Closing of the bones ceremony

The Closing of the Bones is a sacred ritual rooted in cultures across the world. I was deeply honored to be trained within the Mexican lineage by midwife Rachelle Garcia Seliga, who studied directly with Indigenous midwives in Mexico. The ceremony keepers have shared that this ritual was always meant to be passed woman to woman — heart to heart — to those who feel called to receive it.

La Cerrada, meaning “the closing,” is a ceremonial journey of inner and outer transformation. It offers a devoted space for a woman to be held, witnessed, and gently guided as she integrates her birth experience and fully transitions into motherhood. In a world that often asks mothers to move on too quickly, this ceremony invites you to slow down, soften, and be cared for.

Through intentional touch, prayer, warmth, and wrapping, the body is supported physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Gentle massage nourishes tired muscles. The pelvis is lovingly wrapped to help realign and support the body after the openness of birth — symbolically and physically “closing the bones.” It is a ritual of sealing, honoring, and restoring.

While traditionally offered within the first 40 days postpartum, this ceremony can be received anytime. Once you become a mother, you are forever postpartum — always integrating, always evolving. The Closing continues to serve women long beyond birth, whenever they feel the call to be held in this way.

This ceremony is also a powerful container for any significant life transition. It can lovingly hold women during menarche, menopause, grief, loss, changes in health, career shifts, or any moment that marks a rite of passage.

It is a return to self.

A remembering.

A reclaiming.