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Infant Massage Instruction

One of the latest wellness services to be introduced at Shizuka Ryokan, infant massage is easy to learn and highly effective! Join the tens of thousands of parents worldwide who have learnt infant massage with accredited members of the International Association of Infant Massage (IAIM). You too can experience the joys and benefits that the nurturing touch of infant massage has to offer.

Over the past 30 years infant massage has become widely recognized as a powerful means to promote infant development and attachment with caregivers, while providing numerous physiological and emotional benefits.

Healthy touch is a key element in promoting secure bonding and attachment between children and their parents or caregivers. Bonding is the early contact between the two parties and it enhances their relationship throughout life. Attachment is the shared experiences and the exchange of verbal and non-verbal communication that create mutual feelings of love, comfort, trust and respect. This is a life-long process that begins before birth.

Learning infant massage is for you if you want to...

  • improve your baby’s sleep/awake patterns
  • form a strong bond of love and trust with your baby
  • assist with your baby’s growth and development
  • understand more about what your baby is trying to tell you
  • relieve your baby’s tummy pains
  • relieve your baby’s constipation
  • stimulate your baby’s neurological development
  • meet with other parents in a relaxed and social atmosphere 

The International Association of Infant Massage is the world’s largest infant massage organisation with thousands of instructors in over 40 countries across the globe. All Certified Infant Massage Instructors have undertaken a rigorous training and certification process including supervised hands-on teaching. Shizuka Ryokan offers an in-house Certified Infant Massage Instructor.

 

Classes

The classes begin with a relaxation technique for parents and then the instructor will demonstrate the massage on a doll whilst guiding the parent in massaging their infant. There will also be a group discussion on a particular infant topic such as crying or infant cues. As all babies have different patterns of behaviour, there are always extra dolls available if your baby happens to be asleep during the class.

Mum, dads, grandparents and caregivers together with babies are all welcome to attend classes and although the best time to learn infant massage is from your baby’s birth to pre-crawling age, it is never too late to begin.

We have always known that parents know their babies better than anyone else, and many parents have an innate “felt-sense” of what is happening with their children... an almost mystical knowing of their baby’s state of well-being. By learning infant massage, parents will add to their innate knowledge and become their children’s entrusted and most competent advocates.

Infant Massage is not just about massage strokes, and certainly not just about doing a lot of them. It is about parents going slow and observing and learning infinitely more about who their child is. It's learning what their child likes, and how and when to effectively deliver it. It's developing parenting skills to readily adapt to what presents itself next in an infant or child's unfolding development, and both creating and revising a baby's touch menu as the needs and preferences continue to change. It is also about helping parents to be mindful in the “present moment” with their child.

The strokes and styles of massage which have been validated through research are demonstrated by a trained instructor. Some of the skills you will learn are strokes, pressure, rate and rhythm, ideal environment, relaxation and parent empowerment. There is also a wonderful sequence to assist in relieving colic.

Infant Massage is a demonstration that a child is cherished, has a special place, and can identify as part of the surrounding family life. This can be life-giving and life-sustaining, assuring safety and support to be oneself. It is perhaps our innate realization that nurturing our young will make happier adults. It can be a practical and magical experience in the life of a child, as well as that of a parent.

Private classes in the privacy of your own home can also be arranged. 

BENEFITS OF INFANT MASSAGE

For your Baby

  • Enhances neurological development
  • Improves immune system
  • Helps regulate digestive, respiratory and circulatory stems
  • Helps relieve discomfort from gas and colic, congestion and teething
  • Helps baby learn to relax
  • Decreases production of stress hormones
  • Reduces crying and fussing
  • Promotes sounder and longer sleep
  • Promotes positive body image
  • Improves bonding and communication

For You

  • Provides a special focused time that helps deepen bonding
  • Improves parent-child communication
  • Helps you to understand and respond to your baby's non-verbal cues
  • Promotes feelings of competence and confidence in caring for baby
  • Increases your ability to help your child relax in times of stress
  • Eases the stress you may feel when separated from your baby during the day
  • Helps you relax and have fun with your child

 

Infant Massage FAQ

Q: At what age can I begin massaging my baby?
Healthy full term babies can be massaged right from birth. However studies have shown medically stable pre-term babies do also benefit using “still touch” and selected massage techniques.

Q: Are IAIM massage techniques just for babies?
No, the International Association of Infant Massage techniques can be adapted to suit the growing child and can even be used on adults.

Q: When is the best time to massage my baby?
The “quiet alert” state is the best time for you to interact with your baby. This means that the baby is alert and has their attention directed toward you and is wanting to interact. This is also the optimum learning time for their brain and is a special time for both of you.

Q: How often, and for how long, should the massage be?
There is no set frequency or duration. A daily massage, in some form, is nice for continuity. Some parents find it fits better into their daily schedule to give two short massages per day. A massage should be as long as your baby is giving you “happy signals”. It could be as short as 5 minutes or as long as 20 minutes which is the maximum recommended time for pre-crawling healthy babies.

Q: Can I massage just one body part at one time?
Yes, for example in the case of a child with constipation you may want to start with a few gentle strokes to the lower back area to promote relaxation, then progress to the tummy area.

Q: Under what circumstances is it better to take a baby to receive a professional massage?
Under general circumstances – never. Why? Who is this person to the baby, and why does this stranger get the opportunity to bond with the child? Who says the baby wants a stranger's hands on her? Providing the caregivers are also well and available, they have all they need in their hands and with the love in their hearts to attach, bond and massage their child – even if it’s for colic, pain management or other special needs. It is not the massage therapist's role to play ‘expert’. The parents are the experts regarding their babies, the babies are the teachers (teaching their language in cues & reflexes) and the massage instructor (keyword here is 'Instructor') is the guide – offering and modeling options to choose from in this beautiful art of nurturing and compassionate touch.

Q: Is a quick massage better than no massage at all?
In general, yes. The more detailed answer to this question is that it’s really up to the baby. It is best to respect and acknowledge that the baby determines when the massage will begin, pause, resume and end. IAIM teach that infant massage is not just a recipe of strokes. It is about reading and responding to infant cues through nurturing and compassionate touch. Even a soothing stroke on the forehead while feeding is "infant massage".

Q: What medical conditions can a parent hope to treat with massage?
IAIM instructors do not teach treatments, we prefer to use the word ‘help’. In that case, there are a number of common infant discomforts. Examples are: colic, constipation, respiratory problems, weight problems, self regulation, wake/sleep cycles, indigestion, stress and anxiety. Research Fact: In 1988, researcher Tiffany Field, M.D. studied the benefits of massage with pre-term infants. Preterm infants gained 47% more weight, became more socially responsive, and were discharged 6 days earlier at a hospital cost savings of $10,000 per infant (or 4.7 billion dollars if the 470,000 preemies born each year were massaged). The underlying biological mechanism for weight gain in the massaged preterm newborns may be an increase in vagal tone and, in turn, an increase in insulin (food absorption hormone).

These questions and many more topics will be addressed by your Certified IAIM Instructor during your Baby Massage instruction.

 

TESTIMONIALS

“Massage is a great way to wind down at the end of the day!”
Clare & Oliver (8 wks)

“I loved learning to bond, relax and enjoy my baby.  Also relaxes and stops colic before bed!”
Natasha & Felicity (4 mths)

“I learnt the importance of touch to calm and relax my baby.”
Sarah & Matthew (9 mths)

“The gas and colic routine definitely comforted my baby.”
Jacinta & Acen (7 mths)

“I learnt that my baby communicates more clearly than I thought, and he loves massage!"
Shayna & Frey (4 mths)

 

INFANT MASSAGE LINKS