We can do the ceremony after your bleeding stops. After a cesarean, we need to wait at least 6 weeks to allow enough recovery of your tissues. Some women choose to wait a bit longer until the time feels right. For deeper integration and support, I highly recommend doing a Birth Story Processing Session before you receive the Closing of the Bones ceremony. (If you book a Birth Story Processing Session, you will receive a discount on your ceremony.)

The Closing of the Bones ceremony is meant for every mother. For women who experienced feeling unsafe, unheard, unseen, unsupported, or uncared for in their birth experience, this can be an opportunity to receive witnessing and care in body and spirit. Throughout the ceremony, I'll be communicating with you to check in about what feels good and supportive to you.As I've mentioned, I do recommend a Birth Story Processing Session for you if your birth story is still weighing on you or affecting parts of your life. It's a powerful foundation to be able to take in the medicine of the ceremony even more deeply and in the right time. And, the choice is YOURS.

Yes. This ceremony can be performed in order to mark or honor any great passage in a woman's life:after loss, including miscarriage, abortion, and stillbirthafter any other kind of loss or deathmenopausea breakup or divorcefollowing an extraordinary eventThe only condition is that you must feel ready to CLOSE the chapter.If you read that, and feel within your body the knowing that you are not ready to close—that is okay. There is more grieving, more expressing, more work to be done. And that is part of the journey. I'm here to support that process in session work or by helping you find the practitioner you need. And, if you feel that readiness in your being to close this chapter and call back all that's needed for your journey ahead—you're invited to reach out to set up your ceremony. If you need help determining whether or not it's time, you can always set up a free 15-minute connection call with me.

The ceremony can be modified for women with varying needs. The only situation in which a woman cannot receive the Closing of the Bones in any form is when she is pregnant. As you can imagine, we do not want to perform a ceremony inviting physical and energetic closure when the body is ripening, expanding, readying for the opening of birth. So, even if you conceived soon after birth or found out about this ceremony while pregnant, we will wait until after your next birth for a ceremony.If you need special support for processing or working with the energy of your last birth while preparing to welcome a new baby, reach out and we can find out what can best support you now.

You will need to have someone available to be with your baby. If you are exclusively breastfeeding, your baby can be brought to you at any stage of the ceremony to nurse, and we can continue as soon as the nursing session is done. This can look many different ways depending on what feels right to you and what kind of ceremony you want—a private 1:1 ceremony, or a ceremony where women in your life are invited to take part.

YES. This ceremony is traditionally held with the women of the tribe, the village, gathered around to witness, assist, and offer blessings. If calling in your tribe feels right—even if it means just one beloved woman, or a few—that is very much welcome.

This is definitely a possibility. Be in touch with any special requests.