can become part of normal family life. Planning to have a session during this time gives you a point of reference, to reflect on how you are going and how you can better support yourself. Mild to moderate post-natal depression is surprisingly common during this time with many women not even realising that they are experiencing depression. Often they just battle on, with wild raging feelings of insecurity, lack of confidence and anxiety. Healing and massage can really support during this time, to bring you back to your body, to nurture, hold and care for yourself, to be met and held in the loving presence of your practitioner, just as you are asking of yourself to meet and hold the physical, emotional and energetic needs of your baby.

Sessions for Children

Children respond amazingly to the gentle, steady touch of healing bodywork. They don't need long - a 45 minute session is all that is needed. By offering them the space to feel held and seen in their tensions, they usually will shift and let go quite quickly, supporting better quality sleep and emotional steadiness throughout their day.

Book in your free 15min Phone Wellbeing Consult at www.emmadanchin.com and Emma will recommend the best treatment plan for you.