I have been teaching baby massage and yoga for over 15 years and so I wanted to share with you my thoughts from my experience to inspire you to train and make a difference in the world.
1.Teaching infant massage is so much more than just teaching”touch”
When you teach baby massage and yoga, it’s so much more than just facilitating parent and baby groups and teaching a routine. Our courses look at how baby massage helps support all of the early responsive care that babies need such as eye contact, using babyease and encouraging the “serve and return” interaction between parents and babies that is crucial for helping babies’ brains to develop and to support physical and emotional wellbeing. Touch is the simplest and most effective way to communicate to babies they are loved, respected, secure and cared for. These are the foundations of mental health.
2. What you teach has a huge impact on the world.
If you train with us you will be one of over 300 teachers in our Nurture Collective, teaching across the world. What you do and teach matters. Studies have shown that infant massage can help parents and babies feel more bonded and connected helping to develop healthy relationships from the beginning. Blossom & Berry courses sit within our overall manifesto that “Love Creates Love” I teach and train individuals all over the world to nurture babies and children to create positive happy relationships and secure attachments for the future. I believe relaxed, positive parents help to create relaxed, secure and positive children. I believe that when we teach respect, positive communication and love to babies and children through nurturing touch, we invest in a more compassionate society. Love and touch are completely connected. Touch communicates love and love deepens connection. Big changes can flow from this and the impact can be beneficial for us all. And it all starts with touch and connection.
3.You help to empower parents
Parents need support. More mothers are suffering from post natal depression and maternal mental health is not valued. Mothers (and fathers) are children’s first teachers. It is vitally important they feel valued, nurtured and supported, so they can be emotionally present and responsive to their babies. Blossom & Berry courses look at the importance of the fourth trimester, creating community and sharing to help connect and unite parents in their experiences.
4. You can help share scientific research on parenting and early childhood development
I love science. All my courses have scientific research and evidence embedded within them and we share all the latest blogs and studies on social media. There have been lots of studies done on the importance of positive interaction for infants and children. Sadly, much of the work focuses on children who have been exposed to neglect where high levels of stress hormones coupled with minimum adult interaction has resulted in permanent changes in their brain structure leading to impaired emotional wellbeing and difficulty in adjusting to stress and anxiety in adulthood (Rutter 1989 et al). There has been much work done on the idea that many emotional difficulties suffered by adults stem from early but poor interactions experienced as children. Childhood is the key time to create, experience and demonstrate love. This knowledge needs to be shared.
5.You help to put more love into the world
Love starts with everyone. Our thoughts and actions everyday. It can begin at anytime. A fantastic time to discover the importance of love creation is when you become a parent. Parents have the opportunity to create a love filled environment to nurture their child and support his/her development. Every child who receives love has the capacity to go on and give love, and so it continues. Love creates Love.
Babies are love. They are open to learning how to give and receive love. They are non judgmental and open minded. This means parents have an amazing opportunity to help shape how their babies brain develops and how they perceive the world. This window of opportunity to help support a baby’s emotional development is vital to help create a secure child who is confident to explore the world, interacting with others with the knowledge he/she is loved. Love is the best investment you can make at anytime, for anyone, anywhere. In essence;
Love yourself
Love, look after and nurture yourself. You feel better, more positive, energetic and happy.Love others
When you love others, you create relationships defined by positive
communication, understanding and compassion. Nurturing touch helps to create connection.Love your community
When people come together in love, BIG things can happen like positive social change, freedom and justice.
Our free complimentary “Love creates Love” course helps you support parents in the community as well as help you to introduce your services to the community.
5. Things are easier when you are part on a community
Blossom & Berry is all about connection. Why do something alone when you can have the support of others?
Blossom & Berry is different. I believe in investing in people for the future, creating opportunities for happiness and in nurturing yourself and others. My courses are not just about certificates, rather about experiences, memories & relationships. When you become a student with us, you are a student for life. You have lifetime access to our resources whenever you need them. Our teachers support each other in our community and our ethos is to nurture, share and learn together.
All Blossom & Berry trained teachers work independently to each other but all support each other as part of a Nurture Collective. We are not a franchise by choice because I believe that success in teaching comes from a combination of my quality training plus all the special things about you! Your rewards and successes are your own. I am here to give you the firm foundations and roots to grow. Our success and reputation comes from supporting you to blossom and grow.
As a student and teacher you will receive ongoing lifetime access to our online support in our Facebook group The Nurture Collective, have a Blossom Buddy with another student to help you keep accountability and attend our annual Nurture Day to meet other students and experience new learning and guest speakers.
6. Train with an organisation that inspires you
Learning a new skill or launching a new career can be a bit daunting but I am here to support you throughout this new chapter. Maybe you have not studied for a while or you are worried about studying online. There is no need to worry. I have everything covered.
Fifteen years of teaching students in person and online around the world means that I know exactly what you need to feel confident when studying to become a teacher. I have also taken extensively training in many subjects such as life coaching, hypnotherapy, doulaship, sleep consultancy and pre/post natal yoga. Blossom & Berry courses draw from all of my trainings and experiences over the years. I want you to love learning with us. Nothing is compromised in our training.
