Having good posture
No matter what your mother may have told you, having good pos-
ture means more than just sitting up straight! Good posture helps
your breathing and level of relaxation. You can maintain good
posture whether you are standing or sitting. The following tips
should help:
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Keep your shoulders down away from your ears.
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Relax and soften your belly, but keep your spine long so you
are not slouching.
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If you are standing, be sure to keep your feet parallel and your
knees slightly bent. Make sure that you are not putting most
of your weight on one leg, as doing so affects your posture.
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If you are sitting on the floor, you can sit cross-legged with
your butt on the edge of a pillow. The pillow helps support
you to keep your spine long with little effort.
Massage therapists learn to work from their hara, which is a
Japanese word for “abdominal center.” This area is the solar
plexus — the energetic and physical center of your body. When
you are breathing properly and working from your hara, you are
able to move calmly, with confidence, and you are more likely
to sense your own energy and the energy of your baby.The Taffy Pull
The Taffy Pull is a nice introduction to massage for both of you, as
it works only the superficial layer of muscles. This technique is
simple and won’t overstimulate your baby. In addition, it helps to
release relaxation hormones, so don’t be surprised if your baby
falls asleep. If that happens, you can continue to give the massage
if you wish. Just be sure to move slowly and gently, and be ready to
offer a warm smile if she wakes up.
The Taffy Pull is an effleurage stroke, which means a gentle, gliding
stroke. Any effleurage stroke can be used to warm up the superficial
muscles, as well as to apply the oil to your baby’s body. (After all,
you want to apply the oil in a relaxing and soothing way, not just
smear it on your baby!) Effluerage calms and soothes the nervous
system and is a nice way to begin and end a massage.
Following are the steps involved in The Taffy Pull. Note that you
massage just one leg at a time.
1. Place one hand on the outside of your baby’s hip with
your palm facing in (see Figure 5-1).
2. Move your hand down the outside of her leg to her foot
using a gentle gliding stroke.
3. When your first hand reaches the baby’s ankle, use your
other hand to stroke the inside of her leg, starting at the
top and moving down.
4. Alternate your hands in a continuous motion. Move your
hands continuously to maintain a smooth and rhythmic
motion.
If you notice your baby’s skin becoming a little red on the surface,
this may be an indication that there was some tension in the muscle
that was released.
Unless you want a tickle-happy baby, apply a bit of gentle pressure.
Find a fleshy part of your own body to practice using different
amounts of pressure.Relaxing the Belly
Using abdominal massage can relax your baby and increase her
digestive functioning. Relaxation isn’t the only benefit here; con-
cerns such as constipation, colic, and diarrhea can be safely
addressed with massage. Refer to Chapter 11 for more techniques
to aid common health concerns.
The goal of each of the techniques in this section is the same: to
move stool and gas out of the colon. Because they share common
results, you can use these techniques in the sequence shown,
switch the order around, or just use one or two.
Massaging your baby’s belly stimulates digestion. Assuming you
don’t want spitting up to be part of the massage experience, we
suggest waiting an hour after a feeding before beginning the
massage.
Always move strokes on the belly in a clockwise direction. Working
in a clockwise direction ensures that you are working in the same
direction as the intestinal tract. Picture a clock on your baby’s
belly. You want to move your hands up the ascending colon (from
7:00 to 11:00), across the transcending colon (from 11:00 to 1:00),
and down the descending colon (from 1:00 to 5:00).
Your baby may release gas or have a bowel movement while you are
working on this area. These are signs that your massage is working.
We suggest that you keep a diaper on or open underneath your baby
while working the abdomen, or else have one nearby!