Meet Laura and little Josh, they are a Kindermusik family and Laura would like to share her professional opionion with you on infant massage. Laura is a Kindermusik mom who fully understands the benefits of infant massage and who has been massaging little Josh since he was born. One of our Kindermusik activities known as intentional touch incorporates infant massage, which is part of the Village curriculum. Apart from stimulating the nervous system, calming baby, aiding digestion and advocating parent-baby bonding, infant massage does so much more. Below is Laura's professional opinion on infant massage...
|
|
|
Infant Massage “The purpose of the International Association of Infant Massage is to promote nurturing touch and communication through training, education and research, so that parents, caregivers and children are loved, valued and respected throughout the world community” The IAIM was started by Vimala Schneider McClure, who, at the age of 21 in 1973, was working in an orphanage in India, and was exposed to the wonderful tradition of infant massage that was handed down from mother to daughter. She was struck by the amazing power of this simple gift of love, which even the poorest of mothers could bestow on their children. After she returned to America, Vimala had two children of her own, and she tried the massage techniques on them, and was delighted with the results. She started teaching other mothers the techniques, adapting the Indian techniques, and adding her own based on Swedish massage, reflexology and yoga. Vimala then formalized a five-week program to be taught to caregivers, which she started training other instructors to teach in the late 1970’s, with the IAIM being founded in the early 1980’s. Benefits of Infant Massage:
For Babies
Added Benefits for babies with Special Needs
Massage helps babies to get used to handling input, and to respond to it by relaxing. It helps to reinforce positive feelings about their bodies, and enables them to release pent-up feelings of frustration in a nurturing, supportive environment. A daily massage raises the stimulation threshold for most babies, allowing babies who have problems handling stimulation to gradually increase their tolerance level, and it can reduce the height of the tension curve in high-need babies. Over time, these babies seem to learn to regulate the manner in which they process and respond to stressful experiences, probably due to the myelination of the nerves in response to touch, the releasing quality of the massage itself, as well as the relief the baby experiences when the parent listens to him and acknowledges his needs, likes and dislikes.
For further information, or to book a course in Bryanston, please contact Laura Draudsing on:
|
