Reflections on learning Shiatsu for Midwives with Samara Hawthorn at Da.a.luz Midwifery School,Spain

Reflections on learning Shiatsu for Midwives with Samara Hawthorn at Da.a.luz Midwifery School,Spain.December 2016.

Today I did some meridian tapping and chi gung in the afternoon sun and I was instantly flooded with images from the week we spent earlier in December with Samara, high up above the Rio Guadalfeo at La herradura, learning Shiatsu for Midwives. Samara teaches WellMother Shiatsu, created by Suzanne Yates.

Sitting together around the woodburner, talking about ancestral Qi, extraordinary vessels; yin and yang; a whole new vocabulary for some of our students at Da-a-luz. 16 lovely ladies, all learning shiatsu together in our mountain retreat.
Each day Samara built on the foundation from the previous days learning and gradually the newness of the concepts began to feel familiar. We practiced our loving touch on each other, getting to know each other in a new way, our intuition guiding us to a deeper level of “feeling” and understanding.

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Under the pagoda, and the blue Andalucian sky, autumn leaves falling, the sound of the river flowing in the distance….we “tapped”out the stale energy from our meridians, letting nature transform it. Then we lay in the sun attuning ourselves to each other, more shiatsu, this time spending longer with each other, exploring the different sensations of touch and enjoying sharing such a wonderful gift.
By the middle of the week, it was time to share our newly acquired skills with others. We offered our loving touch to Mums and Dads at our “Bumps and Babes” group. The noisy warehouse was soon transformed into a peaceful sanctuary, the kind of peace that comes with a deeper connection – it was a great feeling to witness so many receiving shiatsu all at once, enjoyed by all.
Soon, all that new language became familiar and integrated. What began as a “touch routine”, became a sensitive exploration of being present with another person, the kind of presence that is required at a birth.
That week in December, we nurtured ourselves and began the process of developing the kind of skills needed for sensitive midwifery.
Women holding the space for each other, to allow a shift of energy to occur; it only takes a small shift to create great change. The kind of change our midwifery school is hoping to create.
Samara Hawthorn www.wellmama.wales