Vanessa WernerClosing of Bones
Rebozo Closings - "Cerrar La Cadera" (Closing the Hips) "As women we have RITES OF PASSAGES built into our physiologic design. All we need to do is HONOUR what IS."
A way in which I witness a woman's arrival into motherhood is through a traditional service I offer to postpartum mothers called “Closing of the Bones”
This ceremony acknowledges the immense changes a woman has experienced in pregnancy and childbirth and assists in helping her reconnect to her true sense of self.
Physically, this ritual stimulates blood flow, guides a mothers bones back into place, helps her pelvic organs shift and her uterus to shrink. As women are held in this safe container, they are able to reach into their most inner depths and compassionately reconnect to the sacred space within them that grew and birthed their baby. It is the practice of ceremony and the honouring of the mother that instigates the healing of her physical and spiritual wounds while allowing for emotions associated with pregnancy, birth and motherhood to be released.
Bringing a baby into the world is possibly the deepest, most profound life experience you will ever have and it exposes us to feelings of being open, vulnerable and exhausted. This ceremony can help to nurture and acknowledge the new role you have stepped into and the rite of passage that you have transitioned through. Closing the Bones involves the use of a traditional shawl (referred to as a rebozo in Mexico) to rock the mothers hips, followed by abdominal massage and wrapping - helping to seal what was energetically and physically opened during her birthing process "The pelvis is the seat of unresolved emotions and trauma; rebozo closings facilitate a gentle healing and help with the approximation of abdominal muscle and fascia. Because the pelvis supports the weight of our spine and head, the health of our pelvis is central to the health of our whole body." Rachelle Garcia Seliga
In the birth community, there has been a surge of interest in closing of the bones ceremonies, accompanied by misinformation and worries of cultural appropriation. In fact, it is a multicultural practice. "Arriving in Mexico through Spanish colonization, the rebozo wrap tied around a mother’s hips has Arabian origins. The actual practice of tying a woman’s hips predates colonisation in South America, with the “ayate” or “tilmàtli” used instead of the rebozo. A similar postpartum care technique called “Seven Locks” exists in Russian culture, using the rooshnik cloth, and closely resembles a Moroccan closing of the bones practice as well, along with one in Ethiopia.
The world's postpartum traditions are... rooted in our physiologic and psychologic needs as postpartum women, these needs are the same — no matter to which lineage we belong to." Meg St-Esprit It is important to acknowledge that it is never too late to receive this support and the ceremony still offers healing to mothers many years after a birth has taken place. For all Closing the Bones enquiries and bookings: