Baby-Shiatsu is a fun and relaxing way for parents and babies to get to know each other. It calms and soothes everyone involved with its gentle and therapeutic strokes. It helps new parents build their confidence in handling and bonding with their babies, and gives more experienced mothers and fathers the chance to spend a precious few hours focusing especially on the new member of the household while the other children are at school.
Shiatsu can tone the skin, muscles and internal organs, encourages good circulation (baby’s hands and feet are often cold), and, most importantly promotes good digestion and long sleep. Studies have even shown that massaged babies have tested significantly better in neurological development and mental functioning.
I am a qualified Shiatsu practitioner with two children. I trained originally with the Glasgow School of Shiatsu (1990-92) and the course included anatomy, physiology, patholgy, and counselling as well as Oriental theory and practice. I have done training courses with Pater Walker, pioneer of baby massage in hospitals and special care settings, England; and Suzanne Yates who is the only lay member of the Avon Maternity Services Board, England. I am also a movement specialist and my classes involve safe, physical development games for parents to play with their children. I am the only practitioner in Scotland to run Parent and Child Shiatsu courses where it is not just the parents who learn to care for their children with Shiatsu, but also the young people who reciprocate.
I have worked with children with a range of symptoms such as asthma, dislocated hips, recurrent ear infections, and severe bowel disorder, showing parents how they can aid swift healing, reduce the use of drugs and ease pain. I have been working in my one-to-one therapeutic practice since graduating in 1992, and teaching baby-shiatsu since the birth of my second daughter in 1996. Over the years, I have delivered baby-shiatsu courses extensively to Health Visitors in Fife for the Fife Health Board, and participated in the Scottish Baby Massage Association. Other experience involves 10 years of Adult Evening/Weekend Beginners Shiatsu Massage Classes for Edinburgh City Council, and I am co-founder and Principal Teacher with The Shiatsu School Edinburgh, training Shiatsu practitioners.
The baby-shiatsu routine and techniques I teach are derived originally from Shiatsu, based on ancient Chinese theory and Japanese Acupressure methods, which balances the body’s energy, and they can be continued beneficially throughout life. The Shiatsu is merged with up-to-date, practical treatments for common baby ailments (including specific acupressure points) such as colic and constipation, and therefore offers parents a really useful post-natal course.
Classes are run in courses of five consecutive weeks allowing parents to learn in small groups (max 12 parents and babies), to try out the routine at home, and to return each week to consolidate and learn new techniques, and clarify any issues that may have arisen between classes. Although adult Shiatsu is performed on top of clothing, baby-shiatsu is carried out with gentle, sweet almond oil (available to buy at classes), directly onto the skin. Meeting other parents of new babies and sharing experiences is a valuable part of the course, providing support during the early months of their baby’s lives. Classes are beneficial for babys from a few weeks old to the immediate pre-crawling stage.