Abdominal Massage & Abdominal Therapy

I’ve been inspired by several forms of abdominal massage & therapies and by several wonderful teachers. I keep the technical knowledge I’ve learned in a mental kaleidoscope tucked away in the back of my brain. That combined knowledge is always there to draw on in a way that weaves naturally into the treatment but doesn’t dictate the session. Sticking to any one approach, or protocol binds me, interrupts the flow, and boxes me in. And more importantly, it doesn’t honor what the belly is saying. Life is movement and the tissues have something to say. Only the tissues truly know. Sometimes what emerges when in the flow of working in partnership with the belly, is something I’ve never been taught before yet is perfect at that precise moment with that unique individual. The belly has been my greatest inspiration and teacher. Can you imagine how the approach may vary depending on the belly, personal traumas, and history? Even a belly that looks just like another could require a vastly different approach!


Dr. Ron Mariotti, an instructor of Visceral Manipulation™, which is an abdominal therapy, would warn the students against getting “viscerally inebriated”. Viscerally inebriation is when a practitioner would get blissfully lost in the inner calming movement of the internal organs. I know, that sounds weird, but it really is a fascinating world dancing beneath the skin.

For those of you who don’t know, Visceral Manipulation™ is low force osteopathic manipulations requiring the practitioner to tune in with the motility of internal organs. We “listen” to the tissues with soft hands. I often close my eyes during a session because I can “see” better while my eyes are closed. It’s as if my hands create a connection between my mind’s eye and the internal landscape of the belly. Feeling the motility of the organs is what I imagine deep-sea diving would feel like. Weightless, quiet, and serene with kelp fields, seagrasses, and jellyfish undulating about.

Visceral Manipulation™ can also feel like a meditative dance. I listen with my hands, follow the tissues, nudge, follow, and allow the body to speak and unwind. Manual therapy is a dialog between my hands and the tissues. The body is intelligent and is always working to maintain balance within. Sometimes it just needs a little nudge or help to clear a path so that it can unfold gently and naturally.

Don’t Box Me In

I’ve never been comfortable with labels. Calling what I do “bodywork” has never felt right to me. I don’t just work with the physical layers; I can’t separate the physical body from the emotional, mental, and spiritual layers because it’s all one. Yes, labeling body parts is extremely useful when verbally communicating. But massaging a muscle is not just ever massaging a muscle when we have decades of postural patterns brought on by unprocessed emotions, traumas, lack of self-esteem, despair, you name it. Our issues are in our tissues.

“The mind will use the muscles and organs of the body as an outlet for pent up emotions.”

Wilhelm Reich

Speaking of labels, it no longer feels right to label the manual therapy, or abdominal massage I offer with specific modality names. When following a specific protocol, it becomes more about the protocol and less about the person receiving treatment. Coloring within the lines of a set protocol lacks flow, intuition and does not honor what the body is trying to express. As my teachers in Chi Nei Tsang, Kyle Cline and Mantak Chia, both told me, learn the techniques and principles really well and then put that information on the back burner of your brain. The information is always there but doesn’t dictate the session.

“Obey the principles without being bound by them.”

Bruce Lee

Dr. Kerry D’Ambrogio, an instructor in osteopathic manipulations for visceral lymphatic balancing also encouraged discovery and creativity when he opened the class by quoting Bruce Lee, “Obey the principles without being bound by them.”

As manual therapists or abdominal therapists, we definitely need a solid and deep foundation in anatomy, physiology, and the principles of flow. We all learn from those who came before…all of us, even our teachers.

I no longer teach the Arvigo® workshops

I have been a practitioner of the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy® for over 12 years and have been honored to teach the Arvigo® level one workshop for 7 years.

But, I’ve always felt a little boxed-in with the teaching curriculum. This is no offense to the Arvigo® course, it’s a wonderful course and I enjoyed teaching it. I also have much respect for Dr. Rosita Arvigo and I’m honored to have been able to study directly with her over the years. The boxed-in feeling is more about me, my self-expression, and my excitement to branch out and teach what I have learned over the past 22 years as a manual therapist. That’s one of the main reasons why I will no longer be teaching Arvigo® classes. It was a tough decision because I loved teaching the classes and invested so much into becoming a teacher. However, my freedom of self-expression, discovery, and growth prevail.

Kaleidoscope of self-care

So, I’ve created a way to share a kaleidoscope of self-care abdominal and pelvic health practices that were inspired by my 23 years as a manual therapist working with thousands of unique bellies. Moving forward I will teach people ways to care for and connect with their bellies (abdomen, pelvic floor, and internal organs) online. These classes include learning self abdominal massage, restorative exercise, herbal remedies, and mind-body techniques.

I now offer a Womb Care online course and an Abdominal Scars and restrictions online course, as well as Make Shift Happen, a comprehensive course on resolving constipation and slow bowel motility.

I consider theses courses “living courses” since I will add to them as I’m inspired to do so in the flow. I will never stop learning and am always happy to share what I discover on that path.

One of the many goals of these courses is to teach women how to connect to the beauty and wisdom of their bellies. How we view our bodies changes how we move through life. Our relationship with our bodies can influence the decisions we make and therefore our path in life.

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