Blossom & Berry is not just about getting a qualification; it’s about being inspired, inspiring others, having a full understanding of the needs of parents, babies and children and about making a difference. I am on a mission to make the world a happier, more compassionate and connected place through empowering parents to respond to their babies needs and teach love through nurturing touch, massage and yoga. I believe that love creates love.
I teach and train individuals all over the world to nurture babies and children to create positive happy relationships and secure attachments for the future. I believe relaxed, positive parents help to create relaxed, secure and positive children. I believe that when we teach respect, positive communication and love to babies and children we invest in a more compassionate society. Big changes can flow from this and the impact can be beneficial for us all. And it all starts with touch and connection.
I work with some of the world’s most vulnerable parents to make a difference to the lives of children. I have set up my own charitable project in Malawi called Growing Babies: The Little Blossoms Project supporting women and babies in poverty with infant massage and safe motherhood.
I donate 10% of baby massage enrolments to support this project so your study creates education for others. There are also opportunities to volunteer on the project in Malawi.
We also have many voluntary projects in the UK and my teachers undertake all kinds of charitable work and projects to help others. We all support each other. You can be part of this vision.
7. Do your research and get the resources you need before you begin
Baby massage and yoga has never been more popular. There are babies being born every second who can benefit from infant massage and yoga. To create a successful practice teaching, you need to be knowledgeable on baby massage but you also need a great understanding of business. Blossom & Berry gives you both of these things and helps you develop teaching techniques to be confident to teach others regardless of your experience.
Just some of the things you receive when you study with Blossom & Berry;
You can understand the importance of loving touch, connection and early attachment and bonding in the creation of happy relationships through science and evidence based studies. You receive comprehensive teaching manuals and lifetime access to resources.
We have flexible teaching plans so you can teach courses, workshops, one to ones, pop up sessions and specialist sessions. All free of charge to help you expand your opportunities to teach.
Learn useful techniques to help calm and relax babies and children to share with parents and help empower them.
You can learn with us anywhere in the world, in the way that is most flexible and convenient for your lifestyle. Everything is at your pace and you have lifetime access to the course.
You can create your dream job working in a fulfilling and nurturing environment running your own natural pregnancy, baby massage and baby yoga practice which can be extended to older children.
You can develop a teaching practice with our courses which all link together to enable you to develop a thriving network of courses and keep connections with your clients.
We are accredited internationally by the Royal College of Midwives, Federation of Holistic Therapists, International, Complementary Therapists Association & IICT.
Our high quality training is completely flexible. You can learn online, one to one, via Skype, in a small group or in house. However you learn, there is no compromise on quality.
You can access our fully interactive materials including over fifty online videos to help you learn.
You are free to be your own kind of beautiful and have ultimate freedom in your business. We are not a franchise by choice. We offer high quality training to give you what you need plus all you would expect with a franchise without the cost or the limitations.
8. Be prepared to be inspired and have more time to pursue what you love
Many people feel they are lacking passion in their careers and want to be part of something creating a bigger impact in the world. We are doing just that!
Massage and yoga is not just about touch; its about promoting the importance of bonding, of communicating love and creating a sense of belonging. Through the creation of strong bonds and attachments between parents and babies, we can help lay the foundations for healthy, secure emotional relationships and create the opportunity for positive connections all over the world. We can empower individuals to enjoy the experience of parenting and create positive experiences for their children.
I believe parenting is the most important job in the world, helping to inspire, support and shape the next generation of happy, healthy and confident children. We support parents and children in their journey together and use powerful techniques based on massage and yoga to allow them to create loving bonds and better connected relationships which are vital for health and wellbeing. We want to make a parent and child’s early experiences as loving and nurturing as they can be through our range of services.
9.Anything is possible
Wherever you are on your journey with infant massage, massage, yoga, or supporting parents, anything is possible! I founded Blossom & Berry in 2001 as a result of my experiences as a nervous new mother, feeling lost and unsure how to make my daughter happy. I wanted to calm, soothe and bond with her but she was very colicky in the early weeks and cried a lot and I lost my confidence in understanding her needs and what I should be doing. I discovered baby massage and it transformed my life empowering me to embrace my role as a mother and respond to everything my daughter needed as I tuned into my instincts and into her cues. It sent me on an incredible journey that would completely change my life. I went from a city lawyer to a baby massage instructor and through my successful business practice I have been able to completely love my job, find my passion in life and spend time with my three children as they have grown up. This has been my greatest joy.
I have been able to set up a charitable project in Malawi supporting over 450 women and babies in poverty through infant massage and safe motherhood programs. These programs are now extending across the world into new countries.
10. Do it!
Your potential is limitless. You just need to take the first step in the right direction. You can achieve anything and make a difference.
I hope you feel inspired to teach infant massage and yoga. It is a joy!
Love Gayle