Baby Massage Class and Outreach Program: Full Description

upcoming dates: Sept. 22, 2010
duration: 1 day
location: Akigawa, Japan (near Tokyo)
teacher: Les May

Use the enrollment form to reserve your place in the class.

Brief Summary

In this class you'll learn a complete full-body massage routine for babies which has been proven safe, has been shown to have a wide range of benefits, and is endorsed by the International Association of Infant Massage. You will also study the factors which make baby massage very different from adult massage including babies' behavior states and nonverbal communication, the caregiver-child bonding process, and the development, physiology, and anatomy of infants.

After the training is complete you will have the option to spend the afternoon participating in an outreach program in which we visit a Tokyo-area orphanage and care for babies whose need for nurturing touch is particularly urgent and likely to be inadequately met. This class is a joint offering by Kizuna Bodywork and our sister organization Kizuna Baby. The class is primarily intended for professional massage practitioners and students, but parents and their babies are also welcome to attend.

Details of Concepts and Curricula

While scientific research has established that people of all ages need touch and benefit from receiving it in many ways, babies have the most urgent need for nurturing touch of all. A baby's ability to form a strong bond with their parents or other caregivers and to develop a healthy mind and body depend on their consistently receiving an abundance of loving physical contact. The amount of touch babies receive in their earliest days and years greatly influences how rapidly they grow, how intelligent and secure they become, and whether or not they will get along well with their parents and peers throughout childhood. The availability of nurturing touch shapes a baby's brain and biochemistry in lasting ways. It is one of the most important factors in determining whether or not a baby will grow into an adult who is able to cope well with stress, treat others with compassion, and form healthy long-term relationships.

Massage is an excellent way to meet a baby's need for touch that has been proven to enhance the parent-child bonding process and bring tremendous developmental benefits to infants. Massaging a baby...

  • communicates your love to the baby through the languages they can most easily understand, your touch, facial expressions, and tone of voice
  • strengthens the baby's immune system by increasing the number and potency of white blood cells in their body
  • helps you better understand and respond to the baby's needs by focusing your attention on their nonverbal cues
  • relieves stress by reducing levels of the "stress hormones" adrenaline and cortisol in the baby's body as well as in your own
  • helps the baby gain weight, grow, and develop faster by stimulating the vagus nerve which in turn stimulates the digestive system
  • helps the baby sleep better by increasing production of the "sleep hormone" melatonin in their body
  • helps ease the baby's discomforts like colic, constipation, and gas

The primary goal of this class is to foster your capacity to share nurturing touch and communication with the babies you care for. You will also learn about a baby's nonverbal ways of saying "yes" or "no" to massage, what the best times are to massage a baby, which oils should be used, and what level of pressure is appropriate. This experience will provide you with the training you need to massage infants whether you plan to work primarily with your own child, with other children in your family, or with orphans through volunteer programs such as those offered by our sister organization Kizuna Baby.

Following the classroom training portion of the day, you will have the option to join us in visiting a Tokyo-area orphanage where you will have a chance to offer babies massage. While this outreach program will likely be personally rewarding for you on many levels including as a practical learning experience, the intent of the program is not to provide you with a baby massage practice session. Rather it is an opportunity for you to use your newly acquired skills and knowledge to be of service to children who are particularly at risk of having their need for loving touch be inadequately met. It is also intended to introduce you to this type of volunteer work so you can find out if you wish to pursue it further.

This class is a joint offering by Kizuna Bodywork and Kizuna Baby. Participants who complete the class and wish to continue being of service to orphans can pursue other volunteer opportunities through Kizuna Baby. This may include providing long-term and regularly occurring visits to an individual orphan in your community so they have an opportunity to form a secure attachment with you as a consistent caregiver and gain the health and developmental benefits of abundant loving touch.

Format

During the classroom training at Sankei in Akigawa, the teacher will demonstrate and explain baby massage techniques and concepts in detail. Students will practice with a doll while observing the teacher give the demonstration and will also receive one-on-one instruction from the teacher while they practice. The teacher mostly speaks English, so lessons will be presented in Japanese by a skilled interpreter.

Following the 5-hour in-class training, those who wish to participate in the outreach program will take a train to a nearby orphanage. The visit to the orphanage is expected to last from 1 to 2 hours, after which those students staying at Sankei will return to Akigawa by train.

Who This Class Is For

This class is primarily intended for professional massage practitioners and students, but parents and their babies are also welcome to attend. Students who are not residents of Japan who can understand either the Japanese or English languages are also welcome to enroll.

Teacher

Baby Massage Class will be led by Les May. Les is the founder of Kizuna Bodywork and Kizuna Baby. He received his training in infant massage education through the US branch of the International Association of Infant Massage, and he holds an internationally-recognized certification as a pediatric massage practitioner through LKF. Les works as a member of Heart Touch Project's Global Outreach Team providing massage to AIDS orphans in Cambodia. He teaches massage in Japan and in the San Francisco Bay Area. Les has worked at Esalen Institute since 2001 and has taught movement classes and baby massage classes there. He is also a member of the Esalen Massage Crew and the editor and producer of the Deep Bodywork DVD series.

