Abdominal & Visceral Bodywork in Athens, Georgia
Pregnancy • Breech
Spinning Babies Aware®
Scar Tissue Healing • ScarWork®
Maya Abdominal & Uterine Therapies
Visceral Manipulation • Barral®
Digestive Wellness
Holistic Pelvic Care® • Fertility Support
Postpartum Healing • Cerradas
Abdominal & Visceral therapies address the relationship of internal organs to the surrounding anatomy, release restrictions, and restore balance. Many seek relief from specific abdominal, pelvic, digestive, or reproductive concerns, but the connections from there span the whole body. For example, clients with persistent musculoskeletal pain, including of the hips, back, shoulders, and legs, may find relief once they receive visceral and abdominal work. This care is especially during pregnancy.
Visceral refers to the organs, but also to depth, physical and otherwise. In this way, Abdominal & Visceral therapies focus not only on anatomy & physiology, but also on root causes and inner & outer balance. Although Diana specializes in pregnancy and women’s health conditions, sessions are for all anatomies of all ages.
Know all the theories, master all the techniques, but as you touch a human soul be just another human soul.
—C.G. Jung
Pregnancy
Sessions during pregnancy are aimed at alleviating discomforts, fostering relaxation, and preparing for labor & birth. Sessions can help both the pregnant person and the baby – if the tissues are more relaxed, aches, pains, & discomforts may be relieved, while also helping to make space for baby to settle into a favorable position for labor & birth. Although not all babies are born vaginally, midwives around the world have repeatedly found that their clients experience significantly shorter and easier labors and have fewer cesareans when receiving abdominal care.
It advisable to schedule sessions throughout the prenatal period to provide maximum benefits. If not already receiving care, a common starting point is at 16-20 weeks. Sessions are safely modified for the number of weeks pregnant and any concerns present.
Care in pregnancy can help with:
Muscle aches and tension
Rib pain
Sacral pain, immobility (or overmobility)
Tailbone issues
Round ligament pain
Sciatica
Pelvic pressure
Pubic bone/Pubic symphysis pain
Back pain
Hip pain
Varicose veins, Swelling/edema
Heartburn
Indigestion
Constipation
Shallow breathing related to pregnancy
Stress & Anxiety
Support for a VBAC
Breech or otherwise not head-down babies
And more
Breech Babies
Diana specializes in Breech Bodywork. Not all babies are meant to turn head-down, but sessions can create more space in the pelvis and abdomen, promoting a more favorable environment for the baby to turn - babies sometimes even turn during sessions. Breech sessions are also supportive in navigating the decision-making and processing that often come when babies are breech.
Although Diana does not do External Cephalic Versions (ECVs) at Athens Visceral Care®, she has used these same techniques before and as a part of ECVs in other settings. Babies often turn without any force when space is made, and she has found that ECVs are usually much more gentle when the surrounding tissues are relaxed.
Breech sessions include work on an incline if needed. Additionally, clients are taught exercises and techniques they can continue at home. Although many babies will turn head down on their own later in pregnancy, breech sessions ideally start by 32-34 weeks of pregnancy if a breech position is known.
Scar Tissue Care / ScarWork®
By working with restrictions and integrating scars with the surrounding tissue, visceral and abdominal therapies can greatly help with scar healing. Diana is also certified in a specific method of scar tissue care called ScarWork®.
Scar care is full-person care. Scar sessions can increase sensation in numbed areas, lessen pain, aid in mobility, improve scar appearance, and release restrictions in the surrounding anatomy. They can also address deeper tensions that are often bound up with scars. After sessions, clients often describe feelings of an area “waking up”, a “release”, and a sense of wholeness.
Scar Care is effective even many years after surgeries and injuries. Although Diana can work with any scar, she specializes in abdominal scars, particularly cesarean scars and those from other pelvic/abdominal surgeries.
Postpartum Care
Postpartum sessions emphasize physical and emotional recovery after pregnancy and can address the following:
Physically and emotionally rebalancing after pregnancy and birth
Abdominal, pelvic, and back pain, including sacral and coccyx injuries that can occur during birth
Emotional healing from traumatic birth
Healing from miscarriage and other loss
Reducing and resolving scar tissue that may have resulted from a cesarean birth
Improving the potential for a successful VBAC
Postpartum hormonal challenges
Postpartum healing includes support after perinatal losses, abortions, and miscarriages.
