Milk and Oil by Kate Brinch Sand

Rebozo Bodywork Workshop in Oslo

September 16, 2024 4-8pm

At Zen House in Majorstua

Hi ! I’m a Mexican born and raised massage therapist living in Oslo and I have been working towards this for a long time. There’s a lot of buzz around rebozo usage for bodywork and for postpartum specifically. But there is little education on what a rebozo actually is, how to use it properly and respectfully, and when not to use it. In this 4 hour workshop I will be teaching the basics of the technique I use in my sessions so you can also begin to use it with confidence and respect to the tradition on Mexico. I will not be teaching rebozo for birth as that requieres a specific training and experience I do not claim to have. I will teach the basics and general technique as the basis for future workshops on rebozo for postpartum. This workshop is for anyone who wants to learn how to work with rebozo in bodywork sessions while honoring the origin and lineage of the technique. This is not a course to do ceremonies but if you do work in that scope, you will learn the basis to use a rebozo with better results.

4 spots available

More information coming soon. Feel free to send me your email to receive more information.

New space at ZEN HOUSE !

Now the session will be in a bigger room.

With better flow of movement and energy.

With more space for the “bring your baby” postpartum sessions.

With space for 1:1 Ayurvedic Coaching sessions.

With Space for small group massage mentorships.

New setting, let’s see how this goes !

I’m taking the deep dive !

This weekend I travelled to Sandefjord (with the whole family on tow) to take the first of many modules on the training to learn about a method of treatment called Modern Acupuncture.

I have been in the business of massage therapy for almost 20 years, even with a break in the middle I have probably done over 5000 hours of sessions at this point. Could be 4000 but could be 9000. The point is, I know I’m at my absolute best but the life of a massage therapist can either abruptly come to and end with an injury or slowly dwindle as the years pass.

I am sure i have about 10 years of full time therapy work but I’m aiming for less as I slowly introduce new forms of treatment and hopefully in the next 3-5 years Ill be doing half massage and half Ayurvedic support and other forms of therapy, less demanding, that allow me to build a second segment to my career as a therapist.

I do not know if I will go the long haul to certify as an acupuncturist (a journey I could realistically complete in 2-3 years) or just have the entire skill set to add needles to my practice. That’s yet to be decided.

This weekend was a first dive into learning the basics of this method (it is not TMC but a separate form of treatment based on it) and the chance to jump straight into putting needles on my self and my classmates. It was SO MUCH FUN !

I will process and practice and talk more about it but I am pumped and ready to use this. Among the treatments we learned are:

Hormonal imbalances
Immunity
Asthma and allergies
Diverse joint pains
Shoulder, Neck, Back and Lower back Pain
Sciatica
Eye and ear problems
And more …

I am definitely adding this to my services after the summer !

Sharing more soon !

I’ve been long watching from the sidelines how Pregnancy Massage in Norway is done carelessly, without adequate training, with little to no knowledge of what can and cannot be done, with questionable practices and basically no regard for what a mother really needs in the early stages of motherhood (aka pregnancy and postpartum).

To sugarcoat the truth for the purpose of being liked is to put more interest on my own gain than on the actual state of Pregnancy (Motherhood) Massage.

Mothers must have agency. FACT.

But when their provider is untrained, inexperienced or has more focus on what a massage “should look like” instead what it should offer, we lose sight of how to adequately guide and advice mothers before, during and after their bodywork sessions.

A provider with adequate training SHOULD KNOW about outdated practices, dangerous or contraindicated practices, and the importance of physical and emotional safety for BOTH provider and client.

If you GIVE massage and this sounds totally alien, I invite you to come join my mentorship sessions and work towards becoming an informed provider.

I remember seeing a campaign from a famous fast food burger joint (red-yellow) inspiring potential applicants with an enticing “we make you work under stress and train you to handle the most demanding situations” like if the promise of a stressed nervous system and the promise of a life in a permanent state of fight or flight was something to aspire to.

Worst part is, we are in diapers when it comes to living slow and reducing stress, and most people will still actively justify an overbooked life headed towards burn out as a necessity or an unavoidable penitence in the road to success.

I do not know where you stand, but I’m in for the long journey and I intend to do it with better health every day, less stress every month, more me time as the years pass and a lot a lot a lot more awareness of my own choices and actions.

🇲🇽

is hard. We all know that.

But is even harder.

Before we are even able to get into the how to make a change in our lives and habits we need to start by asking ourselves:

1. what needs to change?
2. why does it need to change? and most importantly,
3. do it want the change to happen?

Developing the that is needed to start the chain reaction that leads to making changes in our is such a huge task of . Most of us never get past that stage because we have so many blocks that prevent us from seeing what we need to do to . Change is hard. By without awareness it can’t take place.

Try this exercise ➡️ ask your self daily one question about your day. Set an alarm on your clock and when the clock rings just write on a note on your phone or a journal by your bed or desk ONE thing that made your day amazing or ONE thing that made your day hard.

In a few weeks you will be able to feel that awareness needed to even consider the possibility of making a plan towards change.

Change is hard. But it is not harder than living in the status quo of inflammation, depletion, chronic pain, sleep deprivation and overwhelm.

When everything already feels impossible, why not take a chance?

Instead of wondering what’s the worst that can happen if I try a change, ask yourself, what’s the best that could happen?

This happened.

Amidst a year of loss; a year of difficulties, personal & professional; a year of a lot of questions regarding my self-worth, my wisdom, my ability to learn or my value as a massage therapist; This happened.

