What happens during an Abdominal Centered Massage?

What brings someone to receive abdominal massage?

The abdomen is a vulnerable and intimate area of the body. It houses most of our major organs and is home to our sacred sacral region. It is the center of our being. We receive our first sense of nourishment here, as an embryo through the umbilicus, and this forms our first connection, our first intimacy. Every day, food and water are offered to the body, and our organs transform it into accessible nutrition. This is also a place where we digest all of the other stimulation from our lives - emotions, environments, relations. Like the hearth of a home, our abdomen is the fire that both receives what we give it and sustains us with warmth. Sometimes our fires burn too hot, or are too wet, and our digestion becomes impaired. GI issues come with inflammation and tension in the abdomen, and there is always room to improve quality of life here.

The womb space is home here as well. This references the physical organs of the uterus, ovaries, and fallopian tubes, but it also alludes to the space within each of us, outside of our anatomy, that is the home of creation. That is why someone can have a hysterectomy and still have a womb space on an energetic and spiritual level. Connecting to this area of the body gives us a deeper sense of arriving and inhabiting our lives. Through our womb connection, we connect down to the earth and expand our ability to receive support. We connect to our joy, pleasure, creativity, and we release shame, guilt, and shutdown. It is the great journey from the head to the heart and down to the womb that brings us home in our centers.

Our wombs are vessels with open space of pure potential. Within them contain the mysteries of life and death. In the physical sense, this is our monthly moon cycle where we release and cleanse with our bleed or where we grow new life into form with fertilization. Our cycles are gateways into deeper knowing of what our bodies are trying to tell us. For many in our modern times, we face pre-menstrual disturbances and pain with our bleeds. Even though it has become common, it does not need to become the normal.

There are many women on their conception journey that face a lack of physical, emotional, and spiritual preparation and support. Even if they cannot pinpoint it, they long for a deeper connection to the process of bringing new life into the world. They want to arrive more deeply in their bodies. They may want to heal around past losses, grievances, or heavy emotions that somehow feel connected to this area of their bodies.

In the postpartum time, organs need the support to come back into place, especially the uterus. The woman herself also needs the support to come back into her center after being opened so expansively. The birth is the portal, and as she steps through this threshold, we need to meet her there on the other side which is the postpartum window.

And what about pure curiosity? To be curious means that you are in a pretty open and stable state within your nervous system. That means you have space to learn and evolve. This is a good enough reason in and of itself to receive abdominal centered massage - to gift yourself a sacred space to deeply listen on an embodied level. You never know what your inner oracle wants to share with you or what ancestral layer is ready to be processed and integrated or what new level of joy wants to be felt. I'm here for it all.

The flow of an abdominal massage session

First and foremost, you are a whole being and you will be held in your wholeness. This is a full body experience, not just massage directly to the belly! In our first session, we have ample space for a thorough consultation to share anything that is on your heart. On the table, I always begin with settling the body into the space. This may include a grounding hold at the feet, so I can listen to your whole body first. I allow your body's wisdom to show the way, so we may go into feet or head massage. Sometimes we even start with the back, as it is the other side of the abdomen, and releasing tension here first can be supportive.

When we get to the belly, I place a drape over the chest so that only the abdomen is exposed. This is slow and attuned work. We can "do a lot" with just precensing touch; we will communicate the level of depth and pace as we go. The organs find their natural position by the massage creating space for them - there is rarely a need for force. With that being said, the massage is precise and specific with intention and purpose. If there is a depth that calls, we go their together in a partnership with your body's pace. We may also work with areas such as a sacrum and glutes because this is where some of the nerves that govern the reproductive organs and lower body travel through.

Warmth, comfort, and support are essential so you can expect hot towels, warmed rice bags, and organic aromatherapy and herbal oils, as appropriate. I invite communication to honor any layer that is coming up (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, ancestral) and silence is also deeply respected. Sometimes people become so relaxed they fall asleep or go into a dream state. I invite the transition out of the massage to be slow with an intentional conclusion. We will have some space to connect on anything that wants to be voiced from the bodywork, and I may give you instructions for at-home care. It is in the second session that we can go deeper into self-massage instructions and other supportive tools.

Abdominal Massage Aftercare

The aftercare can be the piece that makes or breaks the effects of the session, so I encourage you to take it easy the rest of the day. It is best to not rush anywhere, and I'd avoid strenuous exercise. Have a warm meal, put your feet on the earth, breath fresh air, maybe journal or take a bath. Allow what arose in the session to have a place to land. The next day or two may ripple with insight or physical alignments for you to receive from our time together. Please be gentle with yourself and try to avoid engaging in stressful relations that first day. Gift yourself conscious solitude, even if it is only a few minutes.

If you came in for uterine support, I would avoid running for the next day or two so that the uterus can have time to stay in its optimal position. I'd also recommend wearing a fabric wrap around the uterus, also called rebozo or faja, to support the uterus and bladder in their positioning.

Consistency is the key to long-term sustainable results. If you received self-massage instructions, choose a goal that feels accessible to you and try your best to dedicate this time to at-home care. It can be as simple as 5-10 minutes every week until your next session.

One of the kindest things we can do for ourselves is to schedule time to receive care before life gets too full or there is a sense of urgency, so I recommend booking in advance. Start with once or twice a month for the first few months to notice the deepest shifts. I offer packages to support this ongoing care, which can be purchased at the bottom of the online booking page.

Thank you for your curiosity. I hope that this supports you, and I'm here for a brief connect call before booking if that would be supportive.

Much love to all of our bellies,

Nicole