wellness for you & baby

Receiving massage is highly beneficial for the pregnant body to prepare for labor. Therapeutic touch can improve sleep patterns, encourage greater relaxation, alleviate stress on weight-bearing joints and soft tissue structures, increase circulation and decrease inflammation. More than just a treat, massage is a vital form of self-keeping both before & after pregnancy.

In the postpartum period, massage therapy can facilitate recovery from birth through enhanced circulation and lymphatic drainage; alleviate muscle strain and soreness caused by labor and delivery; provide adjunctive treatment of hemorrhoids, bladder disorders, and post- episiotomy soreness with reflex massage; rehabilitate the skin, connective tissue, and musculature of the abdomen; promote structural realignment of the psoas and pelvic musculature; facilitate healing from cesarean section using connective tissue and scar massage techniques; address the physical stress of caring for a newborn; and provide nurturing and emotional support during the early postpartum period.

Bodywork can be deeply restorative, focusing on the whole-human; each session tailored to your unique needs. In a world that moves very quickly, having a safe space to slow down and listen to your body is vitally important.

What to expect during your massage:

This individualized session may include myofascial release techniques, Swedish massage techniques, abdominal massage techniques, trigger-point therapy, deep tissue (when the body allows), lymphatic drainage techniques, breath-work, visceral manipulation, assisted stretching & acupressure (similar to reflexology) and massage cupping.

"In a chronically stressed condition, quality of life, and perhaps life itself, is at risk. The body's capacity to heal itself is compromised either inhibiting recovery from an existing illness or injury, or creating a new one, including high blood pressure, ulcers, back pain, immune dysfunction, reproductive problems, and depression. These conditions add stress of their own, and the cycle continues.

The antidote to stress is relaxation. To relax is to rest deeply."

- Judith Hanson Lasater, Ph.D., P.T.

Visceral Mobilization/Manipulation assists functional and structural imbalances throughout the body including musculoskeletal, vascular, nervous, urogenital, respiratory, digestive and lymphatic dysfunction. It evaluates and treats the dynamics of motion and suspension in relation to organs, membranes, fascia and ligaments. VM increases proprioceptive communication (the sense of self-movement and body position) within the body, thereby revitalizing a person and relieving symptoms of pain, dysfunction, and poor posture.

An integrative approach to evaluation and treatment of a patient requires assessment of the structural relationships between the viscera, and their fascial or ligamentous attachments to the musculoskeletal system. Strains in the connective tissue of the viscera can result from surgical scars, adhesions, illness, posture or injury. Tension patterns form through the fascial network deep within the body, creating a cascade of effects far from their sources for which the body will have to compensate. This creates fixed, abnormal points of tension that the body must move around, and this chronic irritation gives way to functional and structural problems. This body of work is extensive and life changing.

Parker is currently studying Visceral Manipulation with the Barral Institute.