Abdominal Therapy - Arvigo Techniques of Maya Massage
In the bodywork traditions practiced around the world that I have studied or encountered, there has always been an element where belly massage is addressed. Various teachers, from my Zen Shiatsu master, Ryuho Yamada or the traditional Thai Massage instructors at Wat Po in Bangkok, would demonstrate massage techniques on the belly, then say that working in this area is for more advanced practitioners.
I didn’t get the chance to go further with these teachers, but instead, I was introduced to Abdominal Massage originating from a completely different area of the world - Central America and Southern Mexico, where Maya healers and midwives have continued practicing before and since colonization and cultural erasure. The work I have learned is informed by the lineage of Dr Rosita Arvigo, who studied with the Belizian healer, Don Elijio Panti.
Like Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda in India, Traditional Thai Massage or Hilot in the Phillippines, massage is part of a larger tradition of folk medicine. At the massage school I attended, we were shown some abdominal massage techniques, but we didn’t go into any in-depth study. In the older, traditional healing ways, the abdominal area is an integral area where the practitioner pays attention to the position and movement of the vital organs that keep us alive.
Modern research is catching up and recognizing that the abdominal area is deeply connected to the brain through the “gut-brain axis”. Studies continually show that the gut and brain communicate non-stop, influencing digestion, mood and hormonal regulation. The vagus nerve for example, runs from the brain through the abdomen and plays a key role in regulating stress response, digestion and relaxation. When we live with stress, our body contracts and a chain reaction begins. Muscles tighten, blood vessels constrict, breathing becomes shallow. It’s an ancient instinct to guard and protect our soft, exposed belly, but the organs need natural space and movement in order to function well. In women, the uterus needs to be in an optimal position for a healthy monthly cycle and in order to hold and carry life. In Maya philosophy, the uterus is the center of a woman’s life -it holds her creativity and power. When the uterus us out of place, her whole life is out of balance.
I didn’t get the chance to go further with these teachers, but instead, I was introduced to Abdominal Massage originating from a completely different area of the world - Central America and Southern Mexico, where Maya healers and midwives have continued practicing before and since colonization and cultural erasure. The work I have learned is informed by the lineage of Dr Rosita Arvigo, who studied with the Belizian healer, Don Elijio Panti.
Like Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda in India, Traditional Thai Massage or Hilot in the Phillippines, massage is part of a larger tradition of folk medicine. At the massage school I attended, we were shown some abdominal massage techniques, but we didn’t go into any in-depth study. In the older, traditional healing ways, the abdominal area is an integral area where the practitioner pays attention to the position and movement of the vital organs that keep us alive.
Modern research is catching up and recognizing that the abdominal area is deeply connected to the brain through the “gut-brain axis”. Studies continually show that the gut and brain communicate non-stop, influencing digestion, mood and hormonal regulation. The vagus nerve for example, runs from the brain through the abdomen and plays a key role in regulating stress response, digestion and relaxation. When we live with stress, our body contracts and a chain reaction begins. Muscles tighten, blood vessels constrict, breathing becomes shallow. It’s an ancient instinct to guard and protect our soft, exposed belly, but the organs need natural space and movement in order to function well. In women, the uterus needs to be in an optimal position for a healthy monthly cycle and in order to hold and carry life. In Maya philosophy, the uterus is the center of a woman’s life -it holds her creativity and power. When the uterus us out of place, her whole life is out of balance.
How I was introduced:
In 2009 I heard of a midwife in San Francisco who was offering “Maya Abdominal Massage” for free, since she was working on her clinical hours in order to receive certification. I had given birth to my daughter a year and a half before and had been a practicing massage therapist for over 8 years already. I had never heard of this modality, so I was curious and - free massage.
At the initial visit, I met the midwife Abigail and she had me fill out a comprehensive health history which I found unusual. “Isn’t this just a massage,” I wondered as I answered questions about my diet, reproductive health history and emotional/ spiritual life. As we went over the intake together, the understanding began, of the abdominal area as vital, not secondary. She handed me a folder with handouts: for castor oil packs, for pelvic steaming and self-care massage. And in one of the flaps was an illustration that I immediately recognized, of the Maya Goddess, IxChel.
I asked Abigail, “Why do you have this picture?”
Abigail: “Oh, that’s the patron Goddess of this work, she’s IxChel, the Maya goddess, have you heard of her?”
“Yes, that’s my daughter’s name!”
******************************************************************************
My husband named our daughter IxChel after his great grandmother, to honor his own Mayan lineage and family tradition of giving the name to the first born daughter of the family, which she was. Looking back, this was one of those cool, cosmic sign-pointing-the-way to The Path (if there is a path in this life) which I’m grateful for, as well as a fun story to tell.
