Dr. Rosita Arvigo, a Naprapathic Physician, is known for her tremendous contributions to women’s health through natural therapies such as traditional Mayan Abdominal Massage, herbal medicine, and spiritual healing.

Mayan Abdominal Massage is a gentle, external and non-invasive manual therapy technique which aligns the uterus and other organs of the abdomen back into their proper positions, from whence they may have shifted from falls, injuries or trauma. With this encouragement towards correct placement, organs receive the blood flow they need to be adequately nourished by the body’s hormones and chemicals, rid themselves of their waste products through lymphatic flow, and can do their jobs unobstructed. Organs function most optimally when congestion is reduced, and metabolic processes enhanced, and physical health problems related to digestion, menstruation, etc. can be subsequently resolved. 

Most women’s pelvic health complaints, such as cysts, fibroids, endometriosis, and difficulties conceiving and giving birth, are caused by a displaced uterus. Dr. Arvigo estimates that over 90% of American women have a displaced uterus–something which can be corrected through these specific abdominal massage techniques.  Mayan Abdominal Massage as she teaches it places a strong emphasis on client “self care,” so women who receive such treatments become empowered to do a more basic version of the massage techniques on themselves each day to maintain pelvic health.

Originally from Chicago, IL, Rosita has studied traditional Belizean medicine for over 30 years, since meeting Don Elijio Panti, one of the last traditional Mayan Shaman healers, and making Belize her permanent home. Don Elijio Panti, who became her friend and mentor, taught her that the uterus was a center of a woman’s being, so if her uterus was out of place, the rest of her life would mirror that disarray. She watched him day after day treat imbalances of the body by massaging the abdomen, and she combined this knowledge with her scientific understanding of the body’s ligaments, muscles and bones, and began teaching it to others to carry on this powerful healing art. Rosita currently holds trainings in Belize and visits the United States to impart these massage techniques and herbal applications to other healthcare professionals. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to study with Rosita firsthand, and to continue mentoring with her as the profession advances, as well as incorporate this effective work into my practice with clients.

Dr. Arvigo currently runs a natural health clinic in San Ignacio, Belize, using rainforest remedies and bodywork to treat a variety of health conditions, specifically those of the female reproductive kind, and has been instrumental in providing documentation of the healing properties of native plants, endangered of being destroyed through deforestation and development, to demonstrate the importance of preserving our precious sources of medicine.  She has founded both the Ix Chel Tropical Research Foundation and the Traditional Healers’ Foundation, and has written a number of books, among them Sastun: My Apprenticeship with a Maya Healer and Rainforest Home Remedies: the Maya Way to Heal Your Body and Replenish Your Soul.