Closing the Bones Ceremony in Kennington, South London
Feeling physically or emotionally open and vulnerable after birth? Struggling with lingering hip pain, pelvic discomfort, or that sense of being ungrounded in your new role as a mother?
The Closing the Bones ceremony offers profound healing when you need to feel held, whole, and integrated again. This ancient ritual uses rhythmic rebozo massage and intentional wrapping to gently close your hips, release stored tension and trauma, and restore the boundaries that opened so wide during birth. Whether you're weeks or years postpartum, navigating grief and loss, or moving through any major life transition, this sacred four-hour ceremony creates space for deep rest, emotional release, and the powerful feeling of being truly seen and supported as you step into your next chapter.
This ritual, as I practice it, comes from Ecuador and it is also done in that part of the world, particularly Mexico, with some variations. We now know that the tying of the womb after birth and body and womb massage are likely to have happened all over the world and still do in many places.
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I start with opening the space, and lighting a candle. The person is then being held inside a long hand-woven cotton scarf, called rebozo, as an extension of loving hands, across their shoulders and progressively along all parts of the back of their body as they stand up or sit and later lie down. It is pulled rhythmically from side to side, creating a sort of dance between the person offering it and the one receiving it, creating a deep release of tension. It is followed by an oil massage of the womb, hips and torso, in order to release tension, allow the organs to settle back into place after a birth and gently bring the hips back into place. During birth our hips open up, and this is an essential way to close them again, it also allows the two lower chakras, which opened so much during the birth to now close. Being left with open lower chakras tends to leave new mothers feeling vulnerable, physically and emotionally. It can also lead to hip and pelvic floor problems, even much later in life. It is therefore essential for the well-being of a new mother (or not so new) to experience this ritual, at the end of which the 8 rebozos will be tightly wrapped around her, particularly the one around her hips, as she lays down and rests. She can then lie under a blanket as long as she needs. I will play drum, read a poem and let you rest. The playing of the drum is done in a shamanic way, with a fast rhythm, which takes you quickly in a state of deep relaxation. If you prefer to skip the drumming and just rest in silence or with soothing music, that's fine too. This whole ceremony takes about 4 hours.
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This massage works on the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems, and through work on the fascia, a lot of stress, anxiety, but also emotions can be released. It benefits the nervous system.
The whole ritual helps release trauma, and integrate the changes that happen as we become mothers (or go through any life changes) at all levels: physically, mentally and emotionally. This is a sacred space of deep processing for your healing. For some it can occasionally be helpful to repeat this process.
This ritual is not only used for new mothers, but also for anyone who has been pregnant, wether a child was born or not, as it it can help heal from grief and loss.
It is also done at times of life transitions, new menses, for fertility, for women with breastfeeding problems, menopause or pre-menopause, when a hystorectomy has been prescribed and when tension needs to be released, after an accident, a house move, a change of job or relationship, or after the loss of a loved one. It is a way to honour milestones. Men and children also benefit from it.
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If you have a young baby, they will be welcome to either lie down in the same room or nearby and to feed whenever they need. I will always make time for that. If your baby needs to be held, it is helpful to have someone around who can keep an eye on the baby or hold them and bring them when they need to be fed, if they are breastfed.
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At the end we will drink a herbal womb tea together, and we can have a debrief and take it slowly before you return to your daily activities. I always welcome your impressions, which can take a few weeks to be felt. So please contact me to let me know. I recommend that you drink plenty of warm water and stay warm afterwards, particularly your feet and womb and try not to rush into anything immediately as it is good to give yourself time to integrate this experience. Taking a bath with flowers or salt is also a great way to end this ceremony.
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Yes, if a partner or mother or a person close to you wants to take part in the ceremony, and it feels right for you, I would be happy to include them in the process. They can sit and hold space and help me wrap and unwrap you, slowly and intentionally. Some like to pray at the same time, usually silently. This is a ritual of re-integration into the world of motherhood for new mothers, an important rite of passage and it can feel more powerful when two people hold you and hold your space in that way.