Infant Massage

"Being touched and caressed, being massaged, is food for the infant. Food as necessary as minerals, vitamins and proteins."

~ Dr.Frederick Leboyer

The past two weekends of my life have been great but have been occupied with the Infant Massage Elective at BCMT. The elective teaches students (soon-to-be therapists)how to teach infant massage to parents and other caregivers.

Massaging an infant, whether it's yours or a baby you are caring for, has so many benefits. Some of the many benefits include:

*enhances your baby's bond with you
*creates healthy tone in your baby's developing muscles and reduces muscle tension
*enhances your baby's immune system
*helps reduce the discomforts of digestion, elimination, and teething and may eliminate colic in some cases
*facilitates better sleep patterns
*for the premature baby, may increase weight gain and the chance of an earlier discharge from the hospital
*strengthens your communication with and your intuition about your child
*allows you to be an example of compassion and love for your baby
*gives partners a specific role to fulfill in parenting which helps them feel integrated and important in the parenting process

"Touch is a language that can communicate more love in five seconds, than five minutes of carefully chosen words."

~ Phyllis Davis,Power of Touch

I worked with the sweetest 9 week old girl these past two weeks and really enjoyed her company. She already slept 7 hours a night and was very calm. Her mother came to the sessions and ended up massaging her daughter almost everyday during the week. She saw positive changes in the both of them. Her daughter had more solid stool and her digestion was better! The mom said that she enjoyed the quiet time with her new infant and felt calmer. This experience makes me excited for my own children and had left me wanting to persue a certificate in infant massage so I can work at health centers and hospitals. Many people think they spoil their children when they touch them or hold them too much but healthy touch and love is what people, especially new people to this world, need in order to feel safe and to thrive.

Normalization of Soft Tissue (NST)

This quarter I am taking a class focusing on the evaluation and treatment of postural dysfunction and traumatic injuries. This course involves learning Myofascial Release, Trigger Point Therapy, Muscle Energy Techniques, Lymphatic Drainage, and Cyriax Cross Fiber Friction. There is so much to learn and remember..but I feel like I am learning techniques that can really help me help others.

I have clinics every other week on Wednesdays. This time, everyone in my quarter is doing 3 in a row! So from 2-6 we are working with the public and giving massages. It's great to experience so many clients in such a short period of time and seeing how I handle each client and situation differently. Some clients just want to relax and receive a Swedish session, while others are very open to deeper work and having me evaluate their Range of Motion or Posture. Everyone is different and that's what I have to keep remembering so that I can help them help themselves.

I'm also beginning to have repeat clients come into the clinic and am starting to advertise myself more so that I can be in a good position (client wise) once I graduate. I think the hardest part about NST will be to remember all of the techniques and great information!