closing ceremonies
I acknowledge the traditional keepers of these practices and rituals, and the many forms in which they have taken place across the world. I give thanks to the creators of the beautiful rebozos that I use, and acknowledge that their uses and cultural meaning extend far beyond simply birth and postpartum. I extend deep gratitude to those teachers who have passed down their knowledge to those who taught me, and give thanks to the Mexican culture from which this version of a closing takes its lineage.
Closing Ceremony
Gold Coast and surrounds
Hard to put into words, a closing ceremony offers sacred and protected space in which to close the portals of birth, an opportunity to fully land embodied in your role as a mother and to feel deeply nurtured and loved as you do so.
Closing ceremonies in all their forms have roots in many places across the world, but are most well-known as the Mexican postpartum tradition of ‘closing the bones’. Echoed in many cultures is the belief that your soul leaves your body as you birth, travelling into the stars to bring your baby down to earth. While many things, a closing allows space for your soul to re-enter your body and to close those portals that opened when you entered the birth space.
Each ceremony is as unique as the individual, but you can expect to feel deeply cherished and nourished, a resounding acknowledgement of the sacred, life-giving, magical being that you are. You are welcome to invite whomever it is you would like to journey with you through this ritual, or it can be a quiet and personal moment between just you and I.
Together we will sit in ritual and ceremony, pouring love back into you, flowing with your needs. We will open in circle, with the opportunity for you to share your birth story, to debrief anything that you need to, and to let it be known what it is that you would like from this experience. A herbal bath will be poured and a blanket draped over you as you sit in the medicine of the herbs and the steam. An opportunity for cleansing, I will sit by you and hold you as you release anything that needs to be released into the water. Once ready to emerge you will be guided into the warmth of the rebozos and lovingly wrapped. The wrapping brings you back together, physically and energetically, a pulling together after all the expansiveness of birth and motherhood. Many feel this time as the moment their soul lands back in their body, a time of momentous release, or simply the new version of them emerge. Woven amongst all of this is steamy cups of herbal tea and a delicious treat or two, incense and candles, warming oils and sound healing.
Each ceremony goes for around three hours. I have deep reverence for the mother-baby dyad and will always make space for your baby to be fed and cared for, but it is advised to have a support person on hand to tend to baby so you and I can be fully present during the steaming and wrapping.