Baby Massage

 

When attending a Baby Massage Course at   Equilibrium - Holistic Treatments for Women + Babies    you will be taught how to gently and lovingly massage your baby with gentle rhythmical strokes.

 

Practising Baby Massage, as taught at  Equilibrium - Holistic Treatments for Women + Babies ,  will help you to improve interacting with your baby in a kind, mindful and respectful way. Interacting and bonding in this way will encourage you to improve co-operation with the baby you massage in a loving and nurturing way. It can help with verbal and non-verbal communication, learning to respect the baby's needs, providing your undivided attention, and bonding in a healthy physical as well as emotional way.

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Baby Massage can bring about a state of contentment for a person who gives the massage as well as for the baby, which in return can improve rest, relaxation and sleep patterns. It may help with pain relieve, which may  help with colic, constipation, teething and other discomfort, hence leading to reduced stress levels all round. Being comforting, soothing and supportive in creating a stronger bond.*

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Babies should have had their 8 week/post-natal check.

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*Although there seems to be a need for further studies, here some further reading re baby/infant massage

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9179989/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0163638323000899

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1751485119300704

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What to expect when attending a Baby Massage Course? 

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When attending a Baby Massage Course at Equilibrium - Holistic Treatments for Women + Babies  you will be part of a small group of a maximum of 6 adults and 6 babies. This will enable me to give everyone the personal attention and instruction they need. As well, it will give attendees the chance to form a bond as a group to exchange tips and learn from each other's general experiences. Courses will run over a 4-5 week period, once a week (wherever possible during consecutive weeks) and will last approximately for one hour. To ensure that everyone has time to arrive and leave in a relaxed manner, the allocated time slot for the classes will be 90 minutes.

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There is plenty of road side parking close to our house and space to leave buggies/car seats/bags/etc. in a safe and dry location on arrival. Mats, seating cushions, towels and a high quality, organic vegetable massage oil will be provided. Each session will start with an informative and/or re-cap part, a massage practise part, where you will be introduced to and where you can practise the different strokes and techniques, and a chance to ask questions, discuss experiences and to give feed back. As baby massage is best given with the babies being naked (if you don't feel comfortable about this, the baby can stay in it's nappy), the room will be kept quite warm, so please ensure that you are not dressed too warmly when attending the sessions. To ensure that undressing/dressing the babies is made simple, it is helpful if all babies arrive in clothes that can easily be removed and put back on and won't be spoilt by possibly getting in contact with any massage oil. The massage is performed on a soft yoga mat and towel, while sitting on a raised pillow on the floor, to enable you to massage your baby safely. It is therefor recommended that you wear comfortable, soft clothing. Should sitting on the floor not be possible for you we will create an alternative way of seating you.

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The Massage classes are open for babies from 8 weeks old or as soon as they had their post-natal check. Ideally classes should be attended before your baby starts getting too mobile. 

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You will receive a folder with general information and the massage strokes covered, and a small bottle of oil to take home so that you can apply what you have learned at home in-between sessions.

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All classes are open to parents, grandparents or anyone looking after a baby. Classes can be booked by individuals for their baby, groups of up to 6 adults/6 babies (this can be a group of friends, mums only, dads only, grandparents only or any other mix) or can be arranged as a1-2-1 class.  If you have any questions, please reach out to me via email or give me a call.

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How will the baby and I feel during/after a  Baby Massage Class?

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All attending babies and adults will bring a different level of experience and connectedness to the class. There is no requirement, whatsoever, of having given or received a massage before. Instructions at Equilibrium - Holistic Treatments for Women + Babies are given in a simple, structured and supportive way with plenty of chances to repeat any moves and to receive 1-2-1 help when needed. At the beginning of each consecutive session there will be a re-cap element, where moves learned in previous sessions will be practised and questions can be asked. Hopefully the adults will leave each session, feeling that they are bonding on a gentler, stronger and more co-operative level with their baby. Some babies love being touched from the word go, while others might need a little more time - there is no one glove fits all approach in my classes and there is always room for trying alternative approaches, so that everyone - adults and babies - will hopefully feel comfortable with what they take away from the classes. Should a baby not feel like being massaged  during a session they can just be cuddled or rest, while the adult follows the class or practises on a doll or teddy. Should there be a need for a little break there will be the option to retreat next door to take some time out. 

 

Most babies love the attention and the touch and most will feel very tired and might sleep deeper and longer after the class as they have experienced a lot of physical, mental and emotional stimulation. 

 

Should you ever have concerns about how your baby feels after a Massage Baby Class, please reach out to me. Should this not be possible, or in severe cases, please consult your GP, health visitor, ring 111 or 999.

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