Location and Accommodations

Baby Massage Class will be held near Tokyo in the small town of Akigawa in a quiet, beautiful setting where there are mountains, forests, rivers, and natural hot springs. The class will be held at Sankei, a spacious and attractive educational center with both modern and traditional features. Lodging and meals for students will also be provided there. Class participants will have the option to stay overnight at Sankei or to only spend the day at Sankei and return home when the class and outreach program are finished. When you enroll you will have the opportunity to request vegan meals (free of animal-sourced ingredients) or standard meals. Sleeping rooms will be shared with other students, and men and women will be in separate rooms. During free time we will have the opportunity to enjoy nature in Akigawa and relax together at nearby hot springs.

Dates

September 22, 2010

Note: Kizuna Bodywork Advanced Class 1 will be held Sept. 18-21, just before Baby Massage Class, and Kizuna Bodywork Deep Tissue Class 1 will be held Sept. 23-26, just after Baby Massage Class. If you attend at least two of these three classes you receive a discount on your tuition.

Schedule

There will be a total of 5 hours of class, an optional 1 to 2 hour outreach program (plus travel time), and free time afterwards for practice, rest, going to hot springs, and other activities outside class.

students arriving by train:

  • 8am: arrive at Musashi-Itsukaichi station
  • 8:15am: ride bus together from Musashi-Itsukaichi station to Sankei

students who participated in Kizuna Bodywork Advanced Class 1 and who are thus already at Sankei:

  • 8 - 8:45am: breakfast and free time

all students:

  • 8:45am - 12pm: class
  • 12 - 12:45pm: lunch and free time
  • 12:45 - 2:30pm: class
  • 2:30 - 6:15pm: optional outreach program (includes travel time)
  • 6:15 - 7:30pm: dinner
  • evening: free time

Prices

If you attend the class without staying overnight at Sankei on the night before or after the class, you need only pay 26,000 yen. Of this price 25,000 yen is the tuition and 1,000 yen is the lunch fee.

If you are staying overnight, the base price of the class is 33,500 yen. Of this price, 25,000 yen is the tuition and 8,500 yen is the fee for one night's lodging and 3 meals.

All class materials fees are included in the tuition. Tuition does not cover transportation to and from the outreach program or transportation and admission to a hot spring, so please be prepared to pay the small fees for these optional activities if you wish to participate.

Discounts

If you enroll in either Advanced Class 1 or Deep Tissue Class 1 or both in addition to Baby Massage Class and pay tuition for the classes before the start date of the first class, you receive a discount of 5,000 yen off the tuition for Baby Massage Class.

You can substantially reduce your class fees by enrolling early, enrolling in multiple classes, and referring friends who also enroll. For details please review the discounts we offer.

How to Enroll and Pay for Classes

There are three steps to class enrollment and payment:

  • As early as possible please use our website enrollment form to send us your name and other information and indicate which class(es) you will attend. Although you can still enroll later, please enroll by July 12 if possible so we can confirm our reservation for the approximate number of guest rooms we expect to need.
  • As early as possible please pay a deposit equal to the total lodging and meals fees for all your classes (29,000 yen per 4-day class and 8500 yen per 1-day class) to confirm your enrollment.
  • Please pay the tuition for each class (minus any discounts you can use) in person on the first day of class.

It is also acceptable for you to send the deposit and tuition as one payment rather than first paying a deposit and later paying the tuition.

Multiple Class Enrollment

If you enroll in more than one class, once you have paid your deposit for all your classes, please pay your tuition (minus any discounts you can use) for the first class by 30 days before its start date. You then have two options for paying the tuition of your other classes:

  • You may pay the tuition for all your classes before the start date of the first class. In this case you would receive the discount we offer for enrolling in multiple classes.
  • You may wait after the start date of the first class and pay the tuition for your other classes by 30 days before their individual start dates. In this case you would not receive the discount we offer for enrolling in multiple classes.

Late Enrollment

If you wish to enroll less than 30 days before the start date of a class you may contact us any time to see if there are still places available and make special arrangements to enroll and pay your fees.

How to Send Payment

If paying in Japanese yen please pay your deposits through our partner web shop, Mother's Free Spirit, and then pay your tuition in person on the first day of class.

If paying by check or money order in US dollars, please send funds to Kizuna Bodywork founder Les May at the following destination:

Kizuna Bodywork
c/o Les May
PO Box 181
Big Sur, CA 93920
USA

Contact Us for Help

If you have any problems with the enrollment process or any questions about the amount due, how to calculate your discounts, or how to send payment, please contact us.

Enrollment Cancellations

If you notify us you wish to cancel your enrollment 30 days prior to the day the class begins or earlier, any deposit or fees paid will be refunded, less a 5000 yen cancellation fee. If you cancel later than 30 days prior to the day the class begins, your deposit and fees will not be refunded.

FAQ

Q: What should I bring to class?
A: Please bring a baby-sized doll with which to practice massage strokes. Also please bring shoes suitable for walking outdoors and comfortable, casual clothes. These should be clothes you don't mind getting oily since it can be hard to clean oil stains out of some clothes.

Please also see the main Kizuna Bodywork FAQ. If you have any other questions please contact us.