Over the weekend, I attended a class on Maya Abdominal Massage Self-Care and it was amazing! I learned more about how the body works than in just about any other class, with the exception of Donna Gates’ Certified Body Ecologist training. In fact, the Maya Abdominal Massage class created an even more complete picture of what I learned in my Certified Body Ecologist training. My class was taught by Lucy Mitchella – who blends her skills in Ayurveda, herbalism, massage therapy and nutrition with this unique form of abdominal massage.

More Than Just Abdominal Massage
Thinking I was going to mainly learn a self-care massage technique in this class, I was surprised to learn amazing details about the body’s five systems of flow: nervous, circulatory, lymphatic and aterial circulation systems. And that’s not all – we also covered the chakra system and learned many natural health solutions, such as herbal remedies, meditations and nutritional strategies.

Natural Healing - Practical and Intuitive
While at times, one could imagine that natural remedies have more of a penchant for the intuitive and less for practical things like anatomy and physiology, this couldn’t be further from the truth. We poured over diagrams and charts of anatomy and physiology. We viewed “Sam,” the skeleton and put all the body’s systems together as we contemplated how our bodies work. One of my fellow classmates, a registered nurse, said that in this class, we were learning things they didn’t teach her in nursing school. She suggested that much of the learning was about the body and how to treat it with surgery or pharmaceutical drugs. So what happens when these methods aren’t working?

Stepping Back Into Ancient Traditions
When the doors of mainstream medicine close – and maybe for those averse to surgery or long-term medication – stepping back into ancient traditions offers many answers. Maya Abdominal Massage is one of these traditional healing techniques. A combination of ancient Mayan abdominal techniques and modern naprapathic techniques, this massage restores the body’s five systems of flow along with releasing spiritual and emotional blockages.

Another Level of Recovery
But what I received was even deeper than what I expected. I walked face to face into another layer of my recovery – my deep inner grief resulting from lack of nurturing. I’ve looked at this from many angles and keep coming up with the same thing — which I’d like to share with you here. My mother was a wonderful mother – very positive, loving and was obviously proud of me. Underneath that, as a very sensitive child, I was deeply aware of her own unfulfilled dreams as a housewife – and later, an entrepreneur.

A Childhood Full of Responsibility
And as an adult, I recognize that some of what she was teaching me as a child – responsibility – may have been an overreaction to making up for the mistakes her own mother, my grandmother, made. So I was making my lunch and doing the dishes at 6 years old. By the time I was 7, I was making my own phone calls to arrange meetings with friends, when others had their parents handling these details. By 8, I remember being alone a lot of the time, while my father traveled and my mother went back to college to pursue her degree. There were other scenarios, typical of an unpredictable childhood – but overall, I felt a sense of tremendous responsibility.

Emotional Armoring
Looking back, I realize this was the beginning of my “emotional armoring” – that rock-hard, frozen shield that shut down the functioning of my body’s center. The diaphragm is a muscle that lets our body’s 5 systems of flow through the top and bottom half. Each of these flow systems is responsible for our vitality – how our blood flows, how we detoxify, how we feel things and how we digest. Emotional armoring hardens the muscle of the diaphragm so that our vitality is blocked off. Imagine my surprise when Lucy did my abdominal massage and blood flowed to my feet and face? And when I felt the release of tension in my liver and gall bladder, causing a noticeable release of bile?

Breaking Down to Build Back Up
I struggled not to break down into sobs, which I must admit, I truly wanted to do. Instead, as one stray tear slid down my face, I channeled the release into my body — releasing the flow of life — which seemed to feel okay to me right then. What was really released in me, through Lucy’s talented, safe and gentle touch, was this deep inner grief. I came face to face with my inner child who felt unnoticed, uncared for and unloved. This inner child who sensed that her mother wanted to be somewhere else – living her own dreams – and created a mistake of the intellect. My mistake of the intellect was that I was unwanted. And so I set out to not just carry out what my mother asked me to do as a child – I started to do more, so as not to be a burden. The cycle was created – where I felt like if I worked hard, did everything I was asked and more perfectly – I would not be a burden.

A Foundation of Burden
Somehow, I didn’t start the game thinking I was loved. I started thinking I was a burden and I had to continuously make up for that burden. And perhaps, if I worked really hard, I would one day be loved. There is no way I could articulate or even really understand this complex issue as a child – which is why it was a mistake of the intellect. Somehow, this unarticulated belief lodged itself inside of me – and upon this, I built my growing years.

Healing Takes Time
I would like to tell you that this deep wound miraculously healed over the weekend, but I know that I have just begun to face this one. It’s not a story of grief, but a story of gratitude. My experience with Lucy and the beautiful, talented women who attended class with me, allowed me to connect with the ancient healing power of women. This connection to the feminine – the nurturing comfort, tradition and strength of women – was a gift in and of itself.

Mother Earth
And what can I say about Lucy Mitchella, except that she is “Mother Earth” personified. She is a wise, loving, nurturing woman whose talents as a Maya Abdominal Massage practitioner and healer are unsurpassed. She has a knowing, gentle touch and a compassion that allowed me to connect to this forgotten part of myself.

Physical Changes
Over the weekend, I made it to a new level in my recovery and for that I am grateful. And what I’ve noticed since then, on the physical side, is pretty incredible as well. After learning that my uterus was jammed into the lower right side of my pubic bone, it was released and with my self-care, I’ve been able to free up some space in that area, coaxing my uterus back into it’s rightful home. Could this be the reason I had a swollen lymph node in my right upper leg? Could it be why I experienced sciatica from my right groin down my leg? Could it by why my right toe has felt somewhat numb when I wake up in the morning and resolves during the day? Or why I have to get up to urinate several times before falling asleep? What about the ovarian cysts and painful ovulation on the right side? The answer is yes, it could be. So I am looking forward to seeing these things resolve with my continued self-care techniques. I am happy to report that my liver already feels less tender as I massage it each day.

Not Just A Class - A Healing Experience
Taking the Maya Abdominal Massage Self-Care class was all that I’d hoped for and more. It was a healing experience that allowed me to discover more about myself — and the miraculous human body. And it helped me remember my connection to the feminine – our power as healers and nurturers. Modern life brings so much stress, so many choices, that we forget. We forget ourselves in the rush to the next thing – and often, we forget the richness that life has to offer. I leave this class making new choices for myself and with a profound respect for the healing properties that surround us in nature.

Take Lucy’s Next Class!

Maya Abdominal Massage Self-Care Training in CT:
To Be Announced

Sign Up Now for the Self-Care Training!
To register for training, you can call Lucy, or sign up online.

Lucy has a genuine respect for the laws of nature and lives her life according to its rhythms. Her practice is in Marlborough, CT.  She teaches Maya Abdominal Massage Self-Care in MA and CT.

Products and Services Lucy Offers:

• Herbal consultations
• Ayurvedic counseling
• Maya Abdominal Massage
• Blissful Botanicals – natural herbal skincare products
• Rainforest Remedy products

Lucy is also available for phone consultations
You can reach her by calling her cell phone: 860-478-9585 or via e-mail: lucymitchella@comcast.net