RITUALS FOR INTEGRATION & HEALING

Closing of the Bones, is a cross-cultural postpartum practice which of binding a woman in ceremonial cloths, bringing her back to a womb-like space where the invitation is to re-gather and call home all parts of themselves.

Birth is one of the most expansive and opening rites of passages a woman can journey through. which requires witnessing and ritual to allow the rite to complete itself. This practice allows a mother the space to grasp the lessons of her birth experience and close the energetic field that may still be open from labour/birth.

The closing of the bones has been used in different forms across the world to support women in integrating their birthing experiences - whether they had empowering births or more difficult ones, whether they have undergone a termination, experienced an early or still-birth - this practice is incredibly nourishing, grounding and integrative. It is also amazing on a physical level to support a mother’s pelvis to go back to it pre-pregnancy positioning, as well as bringing any leaky energy back into her body.

This practice is a beautiful ritual for honouring a mother’s experience of birth and the postpartum time, and is deeply impactful for women that have birthed years prior, or those that are just emerging from their postpartum cocoon. 

These are two hour+ sessions where we start with some grounding bodywork before moving into the closing ritual that I offer from my space or can come to you to do this beautiful work in your own space.

These sessions are not just potent for mothers but for all of those moving through big initiatory processes- whether that is of grief/loss, heartbreak, life-changes, pregnancy loss, marking the end of a chapter to create the space to call in new trajectories… I have supported friends entering new decades, clients leaving jobs, people who have lost parents etc. all with this ceremony…

The closing of the bones, combined with bodywork, offers a a space for honouring initiation in its many forms in our life- wherein we might be asked to grieve, to invoke, to go inwards and re-group, to feel connected to our centre, our wisdom, our beauty.

I am grateful for my teachers Rachelle Garcia Seliga, Naoli Vinaver & Jenni Blythe for sharing this ancient practice with me and so many.