I am a Massage Therapist specialized in women's Wellness including their journeys through pregnancy, the 4th trimester, from early postpartum to years down the line & into the journey of menopause.
I am a Postpartum Professional & Doula providing bodywork, care, support & education for new & seasoned mothers, from early in the 4th trimester & as far as you need me, even years down the line.
I am strong believer in bodywork & warmth (physical & emotional) to support women's health & I have dedicated the last seventeen years of my professional life to learn how bodywork benefits women's wellness.
This is me & this small company of one is a space which I truly hope will become a sanctuary for mothers & women, & any other parent, to find wellness, support & community in any & every stage of their their journey.
Welcome to The Milk & Oil Co.
Kate Brinch Sand
Oslo, Norway
Mini Bio
This is me
I’m the Milk & Oil.
100% Mexican.
100% American.
Mother. Professional. Life long student.
Certified Massage Therapist & Bodyworker.
Certified Thai Massage Teacher.
Rebozo Bodyworker.
Certified Postpartum Professional.
Educator.
Specialized in Women's Wellness.
Working to promote bodywork as an essential aspect of health, & postpartum wellness as the keystone for motherhood health long term.
Specialized in the field of women & the process of empowerment.
Experience
Inspiration
Philosophy
How it all began...
In 2005 I decided to study massage as an excuse to stay in SEA for a year. The excuse turned into a passion for different techniques of bodywork & a deep love for Asia. After several years back & forth between US, Mexico & SEA, I officially moved to Thailand in 2010.My MA studies turned into work, so I settled in Thailand for eight years & it was there I began my own journey into motherhood & with it a growing passion for helping mothers in their own journeys, while at the same time pursuing my work in massage therapy.
A bit more about me & my work...
I come from Mexico/United States & I started working in Oslo in 2020 after moving here from Thailand. I am a mother of two little ones & a full time stepmom to a teen age boy. In just under two years of opening my small business I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to work with almost two-hundred mothers in Oslo. I run the Oslo Sling Library since June 2020 & I launched a postpartum support group for all moms who need a little more care. My work as a therapist is specialized in women’s wellness. I have seventeen years experience as a bodyworker & the last six years I’ve worked with mothers through therapeutic massage, specialized bodywork, breastfeeding support, babywearing & postpartum care for wellness.
My credentials in a nutshell...
Massage Therapist certified in the United States, Thailand & member of the Norges Massasjeforbund. I have a background (MA) in women’s literature, feminism & women’s empowerment studies in traditional cultures. Other professional certifications include: Postpartum Professional (Innate Traditions); Postpartum Professional/Doula (Newborn Mothers Collective); Babywearing Consultant (Slingababy); Birth Story Listener (Birth Story Medicine). I’m currently training in breastfeeding with Childbirth International & I recently joined the Norsk Doula Forening.
Some facts about me:
I speak English, Spanish, Italian, Norwegian & French.
I can read Thai language.
I worked as an English teacher in Thailand for eight years.
I like fiction books & crime series.
I literally just discovered audio books.
I am the worst massage client.
I detest peas.
I live for coffee, chocolate, wine & spicy food.
I’ve lived in Mexico City, Florida, Paris, Sydney, Chiang Mai, Bangkok & Oslo.
Why I'm here...
Master of all trades & traveler it took me a while to find my vocation & passion. To my surprise & luck, they combined themselves in one perfect field.
My studies in women's past & present processes of empowerment gave me the theoretical background to understand women & mothers through history; the practical side started with breastfeeding training & later postpartum & babywearing training. All of this took place while at the same time I decided to center my massage practice on women's needs, particularly in pregnancy, postpartum, peri-menopause & menopause. Magically it all began to make sense. So here I am, holding tools & a space which women & mothers may use to find their own ways to blossom.
I am here to support mothers & women; to find their intuition to claim their wellbeing; but it is not a static process, my inspiration remains the same, but as time passes my experience grows & my philosophy of work changes. In my continuous search for more knowledge, I evolve & so does my work. So check back now & then, as this segment will be forever changing, evolving, moving forward to integrate anything new that may give me better tools & opportunities to be there for women & mothers.
