Mayan Abdominal Massage for Fertility

This post on Maya Fertility Massage has been reviewed for accuracy by Certified Arvigo Abdominal Massage Practitioner, Hannah Neumann, CPM, LM.

When I was struggling to get pregnant and dealing with infertility, I sought out all kinds of alternative healers. It was my first fertility acupuncturist who taught me how to do a very simple daily self-fertility massage based on Mayan Abdominal Massage. She told me that Mayan women were taught this after they got their periods, and practiced it throughout their child-bearing years to nourish and support their wombs and keep them healthy. I have continued the healing practice and I think there is incredible ancient wisdom in Maya massage that can help us modern women throughout our lives, especially when trying to conceive.

This fertility massage was part of me going ALL OUT and doing ALL THE THINGS to get pregnant when I was diagnosed with infertility and the doctors told me it was impossible. You can read my infertility to FERTILITY story here and read all 79 Things I did to get Happy, Healthy, and Pregnant!

Maya massage is especialy helpful for conditions like endometriosis (which I had/have), that might be related to stagnant blood or a lack of blood and energy flow.

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Let’s start with the basics.

What is a Maya massage?

Mayan abdominal massage is a traditional healing practice from the Mayan curanderos (healers) of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. It is completely external and noninvasive (phew!). The idea is that the physical manipulation of your lower anatomy- whether it is done by a trained practitioner or yourself- gently and carefully repositions the pelvic organs to their optimal places, which helps with the flow of blood. If your uterus isn’t correctly positioned, it can constrict the circulation of blood to your organs such as the uterus, the ovaries, the bladder, and the bowel.

In acupuncture terms, it also helps alleviate congestion and improve the flow of chi- or life energy. The massage targets lymph nodes as well, helping to drain and detoxify.

Another great benefit of Maya massage is that it targets trapped energy and emotions. This means sometimes during massage you may feel a release of emotions- which may be gentle, or you may cry. It is normal to cry when receiving a Mayan massage from a trained practitioner- I certainly did!

Mayan abdominal massage is best known for helping with tilted, fallen, or prolapsed uterus (I had a tilted uterus!), and for addressing digestive disorders (I don’t describe that part of the massage in this post, I’m strictly talking about the fertility aspect).

Symptoms Addressed by Mayan Abdominal Massage

These are symptoms that Arvigo Maya Massage suggests it can address.

• Menstrual Cycle abnormalities
• Menstrual Cramps
• Pain during Sex
• Toxin build up
• Stress
• Bottled up emotions, especially around trying to conceive or sexuality
• Tipped, Tilted, or Prolapsed Uterus
• Endometriosis
• Perimenopause symptoms
• Constipation
• Pelvic Floor Weakness
• Pain from Ovarian Cysts or Fibroids
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Indigestion or Gastro esophageal reflux (GERD)
• Infertility
• Chrohn’s Disease
• Incontinence
• Menopause symptoms
• Chronic Yeast Infections
• Migraines or Headaches
• PMS

Benefits of Maya Massage for Women

• Re-aligns the uterus
• Tones the uterus and the uterine lining
• Prepares the uterus to carry a successful pregnancy
• Releases emotional blockages
• Helps ovarian cysts to dissolve
• Breaks down adhesions and scar tissue from surgeries
• Increases blood flow to the pelvic organs
• Provides ovaries and follicles with fresh blood and oxygen
• Addresses Menstrual Cramps
• Gently addresses irregular menstrual cycles
• Reduces clotting during menses
• Helps to bring on menstrual flow during amenorrhea

Benefits of Mayan Abdominal Massage for Men

Hey! Hubby can get one too! Mayan Abdominal Massage may be helpful for male infertility as well.

These are the benefits to men of receiving Maya Abdominal Massage

• Improving digestion of nutrients
• Improved blood flow to reproductive organs
• Regulation of prostate size
• Improving sperm count, motility, and morphology

Why is Mayan Massage Considered a Fertility Massage?

The idea behind Mayan Abdominal Massage is that you are promoting healthy blood flow to the uterus AND that you are helping your ovaries and uterus to be in the ideal location.  I hadn’t realized that your ovaries and uterus can move around, but they can! The truth is they can move all over.

