Orange juice and comforting touch

What in the world could orange juice have to teach us about comforting touch?

Good question. I’d love to tell you.

A few months ago while visiting my sister-in-law and 4 year old grand-nephew in Israel, they decided it would be lovely to make some fresh squeezed orange juice from their orange tree.

My sister-in-law Debby got out the hand juicer and cut the oranges into halves ready for him to squeeze and I watched as he swiveled and swayed his entire body to get out the juice. I mean he was really moving and grooving with it!

Debby came in at the end to finish it off, and the contrast between how he worked to get the juice out vs. her efforts were striking. She cranked her one arm and shoulder (yes of course the same shoulder that hurts her on the regular due to repetitive strain) to get the job done.

This was such a perfect example of how we as humans tend to move away from using our whole bodies as we grow older, much to our detriment.

My Comforting Touch classes, have benefited tremendously from my massage therapy background, which teaches us to use our whole bodies rather than just our hands. Especially when implementing counter-pressure techniques.

That’s what makes the work sustainable.

If we leave the bulk of the work to our hands and fingers, we will tire so quickly. We might even injure ourselves. But when we use our body weight to increase pressure, when we lunge instead of overreaching, we can more evenly distribute our efforts, leading to greater staying power.

If you’re a doula looking to not only learn new and varied ways to offer hands-on support, but also how to do it smarter and more sustainably, join me for an upcoming full day in-person class!

You’ll get hours of practice and practical feedback to “get the juice out” of your clients without breaking your back.

For all the details and registration info: visit here. And for the entire virtual class minus the practice, you're welcome to pick that up on-demand anytime.