Certifications & Professional Training
Massage Therapy Professional Certifications
Postnatal Massage Certification, Pregnancy Massage Australia - 2020
Thai Massage Training for CEU's (12hrs) USA - 2009
Thai High Risk Stretching Re-certification (12hrs) TMC Thailand - 2007
Massage Therapy Certification (500hrs) Palm Beach Academy USA - 2006
(NCBTMB examination & licensure completed)
Thai Massage GCT Teacher Certification (600hrs) TMC Thailand - 2005
Massage Therapy Continuous Education Courses, Trainings & Symposiums.
2021 - Free The Belly CE Course, Nurturance
2021 - Wise Woman Menopause Massage CE Course, Nurturing the Mother
2020 - Pregnancy Massage CE Course (12hrs) Axelsons, Norway
2006 - Bodywork & Natural Skin Treatments Training (30hrs) Jamu Spa School, Bali
2006 - Body Treatments Training (6hrs) Palm Beach Academy USA
2005 - Indian Ayurvedic Massage Training (30hrs) Varanasi, India
2005 - Swedish Thai Massage Training (30 hrs) Koh Phangan, Thailand
Postpartum professional Certifications
2021 - Birth Story Listener (P1-3), Birth Story Medicine
2021 - Innate Postpartum Care Certified Provider, Innate Traditions
2020 - Postpartum Professional Certification, Newborn Mothers Collective
2019 - Babywearing Consultant Certification, Slingababy, Oslo
In process, Breastfeeding Counselor, CBI
Postpartum Care Provider Continuous Education Courses, Training & Symposiums.
2020 - Physiologic Baby Care, Innate Traditions
2019 - Postnatal Recovery Massage, Sophie Messager & Osteopath Teddy Brooks, Cambridge, UK
2019 Closing The Bones, Sophie Messager, Cambridge, UK
Active Memberships & Affiliations
Norges Massasjeforbund (https://massasjeforbundet.no/finn-massor/)
Norsk Doula Forening (https://www.norskdoulaforening.no/kate-brinch-sand)
Innate Postpartum Practitioner (https://postpartum-care-directory.innatetraditions.com/practitioner/kate-brinch-sand/)
TMC Affiliate Teacher (http://www.tmcschool.com/global.php)
A Space for Women's Wellness & Bodywork
This space is an inclusive place of wellness & support to all women - mothers or not.
Too many providers see massage as techniques & handling to be apply across the board: it's a body, so stretch it & press it hard. Too many providers forget massage is not about monotone walls & lavender scent to mask the lack of personalized attention. Too many offers come from people with no training that believe a day course is enough to understand the intricacies of muscle anatomy & hormonal health in relation to what can & cannot be done during a session.
I specialize in women's wellbeing because I have learned & understood that what we need to thrive as women is not packaged in a cookie-cutter massage that pokes & stretches the body in an almost mechanical way, without paying attention to the physiology of the female body & how it relates to the specific period of a woman's life or past experiences.
Massage therapy is not made of a fancy room or a franchise of staple moves for one & all. A woman in her 30s has different needs from a postpartum mother in her 30s; from a menopausal woman in her 40s; or non menopausal woman of the same age. Massage is evolving & it should uniquely adapt to your specific needs day by day; to what the body & the mind need.
Working in close proximity with my clients; learning who they are; where they have been & building a connection to them allows me to take one approach & adapt & evolve as needed. I believe in personalized attention, not routine practices to sell more treatments.
At my age & with my millage, I am not afraid to say this space may not be for everyone. But if you are done with being brushed off because your needs are treated as generic; if you need to feel acknowledged; if you are looking for bodywork that adapts to change; if you are tired of explaining to random or untrained providers what you need; if you believe your wellbeing affects your family... this space is most certainly a space for you.
To learn more about my studio, please read here.
A Space for Mothers at Any Stage of Their Journey:
"My sessions, gatherings & classes are built on the basis of everything I have learned in the past seventeen years: massage, women's studies & mother centered wellbeing.
My support system & personalized care options as a massage therapist, postpartum care provider & bodyworker are flexible & built on the understanding that we are all unique.
I share the information & the knowledge I have acquired through education in Empowerment, Massage, Postpartum Care & Physiology so you can decide what works for your own journey.
My work is not about directing mothers towards having the same experiences I've had, but about supporting them in finding their voice so they & their families can actively make postpartum a deeply healing & empowering experience; simply by learning about choices & understanding a woman's physiological processes during the transition to motherhood.
I do not believe in imposing ideas or beliefs upon parents, I do believe in raising awareness on how our choices in postpartum have a direct effect on a mother's future physical & emotional health."