This means that for some women (like me), you may one year be told you have a retroverted or tilted uterus by a doctor, but the next year its normal.  Although doctors may act like its a genetic condition that can’t be corrected, for some women it actually can be through exercises, positioning (not sitting at a computer for hours for example), and, through this simple self-massage!

Can a Maya Massage Fix a Tilted Uterus?

Addressing tilted uterus is actually one of the specialties of maya massage. In my case, I had a tilted uterus, also known as a retroverted uterus, and the doctors didn’t have much help. However, I believe that by practicing fertility massage on myself daily, I was able to address my tilted uterus.

Can Fertility Massage Improve Egg Quality?

Theoretically, Mayan Abdominal Massage might be able to improve egg quality by boosting blood flow to the reproductive organs. There are no studies suggesting this, and it is not the primary purpose of fertility massage, but it certainly couldn’t hurt!

Can you do Fertility Massage at Home?

While I HIGHLY recommend finding an Arvigo Mayan Abdominal practitioner, you don’t have to.

When I was trying for my first miracle I only did this self-massage at home. I did a very simple five minute practice which I will show you below. I did it every day AFTER MENSTRUATION stopped but BEFORE OVULATION. If you are trying to get pregnant STOP doing this massage after ovulation.

Now, while trying for my second miracle I actually went to a Mayan Abdominal Massage practitioner. She was AMAZING, and the whole experience was much more in-depth and healing than the simple 5 minute exercise I had done with my first.  I saw her when I was on vacation and she recommended being seen regularly by a practitioner near me. I never got signed up with a local practitioner because I wound up pregnant that month!!

By the way, if you live in Maine or nearby, the Arvigo Mayan Abdominal Massage practitioner I saw is Hannah Nuemann. I believe she is in Portland now. I highly recommend her! Note: I have seen her multiple times since having my children as part of my womb-health endeavors. 

She also sent me home a practice guide for daily self-care. The first third of it was exactly what I had done with my son, and the rest of it was a more elaborate upper abdomen massage.  It looked awesome, but much more time was involved. 2023 Note: I am currently not trying to conceive, and I actually do the upper abdomen massage every day for gastrointestinal health!

If you are interested in a more elaborate self-fertility massage you can see an Arvigo Practitioner who can teach you and give you a guide, you can watch some videos on youtube with women lighting candles and using oil, etc., or there are even videos out there you can buy.

When to do self fertility massage

There are some different approaches on when to do self-fertility massage. Maya Massage timing also depends on whether you are actively trying to conceive or not. For formal Maya Massage, when trying to conceive, you do the fertility part of the massage every day after you finish bleeding until ovulation.

So if you bleed for four days, you’d start the massage on the fifth day, and continue every day until you ovulate, or just before. If you ovulate around Cycle Day 14 this is only 8-9 days of doing this practice. Pretty easy to add to your routine!

However, I found additional self-fertility massages for the other parts of the cycle- menstrual, ovulatory, and luteal, that I really enjoyed. They were outlined in Randine Lewis’s great book, The Infertility Cure. These  additional gentle supportive fertility massages are shared below in detail.

When to do Mayan Abdominal Massage?

If you are going to see an Arvigo Mayan Abdominal Massage practitioner AND you are trying to conceive, you need to schedule your appointment for your follicular phase. That means you can go anytime after menstruation has ended but BEFORE ovulation.

If you need help figuring out when you are ovulating, read my post on the best fertility monitors and ovulation tracking devices!

How Many Times a Day Should You Massage for Fertility?

Really, you only need to massage once a day. Fill up your day with other practices, like fertility yoga, emotional-physical body work like Julia Indichova has, visualization, gratitude, and other mind-body practices. And don’t forget to see your acupuncturist!

My Daily Mayan Fertility Massage by Menstrual Phase

Menstruation Phase Massage

During your period you don’t want to massage your uterus, but there is a simple self-massage that can help with cramps and move the blood and energy in the right way.

Sit comfortably with a straight spine. On your back, find your sacrum which is the bone at the base of your spine. It is like a triangle and is ABOVE your tailbone.

