Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/68005
spotlight on education—loretta young BY KARRIE OSBORN FROM THE HEART TO THE CORE Classrooms come in all shapes and sizes. Loretta Young found the most transformative educational experience of her career at the foot of her teacher in the Belizean rainforest. After five years of working as a licensed massage therapist in New York, Young became a certified pre/ perinatal massage therapist under Carole Osborne, and an infant massage instructor with Diana Moore, in 2002. But when a client asked if there was any type of bodywork she could do to help with fertility, Young decided to add a few more skills to her repertoire. She remembered a note she'd seen about Maya abdominal massage—a core technique used to support women's health—and decided to pursue it further. After inquiring about the work, Young realized that first she would have to enroll in a Maya abdominal massage self-care course being offered by the Arvigo Institute. "I was intrigued that regardless of being a licensed practitioner, a prerequisite self-care class needed to be completed prior to studying on a professional level," she says. In trying the technique on her own body, Young quickly realized its value. "I had always had a lower-back pain with my menstrual cycle and I learned that even a slightly retro-tilted uterus can have that effect from the extra ounces of pressure against the nerves in that region causing discomfort. And I learned that the falls I had taken on the sacrum during years in gymnastics, as well as running on hard surfaces, had an impact on my internal dynamics, restricting blood and lymph flow in the pelvis. I walked away feeling empowered by a deeper relationship and understanding of my own body. "This inspired a new focus with massage therapy and a goal to share this information with as many people as possible. I decided if this self-care class and technique can make a difference with my own body, then I would absolutely want to share this with others." TRANSFORMING THE WORK Inspired for more, Young was eager to learn the Arvigo techniques of Maya abdominal massage from its founder, Rosita Arvigo, a naprapathic doctor. Five months later, Young was walking through the Belizean rainforest with Arvigo, her mentor and teacher. She calls the experience "magical." She remembers hiking to and from Arvigo's home via the Rainforest Medicine Trail, which was carved out by Don Elijio Panti, the Mayan shaman with whom Arvigo had apprenticed years ago. "There was a strong energetic presence being on the land where this technique was developed," Young remembers. It was nothing if not life-changing. Now both a certified Maya abdominal massage practitioner and self-care teacher, Young says the technique has transformed the way she works with clients and how she approaches the body, while also creating a specialization for her bodywork practice. She says the basis of the technique is massage therapy, but Arvigo also teaches her students to work with the emotional and spiritual aspects to treat each person in a holistic manner. "Maya abdominal massage changed the way I approach the body on so many levels," Young says. "Learning the abdomen and pelvis in full detail was fascinating. Understanding how it can have an effect on everything from head to toe—internally (emotionally and mentally) and externally (physically)— was phenomenal. Most importantly, it showed how our bodies tell our stories, how we need to listen to them, and how we can take care of them with this simple, self-care massage." Young finds that her professional athlete clients love the abdominal work and request it a majority of the time. "It is not often that a massage 132 massage & bodywork january/february 2009