Closing of the Bones

This weekend I had the honor of being held by my dear sisters in a life-altering closing of the bones ceremony.

During pregnancy and birth we open ourselves up completely: 

physically… 

emotionally…

spiritually…

in order to allow our babies to enter this physical realm. We are a portal for them. It’s a beautiful thing to allow ourselves to be so open for our babies.

But then what?

I began to realize a few months ago that I was still walking around in the world with my heart and my womb open in ways that were no longer serving me. I had built lots of walls and gates to protect my open heart and open womb… but the problem was actually not that they needed to be protected, but that they needed to be put back into their pre-pregnancy state. I am TWENTY ONE YEARS POSTPARTUM. 

• In the Mexican midwifery traditions, a closing of the bones ceremony is part of the postpartum healing process.
• In most traditional cultures there is some sort of healing touch offered to postpartum people as a symbolic and physical closing to their bodies and spirits.
• Since I started my midwifery business, Sacred Birth, I have offered this ceremony to new parents.
  

I think it is beautiful and powerful: A way to mark the closing of a chapter of their lives and make way for all the new things they have come into this lifetime to create. It is one of my FAVORITE things to do for clients.

But I have never had my own bones closed. (Yeah, typical midwife, mom, caregiver, always doing for others while not getting the care I need for myself.)

Until this weekend!

What a beautiful ceremony my sisters held for me. I explored my own birth, the births of my children, the care I received with each one of them, the mothering I have given and received over the years, and SO MUCH MORE. All while being held in sacred space, feeling safe and honored by women who have been there. I felt myself being not just shored up on the inside, but reborn with ease, so that I can start a whole new life of ease. 

If you have never experienced a closing after your birth(s). I highly recommend it. I literally feel like a different person today than I did last week.