PRENATAL & POSTPARTUM MASSAGE IN SAN JOSE

Support for Your Changing Body—
From Pregnancy Through Postpartum

Specialized massage and gentle abdominal bodywork to ease tension, support your changing body, and give you a deeply restorative place to rest—during pregnancy and after your baby arrives.

I’m Pregnant → Prenatal Massage
I’ve Had My Baby → Postpartum Massage

Prenatal Massage

A pregnant woman in a yellow dress standing in a field of tall, golden grass, gently holding her belly.

Pregnancy can be beautiful, but it can also ask so much of your body. As your belly grows and your posture shifts, you may notice new pressure, tightness, aching, or simply feel as though there is less and less room to get comfortable.

You do not have to push through all of it alone. Prenatal bodywork gives you a place to slow down, feel cared for, and receive support that is thoughtfully adapted to your changing body. Through therapeutic work around the hips, glutes, low back, and other areas carrying additional strain—along with gentle abdominal work when appropriate—I help release tension and create a greater sense of balance, space, and comfort for both you and your growing baby.

Regular prenatal sessions can:

✦ Create more space for your baby to settle into an optimal position

✦ Strengthen the ligaments that support your growing uterus

✦ Relieve bladder pressure (especially helpful in the third trimester)

✦ Ease tension in your hips, back, and sciatic area

✦ Support digestion and reduce nausea or heartburn

✦ Breathe more deeply and freely as your diaphragm opens

✦ Prepare for a smoother birth by keeping your uterus supported and balanced

Midwives incorporating this work often report more efficient contractions and shorter, smoother births.

Support Your Pregnancy Journey

Bodywork Rooted in Mayan Abdominal Traditions

An ancient stone pyramid with steep stairs leading up to the top, partially covered by branches of a tree in the foreground.

This specialized care draws from Mayan abdominal traditions and focuses on the core of the body—the abdomen, low back, hips, sacrum, and surrounding tissues that experience profound change during pregnancy and birth.

Rather than offering a standard relaxation massage alone, each session is shaped around how your body is adapting. Gentle abdominal and pelvic bodywork may be incorporated when appropriate, alongside supportive massage to ease muscular tension, encourage circulation, and help you feel more comfortable and connected to your changing body.

Candice trained in the Arvigo lineage, which carries forward the teachings of Maya healer Don Elijio Panti (Shaman) through Dr. Rosita Arvigo. She also studied directly with Doña Rafaela Can Ake (Midwife) in the Yucatán Peninsula, learning traditional techniques practiced and passed forward within her home.

This work is always adapted to your stage of pregnancy or postpartum recovery and offered alongside—not as a replacement for—appropriate prenatal, postpartum, or pelvic-floor care.

Important Note:

Prenatal massage sessions are offered beginning at 13 weeks and are thoughtfully adapted throughout the second and third trimesters.

Postpartum Massage

A woman holding a smiling child close to her face, both touching noses, against a plain beige background.

Your pregnancy journey may have ended, but your body’s journey is still unfolding. In the weeks and months after birth, so much attention naturally shifts to your baby while your own healing, exhaustion, discomfort, and emotional adjustment can quietly move into the background.

You deserve care during this transition too. Postpartum bodywork gives you a place to rest, reconnect with your body, and receive support for the areas carrying the physical demands of pregnancy, birth, feeding, holding, and caring for your baby.

Many cultures have long recognized postpartum recovery as a sacred and intentional season—one in which the mother is cared for, nourished, and given time to integrate the profound transformation of birth. My intention is to bring some of that care back to you, whether your baby arrived recently or your body is still asking for support years later.