Maya Massage & Therapies
Maya Abdominal Massage is an ancient, non-invasive, external massage technique. Diana continues to be amazed by the effects of this work, which has stood the test of time of generations. The Maya abdominal techniques work by relieving congestion and blockages to improve the flow of the of circulatory, digestive, lymphatic, and nervous systems, and by working directly with organ tissues and their connections to the spine and bony structures. This work releases physical and emotional congestion and supports organ function, especially of the reproductive and digestive systems. Many seek this care to support fertility, pregnancy, fetal positioning, and postpartum healing. This work can also help with various gynecological conditions, an alternative to pharmaceutical or surgical interventions or in collaboration with them when they are needed.
Diana has learned about Mayan massage & medicine in various settings over the years. She is a certified Abdominal Therapist with Advanced Pregnancy Certification through the Abdominal Therapy Collective (previously known as The Arvigo Institute for Mayan Abdominal Therapies). She has had many teachers throughout her learning, her primary teacher being Rosita Arvigo via the lineage of the famed Mayan healer, Don Elijio Panti.
Diana & Rosita Arvigo
Cerradas ~ Postpartum Sealing ~ Closing of The Bones
These sessions are often done postpartum, during life transitions, or when someone feels they otherwise need tender attention, including after trauma, stress, or a build-up of life-events. These are longer sessions held at home and incorporate herbs, baths, steams, massage, and the wrapping of the body in a ceremonial approach to healing. Diana is grateful to have learned the art of the Cerrada from Tema Mercado in Mexico in 2023. Diana offers these sessions on a limited basis to former and active clients. Please inquire if interest.
Meet Diana
Diana was a doula and childbirth educator for many years before studying midwifery at the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery and later at The University of Florida, where she obtained a Bachelor’s in Nursing and Master’s in Nursing & Midwifery. She was licensed as a Certified Nurse Midwife in 2012 and started to practice bodywork soon after.
Diana learned abdominal and visceral bodywork in various settings. She is a certified Maya Abdominal Therapist with Advanced Pregnancy Certification through the Abdominal Therapy Collective®, is trained in Barral® Visceral Manipulation, is a Certified Spinning Babies Aware® Practitioner, a ScarWork® Certified Practitioner, and is specialized in Breech Bodywork. Bodywork has always been integral to her clinical and midwifery practice, but clinical environments can also be time-limiting. Bodywork sessions provide a holistic space where Diana can spend more time with people, as well as address a wider population with concerns outside of pregnancy, birth, and GYN care.
Diana’s style of care draws from well-practiced techniques but is always integrative & holistic, recognizing that people, including their anatomies & nervous systems, vary greatly. Diana brings her experience of listening, assessment, and palpation as a midwife and bodyworker to each client and always tailors the approach in partnership with the individual.
In her free time, Diana enjoys hiking, writing, and spending time with family and friends.
Appointments & Fees
Please use the contact form if you would like to schedule an appointment
For those who are menstruating
To include lower abdominal and uterine massage as a part of your session, it is best to schedule when you are not menstruating, unless it is very light. That being said, clients can receive a beneficial session that does not include uterine work if they feel comfortable when bleeding. This work is external.
Postpartum scheduling and care after surgeries, miscarriage, or abortion
There are times when earlier visits might be beneficial, but it is generally best to wait until at least 6 weeks postpartum after a vaginal birth or 8 weeks after a cesarean birth and after bleeding has stopped for a visit.
For care after miscarriage or abortion, you can schedule after bleeding has stopped.
For Scare Care, it is best to wait 8 weeks after time of injury or surgery for an appointment.
What to wear to your appointment
Loose fitting, comfortable clothing
Initial visit: $260
This visit is up to 2 hours long and includes an intake, a long session on the table, and a debrief where we discuss findings and moving forward. This session may also include work on an incline for breech clients and teaching of home exercises and/or massage techniques.
$195 for 90 minutes - Certain initial visits may be scheduled for a shorter time. Such visits might include certain scar visits and pregnancy before 20 weeks
Follow-up visits:
$195 for 90 minutes (most follow-ups)
$160 for 70 minutes
Payment
Payment is preferred with Cash, Checks, or Pay Apps. Debit and credit cards are also accepted.
Discounts available to individuals of Mesoamerican/Mayan/Mexican descent.
A portion of fees is donated to The Ixchel Tropical Research Center & Foundation and Mujeres Aliadas
Location
1551 Jennings Mill Rd #3000 Watkinsville, GA 30677
Make your first three rights after turning into the Resource Valley complex, and the office will be on the right.
The sign says “Athens DBT Center”
Contact Diana
Interested in an appointment? Fill out some info and we will be in touch. We can’t wait to hear from you.
