Maya Abdominal Massage
Rooted in 5,000 year old healing practices from the Mayan people of Central America, these massage techniques, as taught by Rosita Arvigo, have stood the test of time. Treat digestive or reproductive organ complaints or abdominal scar tissue. Boost fertility and wellness for all genders.
Useful for:
Digestive Issues
Helps with all sorts of digestive issues like Crohn's disease, celiac disease, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic slow moving digestion and constipation.
Scarring in the abdomen
Helps loosen restrictions and scarring in the abdomen from past trauma or surgery. Helpful to combine with Manual Lymphatic Drainage, after any abdominal or surgery to the torso.
Reproductive organ complaints
Supports prevention and healing from reproductive organ complaints like endometriosis, prostate issues, uterine fibroids, ovarian cysts, heavy periods, navigating menopause.
Fertility enhancement
Traditionally used to enhance fertility for folks of all genders and with either a prostate or uterus. Supports the flow of blood and lymph to and from the reproductive organs, to improve the health of reproductive processes.
Trauma healing
Emotional and spiritual healing after traumas of all sorts. Lots of traumas are stored as patterns of tension in the fascia of the abdomen, and in our energy bodies. Trauma-trained bodywork can support you in changing how you relate to these memories and patterns.
How it works:
Maya abdominal massage loosens restrictions in the fascia (the body’s web of connective tissue), realigns abdominal organs, addresses scar tissue and tension from various traumas, and increases the flow of blood, lymph, and energy through all the tissues, muscles, and organs of your belly, diaphragm, and pelvic floor.
An ancient and powerful modality.
This bodywork modality derives from a long lineage of plant healers and bodyworkers, and was passed along from an indigenous elder, Don Elijio Panti, to Rosita Arvigo, over a 13 year apprenticeship starting in the 1990s in Belize. Rosita was given the blessing to bring the training to other parts of the world, so that I was lucky enough to train in this modality, via the Abdominal Therapy Collective.
Please reach out if you are interested in trying it as part of a bodywork session, or as a standalone treatment. As a standalone treatment, it comes with a special intake form you’ll fill out at home, and then the session itself consists of: massage of the abdomen and back, followed by me teaching you how to do a simpler version of the massage at home.
We can also incorporate some abdominal massage into any regular bodywork session.
To book as a standalone treatment, select “Maya Abdominal Massage” as an option on my booking page.
Maya healers have very personal relationships with plants.
They treat them like members of the family and consider them allies in their healing work. They talk to them as if they were human friends, since they believe that dueños respond, as would any living being, with their own intelligence.
Don Elijio [Panti] used to say about plants: "Yo les adoro, son mis muy buenos amigos" (I adore them, they are my best friends).
Your abdominal therapist may use a variety of techniques, massage, energy healing, and herbal formulas to support the body to release physical and emotional congestion, to bring about better circulation of arterial blood, venous blood, nerve supply, lymph and energy, which the Maya call Chu'lel.
Cultural acknowledgement
Dr. Rosita Arvigo’s (below, center) teachings are founded upon many years and the knowledge of multiple healers, cultures, and lands. She, and we, recognize these most influential Belizean teachers – Don Elijio Panti (above, right), Miss Hortense Robinson (above, left), Miss Juana Xix and Mexican midwife Dona Maria Torres.
Work with me
I am grateful for each person who trusts me with this work. The belly can be a tender place, physically and emotionally, to receive bodywork on. I am trauma-informed and trained, with extensive education and knowledge on how trauma affects the body, and I teach Mindful Self-Compassion, which includes ways of relating with warmth and kindness toward our struggles with our bodies, as well as gratitude for how hard our bodies are working to heal and keep us safe.
I also have lots of training in scar work, lymphatic bodywork, deep tissue, and massage for stress reduction.
Gender-inclusive, fat-positive, and body-neutral. Queer owned business. I love supporting people at all stages of their fertility or health journeys.