Chillax is a term I love. A crossover of chilling out and relaxing, what could be better? As adults in a stressful grown-up world, it's something we all crave. One thing I have learned as a parent over the last 12 years is that it's something we should strive to help our children with, too. Eva Levinson runs And Chillax, she is both a mobile therapist for fantastic treatments to send us adults floating off into an ethereal relaxed state and a fully qualified baby and paediatric massage therapist, too. This is what I want to talk about today. Something most of us will have heard about is baby massage. The benefits of knowing how to massage your baby safely and correctly are huge. As well as helping new-borns adjust to their brand new world with gentle guiding and comforting touches, it is also a fantastic aid helping with generic baby blues and the serious matter of Post Natal Depression, by alleviating stress hormones which contribute to depressive feelings.
Bonding with your baby through touch not only helps them, it helps you and your relationship with your baby. Settling bouts of crying will become easier, you will learn to look out for your baby's subtle cues for feeding and comfort and you will become confident in your ability to parent gently and empathetically to your little ones needs. Eva is professionally trained and experienced as a mum of two herself and has extensive knowledge to lead you through your journey in her classes. They are great fun too! For more information on this, please take a look here. Going back to the beginning of my blog post, I strongly believe children should be supported through massage, too. It's something that is not spoken of as much as baby massage but it should be! Eva is a certified Paediatric Massage Therapist, teaching parents to be able to massage their own children. Teaching paediatric massage techniques is something Eva has felt passionate for a very long time. She trained with Tina Allen, a leading Paediatric Massage Master Teacher, who founded Liddle Kids, the premier organisation for infant and paediatric massage professionals worldwide. Please take a look at their website here for more information about what they do. So why massage for youngsters? Well, they need to chillax too! Life for children can often be a stressful place. Finding their footing socially, working hard mentally, night terrors, coping with illness, family changes and in some cases, disabilities too. Massage can help alleviate some of those strains and again, as with baby massage, can really strengthen and nurture the bond between parent and child. A true sensory experience is explored using textures, puppets, stories and gentle touch. As adults, we often wish to escape the gnawing stress of every day life for half an hour or so, children are no different in that respect. Quiet, one on one time with your child is also a thing to be nurtured, which paediatric massage supports. Once clued up, it would be an easy slot into any night time routine for parent and child. As I mentioned before, children who are not only living with everyday life stresses but disabilities too could really benefit from having massage in their lives. Children with ADHD, Autism, Asthma, Cerebral Palsy, Cystic Fibrosis, Down Syndrome, Anxiety & other visual impairments in particular have been proven to respond brilliantly to the sensory exploration of paediatric massage and having that one on one down time. These tactile therapies are being used in US hospitals with great effect and I do hope that the UK starts to follow suit. You can find out more information on Eva's child massage classes here. Massage has helped me massively with my fight against autoimmune disease and chronic illness so I'm a big advocate of it. Eva is a brilliantly empathetic therapist who truly understands each and every one of her clients. She is passionate about her work and loves what she does. It really shows. I urge those of you with new-borns (or soon-to-be born!) and children of any age to think about booking a session with Eva. Here's to a summer of chillaxing! All thoughts and opinions are my own, I have received no payment for this blog post.
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Who is Julie?30 something, mother of two gorgeous boys, lover of one gorgeous husband, perpetually living in a dream world full of wine, chocolate and artsy crafty things. Archives
February 2018
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