Closing the Bones is a way to support a woman’s recovery following childbirth; a way to celebrate the amazing abilities of her body; and a way to create a moment of quiet, of meditative peace and reflection in the rollercoaster of emotions that we experience in motherhood.

It is an ancient postnatal ritual to celebrate new life and close the circle of fertility and the child birth. A massage with warming oils is part of it a bath or yoni steaming and mainly the nurturing, cocooning use of a rebozo( shawl, scarf).

Beyond the physical element of closing the bones, there is an emotional and spiritual element to the ceremony, which provides a safe space for the mother to feel nurtured and release emotions associated with the birth and motherhood.

Most cultures around the world have an innate understanding of the vulnerability of a new mother and the need for her to be cared for and nurtured to recover from growing and birthing her baby. Some postpartum traditions include nourishing foods and a period of confinement, and some kind of bodywork technique, ranging from massage, to binding with a cloth, helping the new mother regain her strength and energy.

Closing the bones is such a technique, with its origins dating back to Mexican, South American and Egyptian civilisations.

In traditional cultures, the 40 first days of the postnatal period represent a sacred time.

The massage stimulates blood flow which in turn; cleans, renews, moves fluids (it may also help with milk supply/lochia), stimulates hormones, stimulates the immune system, and helps tone muscles and tissues.

According to some belief systems, our hips also support the weight of the spine and head and they are therefore the seat of unresolved emotions and trauma, which can be felt upon the hips as crystals, that need to be popped and released during the session.

The Closing of the Bones treatment involves a warm bath with herbs and in case you don’t have a bath wd offer yoni steam followed by the use of a traditional rebozo to rock and stimulate the mother’s hips. The ritual is then finished by tightly wrapping the cloth around the woman’s torso drawing in the bones of the pelvis, realigning both the physical structures and the energy systems.

The mother is then allowed to rest a while in the warmth and comfort of the wraps, a quiet, contemplative state. When she is ready to be unwrapped, she will be offended cleansing herbal tea and the opportunity to sit awhile, or to share her experience as she prefers.

Lievnat Faber and me are 2 doulas offering this ceramony together.
We are a great team both learned it from Angelina Martinez the traditional Mexican midwife herself.

We come to your home and we will need time for the 3 of us together.
It’s about 2-3 hours long. It will beautiful to do it around the new moon for new beginnings. Or a full moon for endings. Or any time that suits our agendas.

Any time is right when you feel it is.
Postpartum is moment after birth till the end of our life. It will be advisable to do it before you start going back to work or other activities. And very beautiful to close the first 40 days of postpartum with.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions.