As a kid, I enjoyed using my imagination to create and visualize stories. I realized people loved storytelling because it engaged the mind and evoked emotions. I also remember my parents rubbing my tummy as they read me stories. Healthy touch mixed with positive and calming words offered me a personal healing tool. Who knew these elements would become useful later in my occupational life? Massage therapy school trained me to utilize therapeutic touch to address clients’ muscular concerns. Over the years, I developed confidence and intuition by learning numerous massage modalities. Recently, I wanted to learn more about self-care techniques that involved healthy movement (flexibility & strength building), guided meditation and visualization. Yoga teacher training dove deeper into these skills, allowing me to feel more confident about them.
Before COVID-19, I began yoga teacher training and had no idea it would also help hone my visualization skills again! I had a booming massage therapy business but desired to shift into doing less massage. I didn’t know how to exactly make this shift happen but, not being able to massage my clients gave me this chance. My client Malen (not their real name and prefers the pronouns them or they) offers a perfect example of this occupational shift.
In 2019, Malen came to me for deep tissue massages to address upper body tension. With time, we alleviated key muscular concerns and built a rapport. However, we changed from deep tissue to relaxation massages when Malen shared the desire to conceive with in vitro fertilization. We both agreed on the safety and nurturing energy of this switch. We also added guided meditation, visualization and breathing techniques to the sessions. This helped Malen envision a healthy and welcoming environment inside for a baby to live in. They shared this about the pre-pregnancy process with me: “ I cannot tell you how much it means to me your willingness to make sure that my massage was safe and also what I was looking for– increasing my receptiveness..to conception as well as preparing my whole self, mind, body, and spirit for that journey.” Malen and partner became pregnant just before COVID-19 shutdowns.
During the shutdown, Malen reached out to me feeling stressed and with muscular tension concerns. In the second trimester, I offered to teach virtual prenatal yoga classes addressing both issues. We continue to use safe yoga poses and breathwork to build strength, flexibility, and body awareness. Meditation/visualizations infused with the chakra system ideals, the 5 elements, anatomy lessons, and more seem to lower Malen’s stress levels. Malen shared the following about guided meditation and visualization with me: both “have helped me feel strong, connected to myself and my baby, [and] not alone in my journey…Doing guided meditations/visualizations with you has allowed me to feel full and connected to my process and journey in a confident,
hopeful, and relational way.”
I’m not claiming I cause conception or a healthy pregnancy. However, bodywork and a positive mindset seem to offer a productive approach. What usually happens is a client comes in for a massage because they need to relax and alleviate muscular tension. Then, they share their stress of trying to conceive. Their mind is a battlefield consumed with this pressure and their body seems to follow suit by developing tension. Massage, meditation, and visualization can be tools to flip the battlefield script within their head and in turn, relax their bodies. I refer a client to a psychological or medical professional if needed.
Although my training included fertility and prenatal classes, I don’t specialize in this. I work with a wide variety of clients with different concerns such as aging gracefully, fostering body awareness, healthier living, and more. Each client has unique battles within their mind and it tends to show up in their bodies. I notice the world as a whole becoming more aware of the mind/body connection. Massage, yoga, breathwork, and meditation/visualization can help positively unite the mind and body. Simply put, I can hold a therapeutic space for a client and tell them calming stories. They do the integral internal work of connecting their mind and body.
Terah Kelleher
terahk.lmbt@gmail.com
Owner of Holistic Wellness & Expression
NC Licensed Massage Therapist #4059
Registered Yoga Teacher
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