Endometriosis and Belly Structural Therapy
By Elizabeth Stein
Ever heard of Belly Structural Therapy? Elizabeth Stein, a belly structural therapist with 13 years of clinical practice, talks us through this novel approach to endometriosis management that can form part of your endometriosis tool box, alongside other therapies and health practitioners. Read on to find out the ins and outs of this intriguing therapy and what a typical session looks like.
Endometriosis: An Unpleasant Word to Many, However, There May be a New Hope in its Management.
Hello, my name is Elizabeth Stein and I’m a belly structural therapist. That’s my fancy way of combining all my belly healing/therapy training (Arvigo® Maya Abdominal Therapy, Chi Nei Tsang, Holistic Pelvic Floor training, and The Gentling Way) into one clear phrase. I love massaging people’s bellies and yes, many people think I’m weird for saying that. The truth is belly therapy/belly love changes lives, including my own and many of my clients.
I’ve been in clinical practice since 2006 and have deeply explored wellness through belly specific structural corrective/healing therapies since 2014. With endometriosis on the rise worldwide, many of my patients come in with this painful condition. They arrive in a variety of states with endometriosis, some have suffered for years, some only suspect they have it (with no official diagnosis), and some have already had several surgeries to try and manage it. Regardless of where each person is on the endometriosis journey, my job when they come in is to use everything I have learned to create a unique plan to help as best I am able. I’ve found that at least 80% or more of my clients gain some relief from their condition and many have long lasting relief when they apply what they learn in addition to therapy sessions.
So what happens during a typical session?
Generally, a client books a free 15-minute discovery chat. The purpose of this session is to discuss your personal issues and determine whether my work can help. If it looks like my services may help, a time is booked for the first treatment (expect 1.5 hours) that works for both of us. An online 10-minute health intake questionnaire is emailed through before the session that I read before. During the in-person session, I may ask a few more questions based on the health intake form; during this time, the client has the chance to ask questions too. I then step out of the room for the client to get on the table. Usually, we start face up and the work is generally focused around the whole soft belly from the top of the pubic bone all the way to the ribs. If there is a lot of pain present, I may work on other parts of the body (as based on Asian medicine philosophy) that generally helps with easing belly pain before starting. Each client is in charge of their session and I always go at the individual’s personal pace, considering their discomforts. The work is also all gentle and external and whilst the work is intimate in nature, the client is always kept covered and nothing is done that the client isn’t comfortable with.
The process will be a teamwork venture and after the front belly treatment, a take-home care version of the Self Care massage is taught. Remember it took time to get to the current state of health for the endometriosis to grow and start exhibiting symptoms, so it may take a little time to start to benefit from this work and to see changes. However, most people notice a shift after one session and many will notice even bigger shifts after the first one to three months of consistent care and diligent home applications of everything taught. Everyone is unique and will have their own healing and self-management journey.
With the time left over after the belly up portion of the session, the client is flipped over to address the lower back and hips. This includes the tail bone and a little work around the sit bones. Even though I may not always be directly working over the belly or other areas of pain, everything in a session is focused to improve the flow and function of blood, lymph, and nerves, so the body has more access to healing itself.
After the hands-on session is complete, I step out of the room and allow the client to get dressed and re-oriented. I find this work is like hitting a reset button for the body. Often people feel dreamy or a little disoriented for a few minutes right after, and need a few minutes to come back to themselves. I’ll often share what was found and any other suggestions that I feel might be helpful.
Immediately after a session, most people feel a little tired and need to have a big sleep. Some will have extra discharge during their next period, which I always see as a good sign! We have a saying among the Arvigo® practitioners, “better out than in”, especially if it’s something the body has held onto for a while. With all the improved circulation, the body can now cleanse toxins more easily, including any old unshed uterine lining.
With time, some clients have gone back to normal lives, not needing to take time off from work or take pain killers during their menstrual flows. This work is excellent pre and post surgery as it helps recovery (we have statistics on this through the Arvigo® Institute based in the USA) and a few of my clients prefer this work over surgery (those that have already had surgery prior to seeing me) and some are no longer afraid of their surgery due to this work because they know they will have good support post surgery, no matter what happens during the surgery.
Because endometrial tissue forms sticky adhesions in the body, it is best to plan on booking a series of sessions to get the most benefit. Ideally, sessions are booked no more than one week apart for at least a 6 week treatment session. If this isn’t possible plenty of clients still get benefit with booking a little more time in between sessions.
The theory of this work is if the blood, lymph and nerve flows can be manually assisted to work better, the body will have more access to its own self-healing potential. That is what belly therapies do, they improve the body’s flows, as most pain and disease set in stagnant areas.
If you’d like to book yourself a free 15-minute discovery chat click here: https://calendly.com/estein7/15-minute-discovery-chat-find-out-how-i-can-help-you?month=2019-06
Holistic women’s hygiene care that is safe for endometriosis: www.Drion.co.nz
Use the code “bellycare” for a 10% discount for orders $25 or more.
An Additional self help article on Endometriosis:
https://www.bodycareplace.com/endometriosis.html
For more reading about Elizabeth and belly therapies or book an appointment here
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