Bodywork
Scar Tissue Remediation Massage
Scar tissue tells us a story. It can have an effect on the ways that we relate to our body and be painful or uncomfortable at times. When we have significant scar tissue, there can be an excess build up of tissue that often affects muscle stiffness and strength, and in some cases, causes nerve pain by impinging the nerves around the area. The story behind our scars can sometimes be painful, complex, changing our energetic relationship to the area affected and our body in general.
Scar Tissue Remediation Massage (STRM) can help restore range of movement of the tissue and/or muscles around the scar, improve blood flow in and around the scar, drain excess fluid to reduce swelling and proliferation, regain feeling in and around the area, decrease numbness, tingling, or soreness, increase the range of movement around the scar and increase the scar’s flexibility.
I specialize in working with those who have birthed their baby via cesarean birth, have had transitional top surgery or a mastectomy, as well as those that have scar tissue as a result of injuries or surgeries.
In these sessions we will work together to assess mobility, sensation and hold space for emotions and/or storytelling related to your scar. We will use heat and a castor oil pack to help the scar soften first, leaving the Castor oil on for 10-20 minutes depending on the scar. When you are feeling ready, I will then use various massage techniques to help break up adhesions, extra tissue and restore mobility. We will work slowly and hold space for whatever comes up during the session. Our goal is to lessen pain and numbness, break up excess tissue and adhesions, restore mobility and encourage healing physically, spiritually and emotionally.
Cesarean Scar Tissue Remediation
As a Midwife, I recognize the complexity that can come with birthing your child via Cesarean Birth, whether chosen or not, emergent or non-emergent. I honor Cesarean Birth for what it is, BIRTH. A birth that comes with a unique set of challenges, a unique set of emotional and physical, sometimes embodied and sometimes disembodied experience. I approach Scar Tissue Remediation for Cesarean scars from a trauma-informed paradigm, meeting you where you are at in your experience and holding space for whatever it is that you need in that moment.
Cesarean Birth is also major abdominal surgery, which comes with its own paradigm of healing. Although Scar Tissue Remediation Massage can be helpful for physical healing in all of the ways listed above, these sessions can also be incredibly healing emotionally, if desired. We can focus on holding space for reconnection with scar, remembering that we are more than our scars, and forge new pathways for reconnection within the body, mind and spirit. I have witnessed this work be incredibly powerful for folks, reducing pain, increasing libido, restoring nerve sensation, and allowing for energetic reconnection and healing.
We usually wait 6-8 weeks after your baby is born, allowing the scar to completely close before beginning scar tissue remediation massage.
COST: $50-$75 sliding scale. Sessions usually last 45-60 min
Mastectomy/Transitional Top Surgery Scars
Our hearts reside in our chests. Take that in for a moment, our hearts….reside in our chest.
Cultures all around the world recognize the profound power of the chest region, the heart chakra, the heart meridian. In TCM the heart meridian is considered inseparable to the mind, the emotional center in the body. We take care to hold this part of the body with much reverence and respect.
In addition to the above listed benefits, SCRM will free up the tissues in and around your scars, freeing you up in your new body. Whether this surgery was chosen or not, the kind of incision that was made, and how we have been “held” in our lives post op, all affect the way the scar heals. Again, I will meet you where you are at in your journey, and hold space for whatever comes up during our sessions.
STRM can help restore movement, reduce restriction to allow for full breaths into the lungs and heart region, reduce extra tissue build up around the scar, break up adhesions, restore sensation and reduce pain associated with the scar. As my teacher, Pati Garcia says “The level of somatic integration a person can experience by receiving this type of bodywork post surgery is priceless.”
As a queer/ trans affirming Midwife and care provider, I am honored to be able to offer this to my community.
Depending on the scar, we usually wait until 6-8 weeks post op (sometimes more) to do this kind of work. Always happy to assess a scar and go from there.
COST: Sliding scale $40-$70. Sessions typically last approx 45-60 min.