Even though I choose sleep over being present in the live classes; even when I fell behind by a lot; even when I lost my father; even when my stepson lost his mother; even when I had to double my work hours because money felt tight.

It would have been easier to quit & place blame all over; but instead this happened. Because despite all the difficulties, Ayurveda kept me going. Amidst all the hardship, I found myself, I healed many of my habits & I’m slowly healing others.

Ayurveda helped me understand my nature, & by acting on such simple routines regardless of all the difficulty I had to endure while keeping up with school, it was Ayurveda that gave me the tools to love me more everyday, to get healthier & to find happiness within myself.

I learned the kitchen is my sanctuary & I can cure my anxiety & gut while cooking with beautiful spices.
I learned to respect my sleep above all distractions.
I learned that 15 minutes of self care a day CAN change my health & 15 of continously interrupted exercise at home can still help me feel strong.
I learned that it is 100% my choice if I want to feel better & how every single decision, big or little, will greatly impact my life.

I’m 45 & I actually lost the weight I was told was there to stay, I don’t live with stomach inflammation & I lost more than a few wrinkles.

I have kids; a job; bills and a dog. I am an expat mom with little to no support. Life comes with good stuff & hardship & there’s always one more thing being thrown my way. That will never change.

But no one can ever take away the empowering knowledge that has allowed me to start healing from within & the kick in the butt Ayurveda gave me to stop feeling sorry for myself.

Thank you to all my incredible teachers , Katie and Laurel in particular. I’m excited to embark on Level 2 in a few weeks, & hopefully become an Ayurvedic Health Counselor in the spring of 2025.

SEND YOUR REQUEST FORM AND START YOUR OWN HEALING JOURNEY. Everyone is offering wellness to women and that is amazing but I want to give a space to the women who care for everyone else 💕 Healing Healers is a space for YOU the Healer woman to Heal Yourself so you can continue caring for others.

How it works:

1. Fill out a Care Providers Request Form
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfHek7hj74qzcTgnZSkvZUQP3Qo0DzW-mMXpOtBeh7HWpxXmQ/viewform
2. I go through it and send you a private booking link
3. You start getting regular bodywork and guidance sessions at an affordable price. NO catch.

I’m working full speed to have this offer ready to start in April. If I’m quiet it’s because I am on a deep dive writing the content of the mentorships. .

Details coming soon

This is Milk & Oil #45

Probably the most important one of all…..If it hasn’t worked before, it won’t work now.

Overindulgence as tradition to close the year, followed by overly restrictive goals to start the new one, is without a doubt the most common cycle of imbalance.

If you have been overdoing it until now, be it last month, last year or the last decade, don’t do another cycle of GI Jane January. Take a close look at your habits instead.

Ask yourself what is failing.

Ask yourself which habit is the first one you’d like to eliminate and which one is the one you’d like to make a part of your life.

If it’s food, start cutting down your portions and choices gradually.

Winter is absolutely not the right time to cleanse.

So instead of going from overeating carbs to a green smoothie lifestyle in the dead of the winter, focus on one realistic goal instead. Smaller portions. Or out with dessert. Or start by drinking warm water.

If it’s exercise, start 5 minutes daily and increase to 10 a week later.

Habits take 40 days to reach all layers of tissue… probably why forced habits never stick. Because we are “done” with boot camping ourselves into the new year before one single habit actually settles into our body.

And besides, any habit we start as a punishment for our own bad behavior has very little chance of actually sticking.

Time to reflect and be more accountable.

I’ve been in pjs since yesterday and intend to stay in pjs until the 27th.

God jul. Feliz Navidad. Merry Christmas. This year for us is a whole new ball game of starting extraditions and honor in things my father loved the most. Keeping his memory alive is crucial for us and for the kids. But also. It’s emotionally exhausting. Grief is exhausting. So we are doing a very chill one, in pjs and Christmas sweaters. Whatever feels rough will be right for you. Have a merry MINDFUL Christmas.

Putting the phone down IS A GIFT FOR YOUR LOVED ONES THAT HAS ZERO ACTUAL COST.

How many times we actually look back and say “I don’t remember this” when looking at photos?

I used to post photos all the time. And videos. But it’s just not the same thing as BEING there.

Allow yourself to heal.

Is it really that much to ask?

If you answer yes, then please sit with your response and feel inside what does that mean?

What does it mean to think that you are not allowed rest?

Hey, I don’t have the answer. That one lives within you.

Was hoping to put this one out yesterday but sleep took over me after a long shift. Still applies. Better shop the last today than tomorrow.

Unless you just got paid today…no excuses. No one needs that many days to prep, shop, attend events, etc. give yourself the gift of saying enough.

I do massage therapy all day. Trust me when I say, it’s getting worse everyday for people. The amount of stress by now is shocking. Take a pause and check in with yourself and others. If you have crashed already I’ve got news, the holidays haven’t even started.

Too tired today. So to set an example, I’m just gonna go to bed now. At 21:05. Guilt free.

Why are you not your number one priority?

Live to shop and purge. A senseless cycle we are told is what gives this season value and then the spring a purpose.

Imagine.

All the hours you spend running errands the weeks of December are the reason behind “spring clean” … when we are choosing gifts it would be rather helpful to ask ourselves “does this person NEED this?” “Does this person WANT this?” And then proceed to buy something that can fit both actions.

Gift things that are wanted and needed.

That’s why I like the idea of wellness and food. Everyone needs and wants something pampering and something yummy to eat.

And remember. Support small and local.