Ritual & Ceremonial

Integration Visit

Going from Maiden to Mother, or rebirthing the Mother with each subsequent child, is a Rite of Passage traditionally recognized, honoured and celebrated by the Mother’s community. Initiation brings not only change, but when held in the right container, is a beautiful transition.

You’ve come to the end of your First Forty Days, maybe it’s almost here, you just passed it, or maybe you’re a ways beyond it now. You realize that while everything has changed, it doesn’t sit quite right with you.

In order for any Rite of Passage to be completed, you need to be seen and witnessed through it by others. Especially the Rite of Passage from Maiden to Mother and the rebirth of Mother in subsequent births is completely missing in our Western Culture.

The Ritual & Ceremonial Integration Visit is here to integrate your Birth and Postpartum experience, extract Wisdoms from your Rite of Passage, and Celebrate your Transition to Mother (again)!

This is for all Mothers, whether in the early postpartum or decades later.

What is covered during the visit

  • We start off with a 60-90min Birth Story Listening session, for which I’ve taken an extensive 14-week course.

    • The essence of the session is to help YOU resolve the aspect of your birth experience that needs a reframe, and turn it into an empowering story.

    • My role in the session is holding a safe container, asking questions of a particular nature (clarifying, opening, resolving), and see where a shift on a somatic level can happen.

    • This isn’t about me being an expert OVER you; if needed I will simply guide you back to you being your own expert on your experience.

    • This birth debrief training is trauma-informed and does not include cathartic retelling, which is not very often helpful.

  • Next will be a Birth Energy Meditation (inspired by Tami Lynn Kent) that helps you reconnect to the beautiful and regenerative energy each birth will have brought, even if the journey was not as wished for.

  • When the Birth work is complete, next is Closing of the Bones with Reiki.

    • Closing of the Bones is a cross-cultural Postpartum Care tradition using a long shawl or scarf crossed and held tight on different locations across the body, starting at the head and ending at the feet, as a way to physically and energetically close the body after the expansive state of pregnancy and birth.

    • It's a physical body care practice to "close" the body, as the hips and pelvis will stay in an open birthing position, creating pelvic instability, for years to come if additional pelvic and abdominal work aren't done postpartum. (Traditionally, all women across the world received body work postpartum. Yet this is lost in the Western Culture. Hence in our culture many women still walk around with hips and pelvis in birth position in their 80s!)

    • The Closing of the Bones ceremony is a safe, sacred container for a Mother to be held, nurtured, and release emotions around her pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience, even 30 years after birth.

    • Rachelle Garcia Seliga of INNATE Traditions, who practiced traditional midwifery in Mexico for years before she created INNATE Postpartum Care, taught all INNATE Practitioners this tradition. This lineage came to her through her mother-in-law, Clara Alfaro Peña. I'm honored to be granted permission to carry this wisdom and sacred practice forward into my community.

    • The Rebozo (Mexican shawl) I use is handmade by Mexican indigenous women.

    • Closing of the Bones is not only for Postpartum Mothers; traditionally it is  used to centre people after little and big life transitions, conflict and shock, injuries, etc.

    • While my presence will be enough to represent Community, it will be incredibly powerful to invite your partner, a dear family member or friend, or someone else you trust to hold the other end of the Rebozo while I walk through the steps. We will literally make you feel held by us.

  • In between and/or after, to create moments of space and feeling grounded, you’ll receive Nourishment via Tea or Broth, and a homemade, nutrient dense snack (choose from menu).

The Menu

Pick one Broth, one Tea and one Snack

  • Chicken broth with French Herbs

  • Beef broth with Pho Spices

  • Oxtail broth with warming spices like Ginger

  • While many of my vegetarian relations switched to meat during pregnancy and early postpartum, let me know if you’d like a vegetarian option.

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  • Red ‘Jujube’ Date, Goji Berry, mixed with ‘Blue Eyes’ herbal tea from local Lucas Teas with Ghee

  • Herbal Home Made Chai Tea with, Maple Syrup, Milk and Ghee

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  • Gluten Free Brownies

  • Apple Pie Bars

  • “Boterkoek” (butter cake, traditional Dutch nutrient dense treat)

Investment

$297

$100 deposit due upon booking, full payment due 1 week prior to booked date

Suggested add-Ons

√ Add virtual support (responses within 24 hours), now that the First Forty Days are over and most people will check in less with you.

√ Didn’t receive quite enough support during your ‘First Forty Days’? It’s never too late to book the Single Nourishment Visit, or to upgrade to the Multi-visit Postpartum Care Package, including the Virtual Support Package and 5 additional Single Nourishment Visits.