Heart & Womb: Prenatal Bodywork and Massage Training

Small class size (max 10 participants), very low participant:facilitator ratio, an intimate, lovingly contained space that is extensively hands-on (80% of learning time), with creative learning processes and almost daily contact with real pregnant clients.

This four-day 28-hour workshop experience is humanly paced, with longer lunches, regular breaks, and spaciousness for integration. At the same time it is rich and layered with both anatomical precision and flowing poetry of technique, touch, and storytelling. We offer a non-linear spiraling learning approach, rather than a “check the boxes” approach. Rather than teach you all the "rules" about prenatal massage (most of which we hvae had to unlearn over the years) we instead facilitate your relationships with prenatal physiolgocy so you can walk your own path as a practitioner.

Training offered twice a year, at the balanced equinox energies in March and September. Our workshop time reflects this real, raw universal balance with processes that explore the light and dark aspects of working with pregnant clients.

This workshop is heart, womb, and belly-centered, meaning rather than belly massage being a nice thing to add to your prenatal massage sessions, it is the center of this work. The layers of the belly also guide our topics of discussion and technique practice. We believe that Heart and Womb Balance = Body Balance.

With so many opportunities to work with real pregnant clients offered in this workshop we recognize that each training will have a different flavor and texture since we will be responding to the unique needs of the women/individuals giving us the gift of access to their pregnant beingness. And participants have walked their own unique paths that seed a unique co-created workshop experience, as well.

We acknowledge that there is greater risk and less control as facilitators when actual pregnant clients are present. However we feel the benefits of hands-on practice far outweigh the risks of surprises and the unexpected, which in and of themselves can be beneficial to an embodied learning process. Beyond release forms, we facilitate discussion about what really helps pratictioners cope with realities of liability.

While much of what will be learned will apply to touch work during and after the birth process (and for female physiology in general), the focus of these four days will be on heart and belly-centered bodywork for pregnancy. We plan to offer postpartum bodywork trainings in the future.

Ncbtmb CE hrs pending, certification in prenatal massage for C/LMTs, birthworkers with informal bodywork/touch experience welcome.

Your Facilitator: Jamie Mossay

After almost 20 years of teaching and mentoring massage therapists and bodyworkers in their work with pregnant clients, Jamie is excited to offer Heart & Womb, a culmination of her most authentic and effective facilitation approaches. A mother, author, illustrator, practitioner and educator, Jamie is continually inspired by the simple power of touch to help people connect with their bodies. Learn more at jamiemossay.com and restorybirthwork.com

Your Assistant Facilitator: Tianna Barr

Tianna has been a birthworker and bodyworker for over eight years, and spent several years teaching at a local massage school and facilitating birth story processing and postpratum integration with hands-on healing and somatic storytelling. An experienced prenatal yoga isntructor and midwife assistant, Tianna is inspired by the learning and unlearning required of both pracitioner and client during the transformative journey of pregnancy andbirth. Learn more at tiannabarr.com

General Outline

Day 1 9-5:30pm (1.5 hr lunch)

Heart & Womb

Heart-centered Dialog: Validation

Consent Practice

Anatomy

Bones

Stories

Alignment

Tensegrity

Blood

Cycles

Circulation

Positioning

Belly

Layers

Skin

Hormones

Oil

Draping

Subcutis

Fascia

Scars

Day 2 9-5:30pm (1.5 hr lunch)

Heart-centered Dialog - Coping

Consent Practice

Assessment V. Abundant Curiosity

**Initiation with Pregnant Clients

Deep Fascia

Lines in Body

Extensions

Abdominal Muscles

Abdominalis Fascia

Breath and Base

Peritoneum

Digestion

Broad

Endopelvic Fascia

Roundies

Myometrium

Practice Contractions

Spiraling(dextrorotation)

Endometrium and Placenta

Location

Membranes

Fluid

Baby

Positioning

Movement

Day 3 9-5:30pm (1.5 hr lunch)

Heart-centered Dialog - Symbols

Consent Practice

Decision-making Compass

Common Prenatal Body Messages

**Informed Work with Pregnant Clients

Crafting a Full Session and Unique Intake Process

Day 4 9-5pm (1 hr lunch)

Heart-centered Dialog - Fears

**Integrative Work with Pregnant Clients

Session Discussion and Integration

Storytelling

Closing

This workshop is for you if:

• You value peer-to-peer learning and practice within that model with clients.
• You welcome honest and constructive feedback
• You are called to explore the power of touch in pregnancy
• You believe that what we model for our clients is more importnat than the techqniues we do.
• You are open to introspective processes and the inner journey of practicing prenatal bodywork
• You believe "an ounce of practice is worth a ton of theory."

This workshop is NOT for you if:

• You believe that if you just know enough you can avoid the discomfort of uncertainty.
• You want precies protocols to use "cookie cutter" style with pregnant clients.
• You believe there is one "right" way to do prenatal bodywork.
• You want to avoid feeling vulnerable.
• You don't want to touch pregnant clients during the training.
• You want to be the "expert."

Objectives

By the end of this training participants will be able to…

1. Demonstrate compassionate heart-centered validation and dialogue skills.
2. Locate relevant prenatal anatomical structures.
3. Describe contraindications and indications for prenatal manual techniques and positioning.
4. Apply prenatal and female anatomy physiology understandings to technique for various stages of pregnancy.
5. Co-create a bodywork session from individualized observations and ongoing consensual presence.
6. Demonstrate technique to address common concerns of pregnancy.

Registration Information

Workshop Fee: $960

Please email [email protected] to inquire about a payment plans (three $330 monthly payments). Due to the small class size we have no refunds six weeks before start date. Refunds requested prior to six weeks will be given, less a $150 fee. Registrations can be transferred to a future workshop, less a $150 transfer fee, at least two weeks prior to workshop. One equity seat (partial) given each workshop.

“We learn to touch with our words and speak with our hands.” - Heart & Womb

Host or Publisher Jamie Mossay