I get asked many times if I can do the massage on the baby instead of teaching it to the parents. I worked in a daycare doing Shantala for one year, right after I learned the practice in college. I used to do the massage in 6-8 babies every week, and loved every second of it! Most of them went right to sleep after I was done, and I always left with an amazing feeling of mission accomplished - plus, who doesn’t feel good after massaging babies? I always say that was more a therapy for me than for them! But when I started to research more deeply about the massage, and did my Shantala specialization, I understood that I shouldn’t be the one who was massaging those babies. They needed to be massaged by their parents, their caregivers, to enjoy the main and most powerful benefit the massage brings: the strengthening of the bonding, the connection between them. It is a moment where all the worries are put aside, and mom or dad (or grandma, uncle, nanny) and baby are sharing the skin to skin touch, the eye to eye contact, a moment that will forever be kept in their memories and hearts. So, since then, I teach the parents, and I am fortunate enough to witness many moments of connection, bond and love! And I wait anxiously for moments like this, where I get to be the aunt and connect with my little ones through Shantala!

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