What Is Maya Abdominal Massage?

Maya Abdominal Massage is an external, gentle technique for guiding reproductive organs into correct position. The work is best known for correcting a prolapsed or tipped uterus. Normally the uterus leans slightly over the bladder in the center of the pelvis, about one and a half inches above the pubic bone. It is held in this position by muscles, the vaginal wall and ligaments that attach it to the back, front, and sides of the pelvis. Uterine ligaments naturally accommodate a growing fetus and move freely when the bladder or bowel is full. A fallen or misaligned uterus becomes vulnerable to disease for many reasons.

Ligaments and muscles may weaken, causing the uterus to fall downward, forward, backward or to either side. When the uterus is out of optimal position, circulatory, lymphatic, and chi flow, as well as nervous system connections become compromised. The extra weight of tissue sitting on blood and lymph vessels adversely affects many systems of the body. By using this technique, which gently shifts the uterus back into place, homeostasis, or the natural balance of the body, is improved: toxins are flushed, and nutrients that tone tissue and balance hormones return to optimal levels.

Fertility and Maya Abdominal Massage

Fertility depends on several biological processes working together in harmony. Hormones must fluctuate throughout a woman’s cycle in correct amounts. The uterine membrane must be sufficiently healthy to nourish a developing baby. The uterus must be strong and receiving a plentiful and healthy blood supply. The bloodstream cannot be toxic. Vaginal pH must be just right so that the father’s sperm is not weakened or immobilized by acidic fluids. Oxygen and carbon dioxide within the system must be balanced. Emotionally and spiritually a woman must be ready and willing to accept new life and the consequent changes in lifestyle. The mother’s urinary, venous, and lymphatic systems must be able to remove the additional waste material produced by the developing fetus.

Maya Abdominal Massage encourages the uterus to maintain oxygen, nutrients, hormones, lymphatic fluids and venous drainage to fulfill its reproductive destiny!

Help for Women Who Experience Chronic Miscarriages

The process of conception is complicated and multi faceted, with multiple opportunities for a breakdown in the body’s communication between hormones, fertilization, implantation, development of the fetus and delivery.

First, we must have a strong hormonal feedback system between the ovaries, uterus and hypothalamus.

Considering the above, one can see how the two main possibilities for malfunction in chronic miscarriage are:

1) The hormonal feedback loop is intermittent and cannot properly prepare the uterine membrane for conception and implantation, or

2) The blood supply to the membrane is so poor that proper nutrients and hormones do not flow in sufficient amounts to support life.

Their obstetrician or gynecologist tells some women, that the miscarriage was due to “an incompetent cervix”. Lack of nutrients and oxygen from clean, rich blood in the arteries leads to eventual weakness of any function or organ. In this case, as the implanted fetus begins to grow in weight, the pressure exerted on the muscular wall of the cervix is too much for the sickly structure to support.

Lack of Regular Ovulation

Ovulation, and with it, producing high quality eggs is another hormonally controlled function of the female body. When the dropped uterus is exerting undue pressure on the various channels (arteries, veins, lymph, nerve, and chi) the chemical feedback mechanism of the hormones is out of harmony.

A Lineage of Teachers

Karen Kelly Is blessed to have apprenticed and learned this work directly from the source. Dr. Rosita Arvigo teaches Maya Abdominal Massage techniques, DN. Rosita learned these techniques of healing from her mentor, Don Elijio Ponti, the renowned Maya shaman of Belize, Central America, with whom she apprenticed for ten years. Before accepting her as his apprentice, Don Elijio secured Rosita's promise that she would remain in Belize to care for "his people," a promise she has honored to this day. Don Elijio passed away in 1996 at the age of 103.

Thanks to Rosita, much of his vast knowledge of herbal and physical healing has been preserved. She has spent the last thirty years studying, and later, teaching, Maya medicine. Rosita now works tirelessly both in Belize and the United States, sharing all she learned from Don Elijio and other traditional healers about herbs, physical, emotional and spiritual healing.

