REBOZO

What is a Rebozo?

A rebozo is a traditional Mexican shawl, usually between 2 and 2.5 metres long and about 60 cm wide. In Mexico, it is used for various purposes: keeping warm, carrying loads, supporting women during pregnancy and birth, and even carrying a newborn baby. This beautiful woven cloth holds deep cultural significance and is often used by Mexican women and midwives throughout pregnancy, labour, and postnatal care.

During late pregnancy and labour, a rebozo can offer both physical and emotional support. It helps the baby move into a better position, provides comfort, and allows the pregnant woman to relax. The rebozo is also a key element in the "Cerrada" or Closing Ceremony, which marks the end of the cycle of conception, pregnancy, and birth. This ceremony is often done around 40 days after birth.

Similar rituals exist in other cultures around the world, using different cloths and techniques, including in Russia, Morocco, and Tunisia.

How I Use the Rebozo and My Approach

In my postnatal treatments, the rebozo is an essential tool. Drawing inspiration from its deep traditions, I use it for gentle rocking, wrapping, closing the pelvis, closing the bones ceremony and relaxation. It provides comfort and helps create a safe, nurturing space where emotions can be honoured and held.

Each time I use the rebozo, I adapt my approach to meet the unique needs of each woman. Every experience is personal, shaped by her own journey, emotions, and body. My role is to be fully present, offering care and attention as I guide her through this nurturing and healing process.

Closing the Bones Ceremony

Closing the Bones ceremony marks the end of the powerful journey through conception, pregnancy, and birth. It celebrates the mother's body and her transition into motherhood - whether for the first time or with each new child - and helps her reconnect with herself.

Before the ceremony, we will discuss your intentions together. The ceremony involves gentle rocking and wrapping different parts of your body, from your head to your feet, allowing you time to relax and reconnect with yourself. This process helps you to feel centred and grounded. The ceremony also includes closing the pelvis.

Why Have It?

Pregnancy and birth open a woman both physically and emotionally. After the intensity of giving birth, many women feel vulnerable, tired, and emotional. Throughout pregnancy, the body opens the belly, the pelvis, and the heart. The Closing the Bones ceremony helps reverse this process, providing both physical and emotional closure.

  • Physically, the gentle rocking and wrapping promotes healing by encouraging movement in the joints, muscles, and tissues.

  • Emotionally, the ceremony offers a space to rest, be held, and allow emotions to be acknowledged, witnessed, and released.

  • Energetically and spiritually, it offers closure and a space to move forward from the experience.

When to Have It?

The ceremony can be done whenever the mother feels ready,whether it's in the early weeks after birth or even a year or more later. Some women discover the benefits of this ritual long after giving birth, and it’s never too late to experience it.

I also offer this ceremony to women at other significant times in life, such as after a miscarriage, menopause, or following a traumatic birth.

Fees

  • Closing the Bones Ceremony: £140 – 1.5 to 2 hours in your home.

Closing the Pelvis

Closing the pelvis is a key part of my postnatal care. This can be done immediately after birth or later on, and it’s never too late to benefit from it. 

During birth, the pelvis opens to allow the baby’s passage, which can sometimes leave women feeling unbalanced or uncomfortable. The process of closing the pelvis involves gentle rocking, wrapping, and using a stick to help close the pelvis back into alignment. This calms the nervous system, promoting relaxation and helping women feel grounded again.

The rocking motion mimics the sensation of being in the womb and stimulates the vagus nerve, which promotes a sense of safety and calm. During labour, the pelvis isn’t a rigid block of bones but a flexible structure connected by joints and ligaments, which stretch to allow the baby’s birth. Closing the pelvis helps bring everything back into place, restoring balance in the body.

Fees

  • Closing the Pelvis: £50 – 30 min

  • Closing the Pelvis & Bengkung Belly Binding : £60 – 40 min

  • Closing the Pelvis & Relaxation (hand massage to choose from back, legs & arms, or belly) or a guided meditation/hypnosis session: £90 – 60 min

Rebozo Relaxation

If you’d prefer not to do the full Closing the Bones ceremony and would rather focus on relaxation or specific areas of your body, I can adapt the massage to gently rock the areas of your choice with the rebozo.

Fees

  • Rebozo relaxation: £50 - 30 min