Mizan Abdominal Therapy

Mizan Therapy is a form of traditional reproductive healing. Most traditional medicine systems use abdominal massage, for both men and women. I originally trained with Rosita Arvigo to learn the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy™. I subsequently found other teachers, from Indonesia and Malaysia used a similar massage and, along with my training in TIBB herbal medicine, I developed Mizan Therapy.

Mizan is a gentle but effective way of massaging the abdomen that improves the flow of circulatory fluids of the blood, lymph and nervous systems to strengthen the muscles and ligaments that hold the internal organs in their optimum positions. Mizan relieves congestion and helps to remove blockages to stimulate physical and emotional health and well-being.

It improves the health of the reproductive systems for both men and women, as well as benefitting the digestive system.

The uterus is held in place by muscles and ligaments that can become contracted or over-stretched, allowing the womb to move out of her optimum position. This can lead to many varied symptoms.

MAT strengthens the ligaments, allowing them to heal and as they do so, guiding the uterus back into her centre.

There are many causes, sometimes we know the reasons, sometimes not, but Mizan can be effective even if we don’t know the answer to that question.

Here are some of the main causes:

• High impact exercise, particularly running on cement surfaces, gymnastics, trampolining…
• A modern lack of understanding of the needs of women, particularly during menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and post natally. This can lead to weakening of the pelvic ligaments and muscles, weak pelvic floor muscles, over-stretched or over-contracted ligaments in the pelvis
• Falls to the sacrum and lower back, car accidents, blows to the head
• Previous abdominal surgery
• Chronic muscle spasm on the lower back and sacrum
• Time, age, gravity
• Emotional trauma

The main indicators are symptoms. Here are some of the main ones:

• Painful menstruation
• Irregular menstruation
• Painful ovulation
• Dark blood at the beginning or end of menstruation
• Endometriosis
• Fibroids
• Polyps
• Fertility problems
• Chronic miscarriages
• Difficult pregnancy and birth
• Headaches/migraines with menstruation
• Low back ache with menstruation
• Pre-menstrual tension and depression
• Frequent urination, bladder infections, urge incontinence
• Chronic constipation
• Frequent vaginal infections
• Menopausal symptoms

Expect a minimum of three sessions. Many simple problems will be fixed after this, particularly if you do the self-care at home regularly. More complex cases may need many months. We need to work together to re-align the uterus and also for the ligaments to become strong enough to hold her in place.

Regular attention to self-care speeds the healing process, and many women report a rapid improvement in health and well-being.

Nearly every woman, whether your womb is still with you or not, feels the benefits from Mizan Abdominal Therapy. The improved circulation, lymphatic drainage and renewed movement of energy brings relaxation, healing and a renewed sense of well-being.

Contra-indications to Mizan over the lower abdomen:

• During menstruation
• During the first trimester of pregnancy
• If you have an IUD fitted
• If cancer is present anywhere in the pelvis

Mizan is the same for men as for women. Men may not have a uterus but they can still benefit in several ways.

• It helps with the prostate, for instance, congestion can result in benign prostatic hypertrophy
• It can help with impotence, sperm mobility and quantity
• Helps with digestive problems (see the question about how MAT helps with digestion)
• Helps with muscles tightened by tension and suppressed emotion

I have worked with many women who have been unable to conceive but do so successfully following treatment. Others have gone on to become pregnant following IVF where they hadn’t before. Obviously there is no guarantee that you will become pregnant following Mizan, but the medical professionals are also unable to offer guarantees. I can, however, with 99% certainty guarantee that you will feel better after Mizan, wherever you are on your fertility journey.

During sessions you will receive massage, diet and lifestyle recommendations and often herbal remedies, all of which together help to enhance fertility.

Men can also benefit from treatments – it has been found to increase the quantity and quality of sperm.

All surgery leaves scars – either physical scar tissue or emotional scars. By improving the circulation around the pelvis and lower abdomen, scar tissue can be prevented from forming, or existing scar tissue broken down.

Your womb may longer be physically with you, but her spirit lives on, and Mizan can help you to rebuild your connection with your wombspace and increase your sense of health and well-being.

If your uterus is not in her optimum position, it is harder for the baby to line up in the best position for birth. A perfectly aligned baby will mean a faster, easier birth – with all of the labour focused on birthing the baby, rather than a long pre-labour where your body is trying to re-position the baby.

Mizan during pregnancy tones and strengthens the uterus and helps the ligaments to support her and the growing baby. Pregnancy massage ensures a good blood circulation to both the uterus and the baby and, along with the self-care pregnancy massage, helps mama and baby to connect in the months before birth.

Yes! During pregnancy, the ligaments that support your uterus are under a lot of stress and are stretched to their extreme. Post birth you want to ensure that your womb contracts and realigns well and that the supporting ligaments relax equally.

Post birth your Mizan Therapist may have other resources for supporting your recovery with healing and warming oils, vaginal steams and abdominal binding – or closing the bones.

If you had a caesarean section there will be scar tissue. Mizan will help to prevent the formation and even break down old scar tissue. Scar tissue can cause the pelvic organs to stick together, so preventing this will be more comfortable as well as make future pregnancies easier.

Our language is full of expressions that connect our emotions and our digestion. Have you ever had “butterflies” in your stomach? A “lump” in your throat? Have you ever been moved by a strong and undeniable “gut feeling” about something or someone?

We store our anxieties and emotions in our bodies and a popular storage area is the abdomen, and the digestive system. This can lead to constipation, indigestion, heartburn and even to IBS.

Mizan, combined with self-care and dietary and lifestyle changes can make a huge difference to digestive upsets. And when our digestive system is working properly, we feel so much better.

All Mizan Therapists will teach you a simple self-care routine to do between appointments. It takes about five minutes a day, and can be done once you’re settled down in bed and ready for sleep – a lovely way to end the day, check in and do a bit of self-nurturing.

Clients who perform self-care obtain faster relief from symptoms.