Closing The Bones
Closing the Bones is a postpartum healing ceremony, which was created to nurture the mother after her passage through giving birth, and her journey into motherhood. It is a celebration, a setting of sacred space, and a way to nurture Mama & baby.
Closing the Bones, Robozo Work and Fertility Massage
Firstly, what is a Robozo?
The Robozo (or Rebozo) is a very long, woven scarf created by women for women. The beautiful traditions of using the Robozo are handed down from mother to daughter and midwife to midwife. The many uses of the Robozo include carrying a baby, relaxing and repositioning mothers in childbirth, carrying groceries, and most especially, ceremonies for important passages of women’s lives.
What is a Closing the Bones Ceremony?
Closing the Bones is a way to support a woman’s recovery after childbirth; a way to celebrate the amazing abilities of her body; and a way to create a moment of stillness, of meditative peace and reflection in the rollercoaster of emotions of new motherhood.
It is a postnatal ritual. It is a ceremony. It is a massage with warming, nurturing use of a shawl or scarf.
However, you don’t have to be a post-natal mum to benefit from this wonderful treatment. It can help women post-hysterectomy, after baby loss, or at any time in her life when she needs a little tender emotional nurturing.
Where did Jacque learn this skill?
In 2015 Jacque completed a Fertility Massage and Robozo workshop with Clare Spink, which included a Mexican ‘Closing The Bones’ Ceremony.
This is a Wise Woman Womb Massage for Women throughout their reproductive life, to create a warm, creative & healthy womb – whether for welcoming a future baby, healing menstrual complaints, or to connect to our inner womb wisdom.
The massage not only focuses on the womb, but the digestive system & sacrum too, allowing for a whole, deep healing to take place.
Since then Jacque has made extensive use of the robozo techniques learnt, passing on the techniques to mums and dads-to-be and has conducted some wonderful ‘Closing the Bones’ ceremonies for a few very special clients.
In May 2017, Jacque attended a further workshop, with Sophie Messeger focussing entirely on Closing the Bones the Ecuadorian way, which includes a post-natal belly massaging technique.
Essentially this Closing the Bones is a beautiful ceremony to offer to mums in the 4th trimester. It is ceremony to close the circle of pregnancy and childbirth. There are rituals in Western culture that are the punctuation of our lives; baptism, weddings, funerals. Yet we have nothing to mark the supreme achievement that is birth and new motherhood.
It is something you could treat yourself or a friend to and your closest friends can join in, with guidance from me.
If you have a friend who has recently had a baby, you could get a small group of her closest friends together and you can all join in this beautiful, tranquil ceremony. So much more meaningful that the now fashionable pre-birth ‘baby-shower’.
For dads reading this, what a perfect way to thank your partner for creating and birthing your baby.
When a new baby arrives, we tend to buy items for the baby. How about this wonderful pampering for mum?
If you book a ceremony with Jacque, she can offer a tailored service, to include a new mothering hypnotherapy session. Please contact us for availability and prices.
What happens in a Closing the Bones Ceremony?
First we rock your hips for a while using a robozo or other scarf or shawl.
Then we wrap you (and your baby, if you are a new mum) from your head to your toes with several shawls and cover you with a blanket to keep you nice and warm.
Whilst you lay there we add elements that fit your circumstances, reading a poem, singing a song, drumming, hypnosis, or simply keeping our hands on your body, whilst you integrate the process.
When it’s finished, we leave you to relax for a bit.
We go and prepare you a lovely drink.
There is a chance to chat about the experience for a while afterwards.
The whole process usually lasts between 1.5 and 2h.
What else do we use a Robozo for?
“Manteada” is the Spanish name of the technique used by Mexican Midwives with the Rebozo. Manteada is done for pregnancy, birth, postpartum… even for fertility by Mexican Midwives. This description was shared with Spinning Babies by Midwife Ximena Rojas García.
Muscle relaxants and anaesthesia are commonly offered in the hospital setting when birthing. Such drugs may have unwanted side effects on baby and the birthing mother.
The Robozo technique from Mexico, along with hypnobirthing techniques helps relax mothers with no drugs at all. There are many Robozo sifting techniques that can be utilised in pregnancy for comfort. I can teach you techniques to use during early or active labour for comfort, and techniques that may then be used to “make space for the baby” to get into their best position for labour.