Local Mum and holistic therapist Evi Achillea explains the many benefits of baby massage
The most precious jewels you will ever wear around your neck are the arms of your children. When you touch their body, you touch the whole person, the intellect, the spirit, and the emotions. Connect with your children heart-to-heart. Touch them with your hands, your eyes and your heart. Let them bond with the living, the breathing world.
Infant or baby massage has been around for thousands of years. Is an ancient art used in many diverse cultures to help with a variety of physical and emotional needs, or to promote relaxation.
Touch is the “mother of the senses” and is the first sense to develop in the womb and remains the most developed sense at birth. Before babies are able to speak, or even respond to sounds and sights, they communicate with the world around them through touch. It is therefore not surprising that massage can stimulate the nerve centres in the brain, lowering stress levels and thereby resulting in improved immune systems. Positive, nurturing touch is a wonderful way to help your baby feel safe, secure and loved and promoting good health, deepens bonding and strengthens communication and family relationships.
Each massage may stimulate:
• Circulatory and digestive systems
• Hormonal and immune systems
• Coordination and balance
• Learning and concentration
• Muscular development and growth
• Mind and body awareness
• Helps to improve sensory and body awareness
• Enhances neurological development
Parents may find that infant massage helps relieve:
• Gas and colic
• Constipation and elimination
• Growing pains and muscular tension
• Teething discomfort
• Cramps
The massage promotes relaxation which may be shown through:
• Improved sleep patterns
• Increased flexibility and muscle tone
• Regulation of behavioural states
• Being calm and being able to calm themselves
• Reduction in stress hormones
• Promotes relaxation which reduces crying
Baby massage can also be relaxing for mum as well as baby. Yes, babies get stressed too being in new environments and they also pick up on your stress. Taking time out together for a massage teaches baby how to relax, and you will relax too as baby massage can play a vital role in this process particularly if you've struggled due to postnatal depression, an early baby or medical problems.
Baby massage is an encompassing experience for the whole family unit and it's a great thing for dad to learn too, especially if mum is breast feeding and he feels left out in those early days. It teaches all involved to love, cherish and respect each other and reinforces the notion that mum, baby and extended family have started off on a momentous journey together, where all of us play our own unique role in supporting and loving one another.
I provide massage sessions form my clinic which includes a detailed handout and a pot of organic oil or aromatherapy blend massage oil (as I am a qualified Aroma therapist) which can be customised regarding your babies requirements. Sessions also available in the comfort of your house which can be taught as individual or group sessions.
Infant massage can promote the kind of parenting that the attentive mother was able to provide. Its benefits go far beyond the immediate physiological gains. As you massage your baby regularly, you will discover that you develop a bond with your child that will last a lifetime.”
For more information, please contact:
Evi Achillea
Owner
Handy Therapies
Tel: 07528337068
Email: evi73@hotmail.co.uk
www.handytherapies.co.uk
