Irasema (Iris) Reza Bailey, Massage Therapist, Bodyworker, Herbalist, and Healer
Massage and healing is part of Iris’s family lineage and she has practiced massage and bodywork for since 2004. She has learned through local elders as well as elders from Mexico. These elders taught her the value of connection with own natural rhythm and energy as well as nature’s. During our daily lives, our bodies create tension and torsions that need help releasing. In addition to muscular tension, our ligaments, nerves and fascia also tenses and twists. Releasing these tensions and twists takes a high skillset and a variety of modalities to fully relax.
Similarly, emotional tensions and twists have a direct connection with our physical bodies. The mind body spirit connection intertwines and effects our bodies and much as our inner beings. Science has taught us emotions can cause physical pain, and second that that we carry emotions on a molecular level in our bodies. Sometimes we need help moving emotions that get stuck in certain. When stuck, this causes tension, pain or stagnation in the body with muscle and fascia manipulation. We can also create energetic movement and balancing of your energetic centers.
In addition to a standard massage, she also specializes in
prenatal and postpartum massage. This is bodywork focused on the changes to the body during pregnancy, birth & postpartum. During pregnancy, your ligaments expand and grow to support space for you baby as he/she grows. Everyday movements can cause tension and torsion in ligaments in the pelvis, uterus and other areas that expand when pregnant. Iris’s massage to help alleviate tension to the muscles and ligaments surrounding the uterus, low back and pelvis. This also allows more oxygenated blood to the stretched and overworked tissues helping them stay healthy.
After birth, massage helps a mother heal and her body come back into balance is just as important, if not more than prenatal massage. For example, when the uterus is contracting back down into pregnancy size, it needs to close the open vessels where the placenta was attached. Afterwards, bleeding will slow down and come to a stop. This is vital for recovery and healing. Postpartum this massage is to help you feel “put back together”.
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Rebozo is an ancient Mexican artifact; a long piece of handwoven cloth with detailed fringe design. Textiles are very important to the native people of Mexico as it could represent certain areas or groups of people. This cloth was useful for carrying babies and cargo like wood bundles. Women were not searched during the Revolution and concealed weapons in their Rebozos. Fancy Rebozos covered the head in church and as fashion. Traditionally, a young women received a Rebozo and it marked important times in their lives. In Aztec wedding ceremonies a manta or long textile unites the couple. The Rebozo was also cover the dead after a passing. It has a long history and has seen many forms of use, including for healing. As the matriarchs of the families mothers and grandmothers would use the tools at hand to care for their families. Passing on their knowledge to their daughters and granddaughters. Curanderas (traditional healers) would also use it to heal traumas, such as major traumatic events/scares (susto) or sexual traumas, difficult births or difficult emotional situations.
“The rebozo symbolically represents the blanket that weaves our individual and collective destiny; it is the umbilical cord that unites us to the womb and our origin.”
-Marucha Iluakatzin
Being wrapping in a Rebozo mimics hugging which increases the production of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. This can help with depression and neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s. Along with that help, Rebozo balances the nervous system and boosts the immune system. Rocking, stretching and other movements are part of the release technique. The Rebozo is also a tool for when less touch is preferred.
Iris uses a rebozo as an extension of herself for self care and bodywork and as a connection to my ancestors. As well as every day life, it aids pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. The technique her Abuela Juana called a “sacudida” (to shake/rock), is the formal term is a Manteada. She combines her 13 years of bodywork, energetics and experience with the ancient knowledge of the Rebozo to fine tune these techniques. Furthermore, she incorporates knowledge in structural bodywork, deep tissue, trigger point therapy, reflexology, acupressure, and relaxation bodywork to fine tune the technique.