Make your hands into fists and bounce them on your sacrum, rhythmically. Continue for a couple minutes as feels good.

If you want to, try taking this time to visualize the old lining of the uterus easily releasing and flowing out, and new healthy blood flowing towards your uterus.

Follicular Phase Massage

This is the part of the massage that is the most important. It promotes blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, and helps them to be in the right place. The increased blood flow can improve the development of the follicles and a good uterine lining.

Start this after your period ends, and continue until a day or so before ovulation. DO NOT do this massage after ovulation if you are actively trying to conceive because you don’t want to affect implantation.

I would usually do this first thing in the morning, after I went pee, or before I feel asleep for the night. I would do this through my clothing, but you can also use oil and do this directly on you skin.

Step One: Lie down, and put your hands on your womb. Bring your hands together with one thumb tucked under the other. Slightly bend your fingers to make a little cup or scoop. Find where your pubic bones meet in the middle and place your pointer fingers on the small indent of your pubic bones.

Inhale, and then exhale as you gently and deeply as comfortable press into the soft tissue above the pubic bones, bringing your fingertips up towards your belly button.  Do this three times.

Step Two: Move your fingers to the right side of your pelvic bowl and put the left little finger on the pubic bone and the right little finger on the hip bone. Keep your fingers together in a gentle cup. Inhale, and then as you exhale, come down off the bones and as deeply as comfortable press in and move your fingers towards your middle.  Do this three times.

Step Three: Move your fingers to the left side of your pelvic bowl and put the right little finger on the pubic bone and the left little finger on the hip bone. Keep your fingers together in a gentle cup. Inhale, and then as you exhale, come down off the bones and as deeply as comfortable press in and move your fingers towards your middle.  Do this three times.

Repeat steps one to three 9 more times, for a total of 10 cycles though the steps. This means 30 strokes in each position, for a total of 90 strokes.  I did this in about 5 minutes. I would probably be better if you did it slowly and luxuriously with candles, oil, etc., but I didn’t and it still seemed to work!

While you are doing this consider visualizing the energy and blood flowing to your uterus and your ovaries.  Imagine a perfect womb with an ideal uterine lining preparing itself for pregnancy.

See beautiful healthy ovaries developing plenty of beautiful healthy follicles. As you get closer to ovulation imagine one beautiful perfect follicle emerging as the largest and receiving perfect amounts of energy from your body.

Ovulation Phase Massage

This is a gentle, warming massage for the ovaries during ovulation. You can start this 1-3 days before ovulation and stop after you’ve ovulated. With my first I wasn’t tracking my ovulation other than through signs, so I would basically stop the follicular massage on CD 12 or 13, switch to this until over I “felt” I ovulated (I tracked cervical mucous and I could usually feel ovarian pain during ovulation), then switch to Luteal Phase. After ovulation don’t do any massage because it could impact implantation!

Lie on your back and gently place your hands over your ovaries with your fingers together. Gently massage the area over your ovaries in gentle small circles for one to two minutes. This should feel good and nurturing. No need to try to press deeply. You are simply stimulating energy and blood flow.

Visualize your ovaries receiving everything they need. See them healthy and robust, with a gorgeous, plump, pink egg, ready to release. Be sure to spend time later in the day visualizing this perfect egg releasing and meeting a perfect sperm and creating a perfect embryo!

Luteal Phase Massage

During the post-ovulation luteal phase you are hoping that the little perfect embryo is implanting in your uterus! You don’t want to do any massage to disturb that. Instead, we just take a moment to place our warm, loving hands over our womb.

Lie on your back and place your hands over your womb. Take slow, deep, calming breaths (I like to breath in for a count of 4, and breath out for a count of 8). Imagine love and warmth traveling from your hands to your womb.

See your uterus as a lush, warm, jungle of nourishment for your perfect little embryo.  See the perfect embryo being welcomed into the uterus and snuggling into your perfect uterine lining. Know that your womb is getting plenty of blood and energy from your body.

For more information:

Looking for a fertility massage near you? ->Find an Arvigo Practitioner!

Want more ideas? Check out all my blog posts on Mind-Body work for fertility!

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