Amanda Porter

/my name is Amanda and I’m an Abdominal Therapy Practitioner and Educator. I also offer Holistic massage and Energy work in the Tradition of the Maya. My story begins in the mists of time when I was raising my wonderful offspring. Being interested in complementary therapy I used this period in my life to learn about a variety of therapies and techniques that could help my children through their early years and beyond. When my children flew the nest, I felt the calling to become a complementary therapist and embarked on a life-changing journey. In 2005 on the insistence of a great friend Hilary Lewin, I attended an amazing class based on the work of Dr Rosita Arvigo. This workshop had a profound effect on my whole being. I felt the power of the work, I observed the changes in my body as I practised my abdominal massage at home. I could not believe that such a sweet simple technique could have such a profound effect. My journey had begun, I wanted to not only learn the technique but also understand why it seemed to help with so many health challenges. They say the right teacher will appear when the time is right and I have been blessed. I trained directly with Rosita Arvigo, the founder of the work I now offer in my clinic and the classroom. Understanding the similarities between Maya Medicine and Chinese medicine, in 2011, I travelled to Thailand and studied traditional Thai Massage with the renowned traditional healer, Bann Hom who lives in Chaing Mai, Northern Thailand. It did not surprise me to find her treating her community with an abdominal technique that was not a million miles from the work I knew and loved. I have been inspired by Gil Hedley, the brilliant anatomist who offers dissection classes for anyone who is interested in observing the anatomical connections within the human form. Marty Ryan – Love your Guts Seminars, taught me how to listen to my hands, his palpation classes revealed what was beneath the skin. Life is for learning and every belly I touch teaches me something new. And so, to now, in September 2020 working with a passionate group of educators and colleagues including Rosita Arvigo I became a founding member of the Abdominal Therapy Collective.