The most important relationship I seek to nurture in the treatment room is the one a patient has with their own body. We live in a culture that teaches us to override pain, defer to outside authority, and push through discomfort. Patients often arrive hoping I can “fix” them, but the truth is, we can’t do the work for them. We can offer guidance, insight and support, but healing requires their full participation.
Elaine Stillerman, LMT
Elaine Stillerman, LMT, has been a New York State licensed massage therapist since 1978, and began her pioneering work in prenatal, labor support and postpartum massage therapy in 1980. She is author of MotherMassage: A Handbook for Relieving the Discomforts of Pregnancy (Bantam, 1992), The Encyclopedia of Bodywork (Facts On File, 1996) and her latest work Modalities for Massage and Bodywork (Mosby, 2009), as well as numerous articles on prenatal massage therapy. She also is the developer and instructor of the professional certification workshop "MotherMassage®: Massage During Pregnancy." Visit www.mothermassage.net for more information.