August 30, 2011 by Nicole Cutler, L.Ac.
While massaging a pregnant woman can be wonderfully therapeutic, teaching her partner how to perform pregnancy massage has holistic benefits far surpassing what you can offer directly.

Although honing one’s massage skills is critical to developing as a healer, instructing lay people how to therapeutically touch their loved ones can be one of the best ways to infuse health into people’s lives. Despite a lack of professional knowledge and expertise, the power of intention is enough to improve the health of couples who massage one another. Teaching partner massage is especially valuable during pregnancy, when the participation and support of the partner is the most appreciated offering an expectant mother could receive.

Holistic Medicine
The massage therapy profession as a whole uses a holistic approach to help people improve their health. According to the Canadian Holistic Medical Association, holistic medicine is defined as a system of health care which fosters a cooperative relationship among all those involved, leading towards optimal attainment of the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of health.

Instead of evaluating different systems in isolation, massage therapy fits the holistic bill by looking at a person as a conglomeration of their different parts. As such, a person’s emotional, social and spiritual selves are just as important as their physical wellness. Since most massage therapists do not have multiple degrees in psychology, sociology or spirituality, their resources for addressing all aspects of their client’s health is limited. However, teaching couples how to nurture one another with massage therapy incorporates all parts together: physical, social, emotional and spiritual.

Pregnancy initiates a dramatic change to a woman’s identity; by altering her body, creating emotional highs and lows, putting her spiritual beliefs under scrutiny and completely modifying her social roles. Thus, a partner who understands this and takes the time to nurture the expectant mother with touch offers a support system affecting much more than the physical body…continue.

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