POSTPARTUM BODYWork
Deep care, comfort and healing
YOU DESERVE LOVING CARE IN POSTPARTUM.
Pregnancy and birth have a huge impact on your whole self, making postpartum a period of significant healing and transition.
Postpartum Bodywork sees and supports all of you -body, mind, emotions and energy - holding you in a way that realigns the body, allows you and your tissues to be heard and creates space for comfort, ease and release.
Discomfort in postpartum is an indication from your body that it needs care; that tight, compressed, overworked or protective tissues are seeking a return to balance. This discomfort does not need to be endured.
Postpartum Bodywork eases the transition of Matrescence, helping you to greet the new and wonderful you that is emerging from pregnancy and birth with understanding, compassion and grace.
You can benefit from POSTPARTUM BODYWork if
you are EXPERIENCING:
A desire to nourish and care for your whole self
Pelvic, back or abdominal pain or discomfort
Ongoing reflux, nausea, constipation or changes in bowel or bladder patterns
Tension in the neck, throat, jaw or head
Reduced mobility through the hips or pelvis
A bulging or lumpy feeling in your sacrum or tailbone pain or sitting bone pain
Changes to your menstrual cycle and bleed pattern
A new scar from a Caesarean birth or changes in an existing scar
Feeling not quite like yourself
Unsure of what happened to your body during your birth
Feeling like your pelvis or body are bracing, protecting or disconnecting
What’s involved in a POSTPARTUM BODYWork session:
A Postpartum Bodywork session is two hours of care focused on you. This usually involves:
A conversation about your current experience and any history that may relate to it
A discussion of your pregnancy, birth and care for your baby, and how this may be contributing to your current experience
A discussion on relevant anatomy to support your knowledge of your body’s harmony and balance
External touch and massage of soft tissue and bones of the neck, chest, back, abdomen and pelvis to release tension and bring balance into muscles, ligaments, fascia, scars and joints
Respectful return of pelvic and abdominal organs into their normal positions, including the uterus, bladder, intestines, stomach and liver
Release of tension in muscles and fascia affecting movement and comfort in postpartum and to support healing of abdominal separation
Gentle closure of the pelvic bones and resolution of birth patterns held in the body, mind and nervous system
Guidance on how to continue with self-care and further balancing work at home
Book a POSTPARTUM BODYWork Session
$220 for 2 hour session
Payment plan available
Sessions are held in my studio in Young, NSW
Upcoming Central West and Riverina visits:
- Sunday 1st March at Body Compass in Wagga Wagga
- Saturday 14th & Sunday 15th March at Cultivate Health in Dubbo
($20 travel fee applies to Dubbo, Wagga and Bathurst)
For all enquiries, email Helen.
MEET YOUR Practitioner
Helen Johnson
Practitioner, Nurse, Educator, & Teacher
I’m an Internal Pelvic Release Work practitioner, Registered Nurse, Childbirth Educator, Yoga and Meditation Teacher and mother to two beautiful young children.
After 16 years as a Registered Nurse and Clinical Nurse Educator in Australia and abroad, I noticed a troubling trend in the health practitioner-patient relationship concerning women’s health. Many women are being advised not to trust or understand their bodies, losing touch with their intuition when seeking answers to their physical, mental, and emotional signs and symptoms. With my background in supporting women through pregnancy, birth, postpartum and beyond as a Yoga teacher and Childbirth Educator, I wanted to offer my community more.
I discovered Internal Pelvic Release Work through Fiona Hallinan and recognised it as a crucial tool for many women I encountered in pregnancy and postpartum. I believe you are the expert of your own body-mind-energy, and I am here to help you reconnect with that wisdom and find the answers that modern medicine often overlooks.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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The intention and ways of working with the body in a bodywork session is different to physiotherapy and osteopathy, as I have a significant focus on exploring your experience, providing education and using intuitive touch and listening to tissues to relieve discomfort and return balance to your whole self.
If you are likely to benefit from the care of a physiotherapist or osteopath, I will always refer you on.
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Release of scars is covered in all Bodywork sessions, so if you would like a holistic approach that sees and care for all of you, book Bodywork.
If your concerns and intensions for care are just for your scar, book a Scar Release Work session.
If you’re still not sure, please get in touch with me.
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The number of sessions is dependent on you as an individual, what we discover together in your body, and your response to the care session. As a general rule, most women require 2-3 sessions, 2-6 weeks apart, for optimal benefits to be achieved.
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6 weeks for a vaginal birth, 8 weeks for a caesarean birth.
If you feel you need bodywork prior to these times, please get in touch with me.
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Please just come as you are, no preparation is necessary.
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After care is important for Postpartum Bodywork. Your tissues will take some time to settle into balance, so plan to take it easy for 48-72 hours after your care session. Plan to return to a quiet space where you can integrate what you’ve learnt about your body. A warm bath and heat packs can feel really nurturing. A high-protein meal can help nourish the tissues you’ve worked with.
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It’s ideal to have bodywork without little people present, so you can focus on yourself and be uninterrupted. If you need your baby or child present, please have a carer with you to entertain them.
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Yes! If you haven’t had the time to listen to your body, mind, emotions and energy after pregnancy and birth, this care is for you. No matter how old your children are.