The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy® in Ireland
A holistic and complementary approach to wellness drawn from the Mayan shamanic tradition including massage, anatomy and physiology, herbalism, nutrition, emotional and spiritual healing.
I want to be very clear with you about this.
There is no treatment, holistic or otherwise, that can guarantee a pregnancy - as a woman with fertility issues you may be feeling very vulnerable and not sure where to turn. I am deeply committed to practising with honesty and integrity and have strong ethics around my work in this area. I do not take on every client on an ongoing basis and will refer you back to your doctor or to another practitioner if I feel that what I offer is not your best option. I believe in an integrative approach to wellness that incorporates both needed medical care and complementary care. I offer a complementary holistic approach that includes specialised massage, acupressure and energy work derived from traditional techniques to support you alongside not in place of any necessary medical care.
Any specialised massage such as Maya abdominal massage is a post-graduate training, open only to fully qualified massage therapists or other suitably qualified practitioners such as acupuncturists or physiotherapists. Unfortunately there are people claiming to offer this without having had the genuine training from qualified teachers, as well as people doing online courses or setting up as therapists with a few days of training. Please do check qualifications and when and where training took place, and over how long a period - you can contact teachers and training organisations to verify this. This, together with your rapport with a therapist, will help you find the right person to help you.
You should always first see your doctor about any unexplained abdominal symptoms and they will remain your primary healthcare provider if you are diagnosed with any medical condition. Where appropriate and after consultation with your doctor you can receive pelvic massage as a complementary therapy. As a holistic therapist I do not diagnose or treat medical conditions but work to support wellbeing and healthy functioning of the body. This treatment is based on traditional techniques drawn from many cultures and individual results may vary.
Deirdre is a highly skilled practitioner of the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy® with additional specialised training in the Closing the Bones ritual taught to her by Dr. Roçio Alarçon. She also practices Reproductive Reflexology and has many years experience in complementary fertility support so you are in safe hands.
The Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy are the gold standard in pelvic bodywork for fertility and Deirdre's work uniquely combines this with energy medicine (often described as 'acupuncture without the needles'). Founded on the ancient Mayan technique from central America, this deeply nurturing abdominal massage is an external, non invasive form of bodywork that helps to improve the flow of blood, lymph, nerve and chi to the pelvic organs. We do not diagnose or treat medical conditions. By stimulating circulation and blood flow within the abdominal area, Arvigo therapy supports the body for optimal function of digestive and fertile health and wellness. It is a therapy that can be applied throughout every stage of a woman, man or child's life. Arvigo Therapy incorporates a holistic and complementary approach to health and wellbeing.
Only by treating the whole person on a physical, emotional and energetic level can true healing take place.
Dr. Rosita Arvigo learned these techniques from her mentor, Don Elijio Panti, the great Maya Shaman of Belize, Central America with whom she apprenticed for ten years. Don Elijio believed that a woman's center is her uterus. "If a woman's uterus is out of balance, so is she," he would say. Don Elijio passed away in 1996 at the age of 103. Rosita also studied with Hortence Robinson, a herbal midwife of Belize who has been delivering babies for over 50 years.
Don Elijio Panti
'In my practice I have witnessed the work help reconnect women with their womb centre, rediscovering a sense of wholeness and safety within the body and reigniting passion and creativity'.
What to expect during a session:
• Comprehensive review of your past and present healthcare needs from a complementary point of view focusing on reproductive and digestive health
• Upper and lower abdominal massage to help improve circulation to abdominal organs
• Massage to back, sacrum and hips to further stimulate circulation to the organs of the abdomen
• Evaluation of body posture
• Instruction in Self Care massage which is done at home and helps to enhance your professional session
. • Recommendations of complementary modalities to support your health and wellness that may include:
The wearing of a faja – a traditional lower abdomen supportive wrap
Bajos – a traditional herbal pelvic steam bath of the Maya
Castor oil packs
Simple healthy eating and lifestyle recommendations.
I will work with you to address your specific needs and may suggest a course of treatments if I feel it will be useful in your case - you can book and pay as you go or book a package of sessions. Typically, a minimum of 2 or 3 professional sessions are required to benefit most conditions. Some conditions will require further attention over a longer period of time. Following your first session you will receive a treatment plan which we agree together to best meet your needs.
Self care massage to do back home is a vital aspect of the overall treatment that you will receive from your Arvigo® session.
One unique aspect of Arvigo® Therapy is that you learn how to massage your own abdomen, helping to sustain the good circulation and blood flow initiated by the treatment. Being taught how to massage your own abdomen is truly empowering. By doing your self care massage regularly you carry the treatment on long after you have left your appointment. You feel more in control of your wellbeing and you are physically and emotionally connected to the treatment process. With each follow up appointment you have the opportunity to refresh your knowledge of the self care massage. Deirdre will be happy to check you are doing the techniques correctly and to discuss any concerns you have.