Postpartum “Cerrada” Closing Ceremony
Throughout my time as a birth keeper, and even before as a child, I have been on the deep journey of reclaiming and relearning the traditional practices of my lineage, including traditional postpartum care. Rooted in the Indigenous practices of Central America, La Cerrada Postparto, or The Postpartum Closing, is a ceremony that is offered after the Cuarentena, the initial 40 days of healing and continued warmth after birth. The period after the Cuarentena is a transitional time to reflect and integrate the birth experience. It is during this time that the postpartum sealing ceremony is offered.
In the Mexican way of honoring the Cerrada Postparto, we focus on creating space for the birthing person to reflect on their journey while offering prayer and cleansing. The bones of the pelvis and the body have been “opened” both physically and energetically during pregnancy, labor and birth, making the birthing person’s uterus more susceptible to cold. We believe that creating heat, and keeping warmth in the body is how we heal our wombs and spirits after birth. We bind the bones to help “seal” the body physically, emotionally and energetically so that it is not vulnerable to cold entering back in.
The Postpartum Closing Ceremony is done in the comfort of your own home. First you will be offered a limpia with fresh herbs and prayer, then I will prepare a vaginal steam or an herbal bath, giving you time to reflect on your birth and the transition into parenthood. When you feel you have come to a space to receive the bone closing, we will seal the bones from head to toe with seven traditional woven cloths (rebozos). This usually takes about 2-3 hours and can involve a few dear friends or family members if you wish. We make space and time for baby during this time, but it is ideal if someone else is there specifically to help care for your baby as this ceremony is focused on your well being. If you are of Mexican Indigenous origin, La Cerrada Postparto is included in your midwifery care. It is never too late in the postpartum journey to close the bones.
COST: Sliding Scale $100-$180, open to alternative exchanges and offerings
Prenatal/Breech Body Balancing
Throughout pregnancy we experience various degrees of discomfort and unease in the physical body. It is not uncommon to discover that there is “torsion” in the pelvis, and/or in the muscles and fascia that attach to the uterus. Torsion or restriction, especially in these areas, can lead to an imbalance of the ligaments, negatively impact comfort and pregnancy, and make it harder for baby to navigate through the pelvis, sometimes encouraging a Breech or Transverse position.
Through body positioning, assisted stretching and myofascial release, these sessions can help bring balance to the soft tissues of the pelvis and surrounding areas, opening and releasing any restrictions that may be affecting the baby’s ability to find an optimal position for birth. Body balancing can be incredibly helpful before an External Cephalic Version, if you have a baby in the Breech position, encouraging the muscles and ligaments to relax, stretch and lengthen and often after a few sessions, encouraging baby to turn on their own. Body balancing can also be helpful if you are experiencing increased physical discomfort during pregnancy.
COST: Sliding scale $45-$90. Sessions usually last 45-60 min.
So what does a body balancing session entail?
After briefly assessing your baby’s position, we’ll address a few beneficial exercises/stretches that can be done both in the session and at home to encourage balance in the tissues. With some light touch and stretching we’ll address the following:
tight ligaments
tight, loose or spasmed muscles in the hips, abdomen, legs
Any twist that is present in the lower uterus
Fascial release in the upper diaphragm under the ribs
These sessions last 45-60 minutes, depending on baby’s position and how the body responds to the above.
Are there any contraindications for body balancing in pregnancy?
Any signs of preterm labor or vaginal bleeding are contraindicated. If you have high blood pressure, glaucoma, or experience any major spinal condition (spondylolysis or a history of spinal surgeries), you may be limited in as to which stretches or positions may be done.
I discovered this resource through studying the work of Spinning Babies. Please visit their website and search “breech” or “body balancing” for more info and resources. I blend traditional massage learned from my Partera teachers and mentors, with myofascial release and techniques from The Breech Release by Nicole Morales and Jamie Mossay, both approved Spinning Babies Trainers and Practitioners (I had the pleasure and honor of attending a few round table study sessions focused on the pelvic anatomy and health in San Diego with Nicole in 2020, and continue to study her work) and through a Spinning Babies Training taken with my mentor Tema Mercado, CPM, LM, Partera.