Back in Abigail’s office, we wrapped up the health history intake, where she suggested some diet/ food modifications since I was still recovering from a difficult birth and postpartum. The massage itself was different from the regular, full-body sessions that I was used to. During the session Abigail noted that my uterus was tilted to the right (a common misalignment of the uterus). After massaging the lower back, sacral and tailbone area, she gave instruction on the self-care belly massage techniques to do at home. I left the office feeling different and the next day I noticed that my digestion was moving and elimination was flowing better - a very welcome instant result.
What I Experienced after that first session (I include some of my own health history here, please stop here if you’d rather not know details):
Since my first menstrual cycle at age 12, I’d had some form of period cramping and pain. After horrible on-and-off period pain in my twenties, by my mid thirties the pain was limited to day one and I took that as a great “normal”. By the time of that first Abdominal therapy Session, I was 39 and had not had my period in over a year since giving birth and breastfeeding — the birth itself had some difficulties and the labor was long. I struggled with some postpartum depression so I was grateful to receive this session and this work. At home, I did the newly learned self-care abdominal massage on myself every day. After several weeks, my cycle returned and amazingly it was a period free of cramps and clots for the first time in my life. Was it because I had given birth and so my cycle had changed? I’m sure that was a factor, but I also believe that the work I received and did for myself helped immensely. From then to when entered menopause when my cycle ended over a decade later, I experienced very little cramping and little to no clots. In addition, I’ve noticed then up to now that when I do the self-care abdominal massage consistently, my digestion and elimination improves over all, so for myself, these immediate, personal benefits drew me to consider practicing Maya Abdominal Therapy myself and to do more research into abdominal health.
To Be Continued….
In 2009 I heard of a midwife in San Francisco who was offering “Maya Abdominal Massage” for free, since she was working on her clinical hours in order to receive certification. I had given birth to my daughter a year and a half before and had been a practicing massage therapist for over 8 years already. I had never heard of this modality, so I was curious and - free massage.
At the initial visit, I met the midwife Abigail and she had me fill out a comprehensive health history which I found unusual. “Isn’t this just a massage,” I wondered as I answered questions about my diet, reproductive health history and emotional/ spiritual life. As we went over the intake together, the understanding began, of the abdominal area as vital, not secondary. She handed me a folder with handouts: for castor oil packs, for pelvic steaming and self-care massage. And in one of the flaps was an illustration that I immediately recognized, of the Maya Goddess, IxChel.
I asked Abigail, “Why do you have this picture?”
Abigail: “Oh, that’s the patron Goddess of this work, she’s IxChel, the Maya goddess, have you heard of her?”
“Yes, that’s my daughter’s name!”
******************************************************************************
My husband named our daughter IxChel after his great grandmother, to honor his own Mayan lineage and family tradition of giving the name to the first born daughter of the family, which she was. Looking back, this was one of those cool, cosmic sign-pointing-the-way to The Path (if there is a path in this life) which I’m grateful for, as well as a fun story to tell.
Back in Abigail’s office, we wrapped up the health history intake, where she suggested some diet/ food modifications since I was still recovering from a difficult birth and postpartum. The massage itself was different from the regular, full-body sessions that I was used to. During the session Abigail noted that my uterus was tilted to the right (a common misalignment of the uterus). After massaging the lower back, sacral and tailbone area, she gave instruction on the self-care belly massage techniques to do at home. I left the office feeling different and the next day I noticed that my digestion was moving and elimination was flowing better - a very welcome instant result.
What I Experienced after that first session (I include some of my own health history here, please stop here if you’d rather not know details):
Since my first menstrual cycle at age 12, I’d had some form of period cramping and pain. After horrible on-and-off period pain in my twenties, by my mid thirties the pain was limited to day one and I took that as a great “normal”. By the time of that first Abdominal therapy Session, I was 39 and had not had my period in over a year since giving birth and breastfeeding — the birth itself had some difficulties and the labor was long. I struggled with some postpartum depression so I was grateful to receive this session and this work. At home, I did the newly learned self-care abdominal massage on myself every day. After several weeks, my cycle returned and amazingly it was a period free of cramps and clots for the first time in my life. Was it because I had given birth and so my cycle had changed? I’m sure that was a factor, but I also believe that the work I received and did for myself helped immensely. From then to when entered menopause when my cycle ended over a decade later, I experienced very little cramping and little to no clots. In addition, I’ve noticed then up to now that when I do the self-care abdominal massage consistently, my digestion and elimination improves over all, so for myself, these immediate, personal benefits drew me to consider practicing Maya Abdominal Therapy myself and to do more research into abdominal health.
To Be Continued….
Maya Goddess - IxChel