Benefits for Women
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 are made to stretch to accommodate a growing fetus inside and to move freely when the bladder or bowel is full. The ligaments and muscles can weaken and loosen, causing the uterus to move downward, forward, backward or to either side.
Many physical and emotional symptoms that can be helped and prevented with these simple, noninvasive massage techniques. When reproductive organs shift, they can constrict normal flow of blood and lymph, and disrupt nerve connections. Just a few extra ounces sitting on blood and lymph vessels can affect different systems in the body. Over time the massage helps improve circulation and promotes homeostasis, or the natural balance of the body, in the pelvic area and the surrounding organs. Good circulation is essential for healthy reproductive functioning, such as painless menstruation, healthy pregnancy, effective labour and birth.
Old adhesions from invasive treatments to the pelvic and abdominal area, including fibroids, endometriosis, and caesarean delivery, may be diminished when addressed by abdominal massage. In addition, digestion, urinary and bladder problems may be helped (please be aware that you must first seek medical diagnosis to rule out infection or to investigate in the case of any bleeding or pain).
Digestive and Emotional Benefits for All
Individuals with digestive disorders may benefit greatly from the application of these techniques. Many of our common disorders such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome, indigestion, constipation, and heartburn are treated with antacids, muscle relaxants, and a variety of other medications. These treatments address symptoms, not the causes.
By using the Arvigo® Techniques, the upper abdomen is given a deep, thorough massage to loosen the tight muscles around the stomach and the arteries that feed the digestive and eliminative organs with their vital blood supply. The diaphragm is gently massaged allowing relaxation of tight musculature. With additional skills in abdominal-sacral therapy and deep colon work, Deirdre will help release congestion and restriction in the small intestine and colon with deep local massage, along with reflex points chosen to stimulate healthy gut function. The deep colon massage encourages both a natural movement of the digestive system and also release of emotional tension.
Our gut holds more nerve neurons than our brain and spinal cord, and people often experience a new lightness in themselves after treatment as layers of long held tension are released, as though unwanted memories and emotions have finally been let go.
Click here to read a review of Maya abdominal massage with Deirdre for digestive issues (Ireland's Woman's Way, Oct 2015)
Click here to read an article on Maya abdominal therapy for complementary fertility support (Massage Magazine, March 2014)
'Ixchel, the Mayan goddess of fertility and healing, patroness and spiritual guide of our Maya Abdominal Therapy profession.
The Maya words Ix Chel have many interpretations. Ix means woman, Goddess, divine feminine; Chel means rainbow or translucent light. Her name is Lady Rainbow or Goddess of Divine Translucent Light. Ix Chel was always associated with bodies of water like lakes, rivers, creeks, streams and oceans where it is more likely to see rainbows and her beautiful sparkling light. Even in modern times, women sleep at watersides and pray to her for guidance in a dream.
Like many other Goddesses of the world, Ix Chel depicts the three stages of a woman’s life – Maiden, Mother and Grandmother. The first is young Ix Chel the maiden, Goddess of weaving. She wears a snake on her forehead to signify that she is the Goddess of medicine and to symbolize intuitive knowledge as well as great control over earthly forces. Maya midwives placed her wooden image under the birthing bed.
The second aspect is Ix Chel, the Mother Goddess of fertility, the moon and motherhood. As Mother Creator of all Maya people and consort of the Creator God, Itzamna, she decided the face and sex of every person in utero. She and Itzamna (Lizard House or House of Sastuns) lived at the crown of the ceiba tree where they invented sexual intercourse to create the world and its people. She sits elegantly poised on a crescent moon to signify the moon’s effect on menstrual changes in women. She holds a rabbit in her arms, another fertility symbol. The Maya saw the shadows in the moon as the outline of a rabbit. The Maya discovered that one moon cycle and one menstrual cycle are 29.5 days. The calendar priests determined their famous 260 day Tzolkin calendar based on women’s menstrual cycles and the duration of pregnancy.
The third aspect is the Grandmother Earth Goddess of the moon, rain, medicine and death. She receives the bodies of her deceased children into her physical body, the earth. Revered for her wisdom and knowledge, her glyph demonstrated the vital importance of elders. Again, we see Ix Chel with the snake on her head, signifying medicine, healing and intuitive wisdom. Only the maiden and grandmother have a snake (to symbolize medicine) on the forehead because (as Maya women have told me) the Mother Goddess is too busy raising and caring for her own brood. Grandmother Ix Chel’s clay pot, shaped like a uterus, pours down rain to fertilize the earth'.
ROSITA ARVIGO
Sastun tells the story of American herbalist Rosita Arvigo, whose quest to explore the healing powers of plants led her to the rainforest of Belize where she befriended and eventually apprenticed with one of the last remaining Maya shamans, Don Elijio Panti, who taught her the techniques of Maya abdominal massage.
“It is folly to ignore the sacred in life or medicine. Skirting the spiritual has had a shattering effect on every dimension of contemporary existence.”