Benefits of Care

There are many benefits to be obtained from receiving Maya Abdominal Massage. Each session is unique, and considers the whole person; body, mind and spirit. The work addresses three primary areas of concern; lower back and sacrum; the lower abdominal area; and the solar plexus, an area just below the apex of the ribcage. It creates conditions that improve efficient flow of blood, lymph, nerve impulses and chi is essential for healthy pregnancy, labor and delivery and so many other reproductive, digestive and eliminative functions.

A Maya Abdominal Massage session includes teaching a self-care technique that is an integral part of Maya medicine. It will give you tools with which to be empowered in your own health care. It is a simple, safe, and easy to learn technique.

In Belize and many other Central and South American countries, this gentle and powerful technique is performed a few days after childbirth, accompanied by an herbal cleansing vaginal steam bath. Hysterectomies and Caesarian births are often prevented. The massage also assists in the release of trauma after accidents, childbirth or illness, and it softens adhesions (scar tissue) from any form of pelvic and abdominal surgery.

Women who have had hysterectomies benefit greatly from Maya abdominal massage. The technique improves circulation in and around the area of the scar and allows for proper flow of lymphatic fluid, which often becomes blocked after surgery, resulting in swelling, burning and deep aching pains in the pelvis.

Causes of Symptoms

Causes for uterine displacement are many. Some include: falls that impact the lower back, sacrum and tailbone; car accidents; pregnancy and labor weakened ligaments; poor professional care during pregnancy, labor, delivery and/or post-partum; carrying heavy burdens during pregnancy, or too soon after delivery; running on cement surfaces; walking barefoot on cold floors and/or wet grass; wearing high heels; chronic constipation; high-impact sporting and recreational activities; weak pelvic floor muscles; poor alignment of pelvic bones with spinal column; surgeries; carrying children on hips for long periods of time; emotional armoring from rape, sexual assault, or incest at any time in life; time and gravity.

Presenting Symptoms

Uterine displacement presents a variety of symptoms including: prolapsed uterine or bladder; painful menstrual cycles and ovulation; infertility; bladder or yeast infections; abnormal uterine bleeding; varicose veins; PMS/depression prior to menses; uterine fibroids; ovarian cysts; painful intercourse; low back pain; and a variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms; i.e. migraines; constipation; gastritis.

Western medicine has little to offer women with these concerns. Fortunately, women now have an option for care of these physical and emotional discomforts. Maya Abdominal Massage addresses them with these simple, non-invasive, and ancient massage techniques.

Healing From Trauma

Rosita's teachings and the Maya techniques also address the impact of emotional, physical, sexual abuses of any nature in both men and women. Maya self-care techniques, Maya medicine, prayer and herbs gently work to release emotional trauma and consequent armoring. While medications and sedatives prescribed to trauma survivor’s assist in short-term care of victims, they do not address or heal emotional trauma and armoring held in the body.

Maya Abdominal Massage assists in releasing this armoring in a contained, safe environment. Plant spirit medicine and herbs assist in the process and in reframing the event mindfully within the context of a person’s life. Issues that may have come to consciousness in cognitive therapy often reach deeper levels of resolution.

Additionally, ongoing commitment to self-care practice of abdominal massage, or any other practice, which helps bring the light of consciousness to that which is held in the unconscious, transmutes trauma, and as Rosita has said, "enables us to thrive rather than to simply survive."

Scheduling Appointments

Sessions for Maya Abdominal Massage must be scheduled between the time that your last menstrual period ended and five days prior to expected onset of next cycle. Prior to your first session, you will be asked to complete a personal history questionnaire of your lifestyle and health care issues. During the first session, the questionnaire will be reviewed and a plan of treatment will be developed. You will receive a body massage focusing on proper alignment of pelvic and abdominal organs and reducing muscular restrictions.

Karen Kelly, our Licensed Massage Therapist and Certified Maya Therapist, as all the other practitioners at the Berkley Center, have one goal in mind when taking care of you; a speedy, safe and healthy journey and arrival at motherhood.

Recommended protocol: Two sessions per week for a three month period.

Schedule you appointment by calling 212-685-0985