Mayan bodywork postpartum can:

✧ Encourage uterine involution and optimal positioning

✧ Rebalance the pelvis and abdominal wall

✧ Support healing from Diastasis Recti

✧ Ease low back, sacral, and tailbone pain

✧ Reduce scar tissue from surgical births

✧ Support emotional processing after birth or surgical delivery

✧ Improve bladder control and core connection

Begin Your Postpartum Healing

What Clients are Saying

  • Less Bladder Pressure and Greater Comfort

    One of my favorite memories is working with a client during the early months of her pregnancy. She was experiencing so much bladder pressure that she needed to use the restroom approximately every 15 minutes—even during her massage.

    After gently working with her abdomen and helping her growing belly feel more centered and supported, she noticed a significant change. The constant feeling of needing to urinate had eased, giving her greater comfort as her pregnancy continued.

    Every pregnancy and body responds differently, but experiences like this are a beautiful reminder of how supportive prenatal bodywork can help create more comfort as the uterus grows and the body continually adapts.

  • From Sciatic Pain to Greater Balance and Comfort

    One pregnant mother came to see me experiencing significant sciatic and low-back pain. Her baby and belly were positioned so noticeably toward her right side that, even with her body safely supported by pillows on the massage table, her abdomen appeared to be pulling almost entirely in that direction.

    I began with deeper therapeutic work through her glutes and hips, followed by gentle, pregnancy-appropriate work around her abdomen. By the end of the session, we were both amazed by the visible change. Her belly appeared more centered, balanced, and less heavily pulled toward one side.

    More importantly, she experienced substantial relief from the sciatic and low-back discomfort that had brought her in. It was a powerful example of how tension through the glutes, hips, low back, and surrounding abdominal tissues can influence how the changing body feels and carries the weight of pregnancy.

  • Feeling Reconnected Years After Her Cesarean Birth

    One mother came to me years after her cesarean birth with persistent numbness across her lower abdomen and scar area. She had lived with the lack of sensation for so long that she did not expect one postpartum bodywork session to make a meaningful difference.

    During her session, we worked gently with her abdomen and the tissues surrounding her fully healed cesarean scar. To her surprise, sensation returned to the area—and she later shared that the numbness had not returned.

    Her experience was a powerful reminder that postpartum healing does not have an expiration date. Even years after birth, gentle and intentional bodywork may help a woman reconnect with areas that have felt numb, guarded, or disconnected.

Close-up of a sleeping baby wearing a white knit hat with pom-poms, holding a small white teddy bear.

Fourth Trimester Care – Your Questions Answered

Gentle, restorative support for your body, mind, and spirit after birth.

  • Yes, once your midwife or OB confirms you're physically ready, continuing Mayan bodywork postpartum can be deeply supportive. It helps your uterus return to optimal positioning, supports pelvic and core healing, and provides comfort for your lower back and hips.

    • Most postpartum clients begin sessions after their six-week checkup (or earlier with clearance), but every body and birth is different. Your healing timeline is honored here. We’ll tailor the session to your comfort level and recovery needs.

    • In addition to Mayan Bodywork, many clients find support through gentle abdominal massage, castor oil packs, nourishing herbal teas, grounding sound healing, and…

      Yoni Steaming.
      This ancient practice can help promote uterine cleansing, reduce inflammation, and bring comfort to your healing pelvic floor. If you're not sure where to start or don't have local access to care, I’ve created a gentle, safe way for you to explore this at home. Feeling unsure or lacking postpartum coverage? I’ve got you.
      → [Check out the Yoni Steaming eBook] for simple how-tos, herbal support, and steam protocols.

  • Yes. All massage packages (excluding Mercier Therapy) can be used across any stage—pregnancy, postpartum, or beyond—and are flexible enough to share with family members too. This allows you to receive care exactly when and how it’s needed most.

  • Absolutely. These sessions aren’t just physical—your emotional well-being is always welcomed into the space. We use bodywork, grounding touch, and supportive tools like sound healing or guided breathwork to help you feel safe, nurtured, and deeply seen.

Experience This Work

Candice has trained in both the Arvigo lineage and directly with traditional midwives in Central America—receiving sacred blessings from the elders and carriers of womb wisdom.

Nurture Your Body Today