Postpartum bodywork
Postpartum is a period of continuous change. In the first days of breastfeeding and your recovery from birth, good care for yourself is paramount. Postpartum bodywork and alignment activities, along with breastfeeding support and newborn care, can buoy you in the stream of changes for yourself, your baby and your family.
Make the session your own
Sessions can vary to address your personal concerns at every stage in your postpartum, breastfeeding and mothering journey.
Benefits of myofascial bodywork:
- Recover from the intensity of birth
- Relieve neck, shoulder & back discomfort
- Rebuild core strength & abdominal integrity
- Restore pelvic floor tone, comfort & continence
- Help for painful or prolonged breastfeeding
- Release trauma from a difficult birth
- Connect with yourself & replenish your inner source
- Connect with your baby
- Find balance on a hormonal roller coaster
- Mothering yourself as the mother
Recover from the intensity of birth
After your baby arrives, give yourself the gift of postpartum care for recovery from the impacts of birth. Regain tone and strength through your abdominals and pelvic floor while relieving discomfort with myofascial therapy and your home program for alignment. Your pelvic floor may need tender loving care. Body Ready Method® provides gentle activities to come home to yourself in pleasure.
Relieve tension through your neck, shoulders, and back
While you’re holding your baby in your arms, gazing into their eyes, falling in love and breastfeeding, your body may be getting pulled out of shape. Myofascial bodywork and simple alignment activities can relieve tension and create balance for you to carry out your daily activities with self care.
Movement awareness for core strength & suppleness
Care for yourself as you care for your baby. Incorporate healthy movement into your daily life to build core strength during your daily activities. Begin here with clear guidance on how to safely recover and rebuild. With Body Ready Method®, you do activities designed for your personal postpartum fitness.
Resolve breast pain and difficulties with breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is a beautiful, natural process, but nature’s design is not always perfect. Breastfeeding can be complicated and difficult for mother and baby. You may need breastfeeding support, while your baby may need gentle craniosacral therapy to recover from the intensity of birth. Together we can evaluate the source of any pain and problems to help you and baby to settle into comfortable, easy rhythms.
Reconnect with yourself, your baby & your partner
The reality of motherhood and parenting can be a stark contrast to idealized images and expectations. Honor your experiences with somatic bodywork to take a deep dive into places that may feel stuck or numbed out. Enter into deep relaxation and healing to reconnect with yourself. Here you can practice mindfulness for self care and parenting together.
Mothering the mother
Give yourself time to heal. You may have had a difficult or traumatic birth, or a hard pregnancy. Your body and hormones may feel out of balance now, as an emotional roller coaster. Family pressures may also take their toll. Bring support to your self-care and mothering.
You can meet a difficult history and current conditions with attentive bodywork during this vulnerable postpartum time. Enable yourself to process painful events, come to terms with how things are, and to have greater resilience. With body-based mindfulness, you can create your own bubble of peace to help you move forward in your life.
Somatic therapy supports release of physical restrictions, persistent difficult feelings and unhelpful thoughts and beliefs. Combine support from a professional mental health counselor with somatic therapy for very challenging emotional states. Call on Pregnancy & Postpartum Support MN if you’re afraid that you may harm yourself or your baby.
Home programs
Home programs are individualized for restoring body and mind depending on your concerns and goals. Your home program may include body awareness, movement activities, self massage or mindfulness practices, based on your intentions for well-being.
What to expect in a postpartum session
What Catherine brings
Catherine brings a warm, empathetic presence to families with broad experience in somatic therapy and education for over 25 years to women and young children. She is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist (
ISMETA
) with decades of mindfulness and movement awareness practice. Her somatic support of compassionate witnessing with hands-on bodywork upholds women throughout the arc of their life stages.
Catherine specializes in support for childbearing women and babies, with extensive experience as a perinatal bodyworker, doula and breastfeeding counselor. She is a Certified Body Ready Method® Pro and Spinning Babies® Aware Bodywork Practitioner.